Travel & Adventure

There is something inherently aggressive about airline seats pushing back into fellow passengers. It shows a complete disregard for their personal space, especially when slammed back in one swift movement without even a look behind to see what might be in the way at any given moment. I’ve been hit, had drinks spilled and nearly cracked a laptop screen because someone someone pushed the recline button and went back full force. And of course because I think about this I’ve become extremely self conscious about it and won’t dare to recline my own seat if the one behind me is occupied out of fear that I’m being an ass. But that’s kind of the problem, when someone does this I immediately hate them. Meanwhile they are only doing exactly what the seat they paid for was designed to do – so where is the middle ground?

The problem is that these seats were designed many years ago and as we all know airlines haven’t been raking in the bucks they used to so they’ve been forced to try and add more seats on flights by pushing rows closer together which makes a reclining seat back far more intrusive than it used to be. I’ve actually taken to asking people if it’s ok if I put my seat back just a little bit before doing it, and I resent when people don’t do the same. And don’t get me started about kids who put the seat forward and backward 300x times in a single flight.

On my last flight back to LA from Washington DC the plane was rather empty, including the seat in front and behind me which was nice because I wasn’t worried about any of this. Until midway through the flight when some guy decided his row was too crowded and moved into the empty row in front of me, in the seat in front of me and promptly threw back his seat. I tapped him on the head and asked he he had any idea that he’d just slammed his seat into my legs and knocked my laptop onto the floor (which he had). He replied that he didn’t, but it wasn’t his fault. I told him of course I didn’t blame him, and hoped he also wouldn’t blame me when the turbulence we were about to have just as I was standing up caused me to dump my beverage all over him.

I guess he realized I was serious and brought the seat back up and moved to a different row with no one behind him.

But my ranting and raving point to this is these seats suck major ass, but taking 3 seconds to check with the person behind you before moving into their space goes a very long way towards maintaining positive relationships with your fellow man (or woman).

Since people were asking I posted how I was packing for a week in Japan with only one bag. Since I’m currently mid-packing in Tokyo to return to LA I thought I’d evaluate how that worked and what I’d do different next time.

Two things I didn’t take into account enough – the incredibly hot and humid weather and the ability to do laundry in the sink in my hotel room.

Because of the heat, had I to do this over again I would exchange one of the long sleeve shirts I brought for a short sleeve one. I never wore the extra long sleeve shirt that I brought. I’d also bring along another pair of shorts because some days the humidity really was bad and those would have helped walking around.

Because of the laundry I was able to keep the majority of what I had clean on a cycle, and ended up with a few unworn items so I should remember that for a trip of this length I can likely get by with 1 or 2 less pairs of socks, underwear and t-shirts.

This was one of the first trips I’ve ever brought 2 pair of shoes and I rather enjoyed the flexibility that gave me.

In the technology world, the Airport express was a life saver because the hotel only offered wired internet. I also should have double checked the power situation because while Japan uses the same plug as the US, often they don’t have 3 prong options and the mini-powerstrip I brought required 3 prongs so that ended up being useless.

The biggest surprise for me was how much I used the Kindle for iPhone app to read books. This turned out to be perfect and next time I think I’ll load that up rather than bring any physical copies of books.

I’m in Tokyo for the week for a few things which are all very exciting and awesome that I can’t wait to talk about in the (hopefully) near future. As you know I generally like blogging while on the road because it’s a good way to clear my head each day but I didn’t bring my MacBookPro because it’s in the shop, instead lugging around my Lenovo Netbook which is great for somethings, but not so hot for reflective writing because the smaller keyboard means frequently mistypes and makes it impossible to “get in the mood” so to speak. I have been posting pics so you can follow along at home if you like. Will recap when I’m back on a real keyboard. That is all.

I was talking the other day about super minimal travel and decided it was time for another “what I’m bringing” post, even though by this point it’s kind of old hat. I’m heading out to Tokyo in a few hours for a 10 day trip, here’s what I’m bringing:

I’m putting all of this in one backpack and one shoulder bag (photos of those after the jump). Click the above photo for details on what all that is. I’m actually brining a little more than I usually would simply because I’m not sure what my laundry situation will look like so I’m bringing things I can wash in a hotel room, and a few extra just in case drying takes a little while longer in the humid weather they are having. The bags are also a little larger than I would usually aim for (but I’m kind of giving them both a trial run for Urban Journal) so they actually have more empty room then I would like. Or as Tara explains it, extra room to bring her back stuff.

Not pictured are my iphone which I took the photo with, and toiletries since i generally don’t pack those until morning when I don’t need them anymore. Pro tip: I pack toothbrush, deodorant, melatonin, hair stick, but no shampoo or toothpaste because I can buy those there and that way I don’t have to pull anything out for TSA.