March 21, 2008
Pockets here, pockets there, I have pockets everywhere! I am my own worst enemy. I picked a suitcase with 8 pockets, a money belt with a pocket, a purse with 4 zippered pockets into which I put a wallet with, yes, a zipper, and a computer backpack that is the Swiss army knife of backpacks - 8 zippered pockets and several divider pockets in each main compartment. That’s at least 21 pockets to look into for, say, chap stick on the airplane. Or better yet, a credit card to pay for a tour. My frazzled brain burnt a few dendrites on that one. I’m so organized I need a master plan for all the pockets. In my infinite wisdom I took my credit cards out of my wallet to separate them from the cash thinking that that would be much safer. I put them someplace so safe I couldn’t find them. That panic attack sent me back to the hotel where I literally dumped the contents of the backpack and purse onto the bed in a search for the missing cards all the while formulating plan B. Fortunately they were tucked into one of the zippered pockets of my purse safe and sound. Thank you St. Anthony. Helpful hint when traveling alone: NEVER buy a new purse and backpack within a week of leaving. It’s like having someone else arrange your kitchen. Does this bespeak an accountant’s personality, that we constantly seek pigeonholes for everything?

THE PEOPLE
Sarah
Sarah is an 18 year old Canadian traveling in Auckland alone for one week having just finished a 4 month stay as an au pair with a family with 4 children who own a dairy farm near Wellington . This is a job she found over the internet that was just a posting. Yesterday she took “the jump” off the Sky Tower, a more controlled and upright version of bungee jumping. Obviously she thrives on risk. She intends to go to China this summer with her boyfriend. Then she will study in Vancouver to become a nurse.