Tim’s Ramblings

So, I’ve seen people do this now and again so I’d thought I’d give it a shot too.

Travel bloggers and such have, in the past, shared what they pack for a flight. Examples include Joi Ito and on Road Gladiator.

My carry on luggage tends to be a bit different from a typical domestic traveler. Since I tend to be flying anywhere from 10 to 13 hours at a time, I DO do some work but there’s only so much you can do before your battery runs out. That and working in those tiny seats in economy is horrible. HORRIBLE. I can barley open my laptop (well…actually I can’t on the tray) when the guy in front of me leans back.

So basically, over the past few years, I’ve slowly started to perfect my “long flight survival pack”. It has everything I need to keep me entertained and sane during the flight. Also it’s important to have stuff that won’t cause me to fall asleep as, to battle jetlag, I need to stay awake during most of the flight. If I sleep, it’ll be for no more than an hour total. All of this has to fit in one backpack. I finally found a good one (a Swiss Army laptop backpack) and it’s impressive what you can fit in it.

So…here is, in all it’s glory…my 13 hour flight survival pack.

Click on the link for an even closer look!

Oh…also…just for privacy sake, I blocked out the work logo…so no…my business card doesn’t really look that crappy….

First off, we have some of my business stuff.

On the left is a folder along with my boarding pass. Next to it is my small travel umbrella. In a commuter town like Tokyo, you NEED one of these so I’ve learned to just stick it in the side pocket of my backpack so I won’t forget it.

Next to them are my business card holder that also contains my trainpass in the back, extra business cards since I go through them fast, and a small coin purse. Yes…a coin purse. Another necessity in Japan where the smallest bill is equivalent to about $10 while a 100yen coin (about $1) is the size of a quarter. You get LOTS of change….

Next to all that is my green leather notebook. A gift from my dad before they left for Japan. Probably a regift but it’s nice. An Ashford, I wasn’t too much of a fan of the green color but it’s starting to fade and is starting to take on some character :) Oh, and under the umbrella is a small towel/hankie. It comes in handy for many things. Like they say in the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy – don’t forget your towel!

Now for the books!

This is an ever changing selection. This time I have a Computer Games magazine, Freakanomics that I finally picked up after tons of recommendations, and a sequel to the “Why do Men Have Nipples” book. It’s a fun and entertaining read. Highly recommend it.

Oh, and also, I packed a few Cliff Bars. They are tasty and filling and far far better than the utter slop that they feed you on these flights. It’s just downright naaaasty. Thankfully I can also buy drinks and bring them on the plane now. Before, when I couldn’t, it was torture. And Cliff Bars dry your mouth out so I didn’t bring any last time.

Next up is what I like to call my “fun pack”

Everything you see except my cel phones fits into that little bag on the left which works out perfect since I can pull that out and put it under my seat.

We got my personal cel phone (the oval blue and silver one), my work Blackberry, and my Japanese cel phone (the boxy one with the charms hanging off of it). Next to the cel phones you see my MP3 player (no it’s not an iPod…it’s better dammit!) and next to that is my USB cable and my little Canon camera.

The 3 plastic cases with what looks like mini-CD’s in them are my Playstation Portable games. Each one can hold 8 PSP games. Do I play them all? Nope. But I like the selection. The silver square with the DS logo on it contains 8 Nintendo DS games. Next to that is an extra PSP battery and next to the PSP game cases is a blue Nintendo DS touch pen (easier to hold than the small thin one that’s included in the DS).

Of course, next to the pen is my PSP on top of the soft case for it and next to that is my white Nintendo DS Lite.

Finally, my laptop.

On the far right is my Bose Quiet Comfort II headset and cable. This is worth every penny. It really does cut out the engine noise and pump any sound through it and you can’t hear a thing (except for screaming babies that still manages to cut through the noise reduction….grrrr….). Oh, and the little case in the middle of my headphones contains an extra battery and adaptors so if I fly Continental, I can still plug it in into their proprietary jacks.

Next to that is what many of you might call a “man purse”….you bastards. *ahem*…anyway, this little pack contains my passport and my green card. Very handy to have and harder to lose.

Above the pack you see my Sony wireless mouse (the red boxy thing) and next to that are my 2 USB drives (a nice 512MB Sandisk and a 1GB Kensington) and the smallest USB drive looking thing is a HASP (or a dongle) for our software.

Of course, there is also my lovely lovely Fujitsu laptop and the power cable.

So, that’s it. This is what I travel with. Of course, for vacation flights and such, there may be an extra camera or I won’t have my passport, but all in all, this is my standard travel kit.

Oh, and I don’t travel with toiletries and such. Yes…I’m gambling with fate…but I’m hoping that the tag that says “Priority” will help in not getting my luggage lost……I hope…….

(^_^)