My Travel "Essentials"
plus: 80s inspiration; the best times to do EVERYTHING; and hummus art!
Hello! I hope you’ve had a good week. Please join me in giving the month of March a rousing welcome, hoping it brings us fair weather and good luck!
Today begins a week-long road trip visiting college campuses with my 17-year-old daughter: a uniquely American experience. In Australia, where I grew up, most students attend a local college and live at home, and with less than 50 universities in the entire country, the application process is less complicated, with the emphasis on standardized test scores and grades.
I’m looking forward to our trip while feeling anxious about the mornings: I’m an early riser - Sadie is not - and when we share hotel rooms, our days can get off to a tense start as I attempt to noiselessly make tea and use my phone flashlight to write my morning pages while she sleeps.
I could avoid the inevitable teenage groaning (“Mom, NO!”) and dramatic pillow rearrangement by getting up later, but I’m willing to pay the price because maintaining my morning routine while traveling is crucial for my well-being.
Starting my days right is so important to me that I pack a mini electric kettle, my preferred English tea bags, lactose-free milk powder, and my journal and favorite pens to write with.
I’m the grown-up version of a toddler who can’t sleep without their blankie, but the security objects I’m clutching are my electric kettle and notebook…
As high maintenance as this may be, I know I’m not alone: my in-laws travel with their favorite brand of instant coffee, a good friend packs exercise equipment, and I see many people carrying mini pillows around airports; all things I do not require!
Of course, I’d love to know: leave a Comment and tell me what you can’t you live without when you travel…or if you’re the carefree, carry-on-only type I secretly envy?!
📺 The Greatest Night in Pop: this documentary is a delightful retelling of how, in 1985, wielding Rolodexes and landline phones (and wearing wild hair, ugly sweaters, and shiny tracksuits), Lionel Richie, Michael Jackson, and Quincy Jones managed to assemble nearly 50 of the most famous and successful vocalists of the day to record a song (We Are The World) to raise funds to alleviate famine in Africa. Lionel Richie is the superhero of the story: from writing the song and wrangling the talent on a tight deadline to hosting the American Music Awards, performing twice at the event, and accepting 6 awards himself, on the same night as the We Are The World recording took place, Richie’s commitment and passion was infectious, resulting in a life-changing experience for him, and a mega-hit that raised the equivalent of $200M. Warning: the song will get stuck in your head…
🎧 The Tim Ferriss Show: Claire Hughes Johnson: This podcast episode is over 2 hours long, but well worth the time, for the wealth of astute and actionable leadership, management, and life advice given by Claire Hughes Johnson, a longtime Google and Stripe executive, and author of Scaling People: Tactics for Management and Company Building. There are many useful tips in this interview, including how managers can create a “user guide” about themselves; the best personality tests; plus rules for protecting your schedule and renegotiating commitments when necessary.
📨 Experimental History: You Can’t Be Too Happy, Literally: a fascinating think piece by experimental psychologist Adam Mastroianni about our in-built happiness and sadness “set points” and his hypothesis that our brains have control systems to regulate our feelings, along with all our other functions. Mastroianni muses, “If people just want to feel good all the time, then why do they watch movies about the Holocaust? Why do they go to haunted houses? These experiences cause “negative affect,” and yet people seek them out…Maybe it’s because people are driven to feel bad sometimes, and that’s something a normally functioning mind would do, just not too much.”
👓Looking for something else to watch or read? More ideas here:
📆 March 2024 Recs // 📖 Books // 📺 TV Shows // 🍿 Movies
In Case You Missed It: A great explainer from
on “hidden gem” subreddits // Why a pop of red works in decorating // Hummus art! // A very inspiring gift // 99 compliments that aren’t about appearance // The best new books on food to read this Spring // Everything “leap year babies” want us to know // A subjective - and delightful - guide to the best times to do EVERYTHING // Were your parents right about anything? // Packing inspo 😉 //That’s it for this week! Thank you for reading and see you next Friday! xo Amelia
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Are you able to share what colleges you are touring? Would love to know if y'all are touring my alma mater and happy to provide recommendations if so! 🤗
Chamomile tea, favorite sweets, my iPad and Kindle to the brim with books and shows for the plane and for other unforeseen delays, and 10g melatonin gummies.