30 June 2007

The Gear of A World Traveler

In all the commotion of gettin’ going on the World Tour, I forgot to introduce the “cast of characters,” if you will. While I’m the only human traveling, I’ve had plenty of objects to talk to, all of which are helping me get around the world without collapsing from a nervous breakdown. There is, of course, the MacBook Pro, which happens to be brand new thanks to lemon laws that say after you’ve had the hard drive, processors, battery, keyboard, screen, RAM and motherboard replaced, you’re entitled to a new machine.



Then there is the video camera, A Sony HDD Hard Drive camcorder that comes in somewhere between tourist and commercial grade. Despite a few issues focusing, it’s not a bad piece of electronics.



There are, of course, the external hard drives, which now total 660 gigabytes of space. Don’t act like you’re not impressed.



I’ve chosen to go with Pumas, as they’re my favorite shoe. Nice and narrow! The real selling point is that they’re made entirely of rubber and mesh, perfect for Monsoon season in India.



Then there is my trusted, tried and true Canon digital camera. I love it. This is my third one (I left the first one in a movie theater. The second one was stolen in China). Perfect pictures all the time. Highly recommended.



The Moleskin notebooks are keeping track of my every move, not to mention all the interesting (and hopefully insightful) thoughts that enter my mind. Hemingway wrote “A Farewell To Arms” in once of these. Who knows, they could be lucky…



Due to some telecommunication errors (my cell phone was stolen in China and the replacement broke) I was forced to take my Mom’s old phone (covered in hearts) on the World Tour. Fortunately, my replacement black faceplate arrived before departure, but after this photo was taken.



Last but not least, the backpack. After Air China DESTROYED mine on my flight back to the US, I opted for the Eagle Creak travelpack, complete with detachable daypack and zip-away straps, perfect for air travel. As most of the flights do not originate or terminate in the US, I am restricted to one bag of only 20 kilos (about 50 pounds). To those of you who know me, you understand what an impressive undertaking this was for me. I usually pack heavy – really heavy - as in, three 75-pound bags when I moved to Brussels for four months. My uber-cool shirt and pant organizers, combined with the random disappearance of two shirts, a pair of pants and 6 pairs of socks, means I’m rather light on weight at the minute.



So that’s everything…me, this stuff and the World. Exciting? I think yes!

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