Fly In, Fly Out

I call it a drive-by assignment. I flew in the night before and then flew out the very next day, spending less than 24 hours in Ilocos, some seven hours of that sleeping. It was a fruitful assignment, however, as I got to meet this spectacularly inspiring woman. She is one hardworking lady, and she just makes me want to work, work, and work some more.

But that's not what this entry all about :) As I was packing for my trip that afternoon, I realized that I was packing more gadgets than clothes in my overnighter. Over the years, I've mastered the art of packing light. I usually have a lot of black stuff to mix and match, just enough undies (I can always wash and dry them super fast), and teeny tiny toiletries. This trick has served me well, and I often have the smallest travel bag in our group. Once, I managed to pack all my stuff for a three day-two night trip in a regular-sized shoulder bag (we were going to stay in a beach resort so I just brought a bunch of swimsuits and sarongs).

These days, however, I can't afford to be light. When I travel, I bring my netbook (to work and check my and Facebook), my netbook's charger, my digital camera, my battery charger, my cell phone charger, my tape recorder (yes, I know I should change to a voice recorder but I just don't have the time to shop around), and extra batteries. Add those things up and they definitely make for a not so very light bag. Still, the tools of my trade are lighter than those of my photographer friends. All those lights, and umbrellas, and tripods... hassle!! However, the most favorite gadget that I've ever seen brought on a work assignment is that of my girlfriend E's. Assigned to go to a far-flung island without any electricity, he brought along with him a blow dryer. How's that for gadget love?! :)