Tag Archives: travel

Bucket List?

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Time to take a break from organising, decluttering and the regular day-to-day activities at work and home.

I keep hearing people speak of bucket lists so I decided to investigate a little further.  I found this definition thanks to Google:

early 21st century: from the phrase kick the bucket ‘die’ (see kick1), popularized by the 2007 film The Bucket List.

There are many bucket list ideas floating around on the internet if you care to look but I think this defeats the purpose somewhat as you are really just following the mob.  I prefer to carve out my own unique path.

Bucket listThe majority of online bucket lists tend to follow a general focus on travel, extreme sports/activities and philanthropy.  Travel is a passion and while we have lots of ideas of places we would love to see both in Australia and overseas, I do not have a specific list of places to go.  Extreme sports or activities would probably go on my list of things that I will definitely not do before my time on earth is ended.  I would love to volunteer and provide support for those less fortunate , especially when I am no longer working full-time.  However, I am not sure that this really fits with a list of things that I want to experience.

I have never considered ever actually writing a list of things I want to do. I think that a list creates the risk that you can become so focused on ticking things off the list that the enjoyment is lost.

That is not to say that I do not have goals and aspirations.  I just haven’t written them down and numbered them as 1 to 100.

Do you have a bucket list?  What are your thoughts?

Wardrobe Workhorses & Wishlists

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This week the weather has turned warm, even hot by some standards and it is officially still winter.

Many of my clothes are suitable for most of the year depending on how I wear them.  However, the warmer weather has made me stop and think about what new things I might consider buying this season.  I have 3 good pairs of shorts and probably enough skirts but it might be time to get some new tops.  Other than that the 2 main things on my wishlist for summer are sandals and a hat.  My current sandals are well-worn and have been repaired.  They will keep going for some time yet but it would be nice to have a new pair to wear to work during the summer months.  The hat that I crave is a straw one in a dressy style.  Since I am not tall, I find that I need a hat with a straight or slightly upturned brim or otherwise I end up looking like a mushroom.  I have a fabric hat which is fine for travelling and beachwear but I would really like one that I can wear with a dress in the city.

That is enough about my wishlist, now for the workhorses.

Singlet tops

These are some singlet tops that I bought at Uniqlo when we were visiting Japan in 2009.  They are some of the most versatile items I have ever owned.  I wear them as singlets in winter, pyjama tops with boxer shorts, tank tops in summer and even to work as a camisole with a skirt and cardigan.  The lace edging and straps are actually elastic lace and they are really comfortable.  When these wear out I will definitely buy more or possibly make some if I can find suitable elastic lace.

Having items of clothing that do double or even triple duty will be very useful when I come to pack when we travel overseas.  I am hoping to travel as lightly as possible.  Do you have any particular ideas that have worked for you?

Travel and Treading Lightly

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The Duke and I did a road trip for 2 weeks in May and with some thought and planning I was able to maintain many of the habits from home while we were on the road.

This trip is a little different.  I am at a work conference at the Novotel Forest Resort at Creswick in Victoria.

This is the view from the balcony outside my room.

We are here until Friday afternoon so I am sure there will be lots more to tell but I just thought I would share some points I have discovered today about the environmental impact and potential sustainability when you are travelling and have no real choice in anything.

The Good:

I caught the train to the airport.

I am combining 3 days in Victoria for pleasure after the conference so only one lot of air travel for 2 purposes.

I took my own snack and drink to have at the airport – no takeaway bought.

Qantas now promote separating the recyclable items from the waste eg: cans, bottles and plastic cups handed to flight attendants separately.

Travelled by bus from airport to venue.

Lunch provided in brown paper bags which I saved and will take home.  They are quite large with strong handles.

Minimal lighting in resort corridors – main lighting is activated by movement.

Door opening onto balcony – means I can have fresh air and ventilation – do not have to rely on airconditioning.

Card in the bathroom promoting shorter showers.

The Bad:

Non-recyclable packing from snack on the plane.

I travelled by plane.

Lunch items were wrapped in plastic film.

Bottled water was provided with lunch.

All in all it has not been too bad in terms of environmental impact.

Tying Up Loose Ends

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I am quickly putting this post together while I run through my lists (written and in my head) to make sure I have everything organised for my trip.  I am heading off in the morning to a work conference in Victoria, followed by the weekend with friends in Melbourne and Bendigo.

As usual I set myself all sorts of goals to achieve before I go.  These included creating a costume for the dinner on Thursday night, getting all of the washing and ironing up to date and meals planned for when we get back.  We arrive home on Monday  and then it will be 4 full days at work for the rest of the week so I need things at home to run smoothly hence the need to plan ahead.

My bags are packed, all the gadgets (phone, laptop, camera, iPod and Kindle) charged and chargers packed and clothes laid out for tomorrow so I feel prepared.  Hopefully, I can go to bed relaxed and get a good night’s sleep.

Here is one loose end that I have yet to tie up – the paperwork that I culled last week is now a bag of shredded paper which is sitting in the corner of the office.  I will deal with that when I get time.

2011-08-30 01Not matter how much time I have before I travel I always manage to find enough things to do to fill my time up until the last minute.  How about you?