Writer's Block: Gadget Conundrum

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Camera, duh. Above all else I want to remember the vacation with my pictures. I know I don’t need the other things. I’ve never traveled with my laptop anyway, except to transport it when I moved to and from Japan during my semester in Kyoto and for JET, and I’ve gotten used to being without a working cell phone when I travel abroad. On three occasions (Japan to US May 20008; Japan to US December 2009; and US to Japan January 2010) I’ve gone from immediately having a working cell phone in one country to a working cell phone in another and that was nice, but I considered it a luxury, not a necessity, and it would honestly be really weird for me to have one that did work both places!

Giving up my ipod would be a little annoying, but it’s not like I can’t do it. I traveled abroad many times before I owned an ipod or even a portable CD player, and even since I’ve gotten my ipod I’ve had it run out of batteries on long flights, etc, that have made me functionally without it. International flights have movies, music selections, and free headphones, so while they might not be my top choices I would still have something to listen to for the flight. And once I’m where I am, I wouldn’t need the player anyway. The only time I use my ipod while traveling in new places is on really long train rides, but if I’m on my dream vacation I’d have a companion to talk to so I can go without music.

I think MyLifeScoop thinks I ought to be a lot more technology-dependent than I am, especially when traveling. I’ll admit I’m pretty damn Internet dependent, but as far as gadgets go, I can go usually go without. (And I often do by choice; I buy the cheapest phone on purpose and never covet those all-in-one phone/Internet/GPS/music player/camera gadgets that become obsolete to make way for the next phone/Internet/GPS/music player/camera/vibrator gadget). While I have trouble going cold-turkey without Internet, I don’t mind using it less on vacation and getting it from a Y100-per-hour hostel computer or a friend’s laptop. I don’t need to call or text people all the time even in the US, let alone when I’m abroad and it costs $1000 a minute. Plus getting back in touch is one of the only good parts of going home! If I never get out of touch in the first place, I have no reason to ever come home from vacation again :-P

Writer's Block: Gadget Conundrum

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Camera, duh. Above all else I want to remember the vacation with my pictures. I know I don’t need the other things. I’ve never traveled with my laptop anyway, except to transport it when I moved to and from Japan during my semester in Kyoto and for JET, and I’ve gotten used to being without a working cell phone when I travel abroad. On three occasions (Japan to US May 20008; Japan to US December 2009; and US to Japan January 2010) I’ve gone from immediately having a working cell phone in one country to a working cell phone in another and that was nice, but I considered it a luxury, not a necessity, and it would honestly be really weird for me to have one that did work both places!

Giving up my ipod would be a little annoying, but it’s not like I can’t do it. I traveled abroad many times before I owned an ipod or even a portable CD player, and even since I’ve gotten my ipod I’ve had it run out of batteries on long flights, etc, that have made me functionally without it. International flights have movies, music selections, and free headphones, so while they might not be my top choices I would still have something to listen to for the flight. And once I’m where I am, I wouldn’t need the player anyway. The only time I use my ipod while traveling in new places is on really long train rides, but if I’m on my dream vacation I’d have a companion to talk to so I can go without music.

I think MyLifeScoop thinks I ought to be a lot more technology-dependent than I am, especially when traveling. I’ll admit I’m pretty damn Internet dependent, but as far as gadgets go, I can go usually go without. (And I often do by choice; I buy the cheapest phone on purpose and never covet those all-in-one phone/Internet/GPS/music player/camera gadgets that become obsolete to make way for the next phone/Internet/GPS/music player/camera/vibrator gadget). While I have trouble going cold-turkey without Internet, I don’t mind using it less on vacation and getting it from a Y100-per-hour hostel computer or a friend’s laptop. I don’t need to call or text people all the time even in the US, let alone when I’m abroad and it costs $1000 a minute. Plus getting back in touch is one of the only good parts of going home! If I never get out of touch in the first place, I have no reason to ever come home from vacation again :-P