Much as I love travelling, I am so over the transport part of it. Flying really sucks (though Air NZ makes it about as painless as possible – meals I actually look forward to and reasonable legroom. Three cheers for our national airline). And it’s official: I get seasick when there’s anything resembling a real current. Sigh.
I’ve also gotten soft after nearly six months staying put. We spent two nights in a hostel over in Cairns – a pretty nice one, too – and I felt squicky about it the whole time.
And now, it’s nice to be home. We just aren’t used to heat like Queensland temperatures! I don’t think I can explain to foreigners how mild Auckland’s climate really is.
This week’s links
MONEY
Jess shares her most extreme cheapskate moments
Paula reflects on her journey to figure out the purpose of money
Tonya made me smile with her post on taming your spending dragon
Frugal Portland breaks down some common investing jargon
Over at Cash Cow Couple, when being too generous backfires
Love this chat between Gretchen Rubin and JD Roth on money and happiness
Do you REALLY want to buy that? Two questions to ask yourself before handing over your wallet from Budgets are Sexy
TRAVEL
Aliens in the Apple are back in the US and reflecting on oddities they’d forgotten about
So much truth: 10 great and not so great things about long term travel, at Traveling 9 to 5
Gearing up for a world trip? Check out this prep list from Goats on the Road
This Quora thread pretty well sums up why overseas travel is a bit of a rarity in America, I think - EXCEPT for the money part. Flying anywhere from the US has nothing on the cost of flying anywhere from NZ, trust me. Plus you have the opportunity to travel hack with credit cards, another thing we don’t get
LIFE
Via Yes and Yes: the four word phrase that might change your life
Leslie lays it out: making plans like an adult
Thoughtful advice on getting through tough times via Zen Habits
How one couple achieved equality at home
A lovely summary of what management actually is (I know it’s not for me, but it was still insightful to read someone’s outlook on what a good manager actually does, especially in light of my recent exit interview)
Fast Company profiled Chelsea Clinton and her struggle to find her way as an adult – fascinating to read about her journey, though her version of ‘drifting’ is a pretty elite one
Finally, a reminder that you are more than your job:
The biggest myth we are fed as artists is that we need to sustain ourselves solely on our art. This is ridiculous. Every artist has at some point in time had some other job. Some of them kept these jobs their entire lives.
There is more nobility in hard work than in pure luck.
Real artists have day jobs, and night jobs, and afternoon jobs. Real artists make things other than art, and then they make time to make art because art is screaming to get out from inside them. Screaming, or begging, or gently whispering.