Expedition Mindset

***Breaking News:  We just experienced a magnitude 4.8 earthquake!  Our Icelandic experience helped prepare us for sensation.***


The Greenland influence was all over this trip.  I couldn't help taking what I saw there, the expedition mindset and applying it to my life. 

If you haven't read the article The Executioner recommended, please do.  It is excellent.  What I wouldn't give to be that good.  I belong in the other camp, which favoured lightness and speed.

I've been travelling with just carry on for years (can you believe this last trip marked my 26th time to Europe?!  Me neither.  If D didn't ask me to tally it, I wouldn't have realized.) as I hate waiting for luggage especially after a long flight.  So how to improve?  By reducing weight further from a technology standpoint.  I went on this trip with a total carry on weight of 8 pounds, thanks to a new lighter pack that got delivered in the nick of time.

The last 3 years has seen the electronics part of my packing inflate with laptops, tablet (The initial attempt at improvement.  D has since hijacked the device.), phones, chargers, adapters. 

I decided on this trip to try using my Wi-Fi capabilities on my Blackberry for checking in for flights, email and for photography (5 mega pixel).  So, if you were wondering why all the photos looked chopped off and a bit boxy, there's your reason.  I wasn't able to get it to zoom or widen.  Likely just user error.  But the weight savings from not having D's camera or our tablet was worth it.

If you are considering doing the same, make sure you disable the roaming if you don't have an oversea data plan.  We've read horror stories of people coming home to thousands of dollars in charges. 

My phone didn't work well on the browser front at all.  It kept getting overwhelmed and conking out -- Blackberry Bold 9700, 3 years old.  Very slow and frustrating.  I had to ask D to check in for me for the flights home.  Trying to pull up weather took ages.  If you want to test your Mobile's browser capabilities, try pulling up the full sites of Delta, Air Canada or The Weather Network. Finally my Ipod is the original type so it weights a lot compared to the newer smaller styles.  

Because I was at the end of my 3 year cell phone contract, once I got home, we went to see what my options were for a device that could take the place of my phone, ipod, camera, and can function more like a computer. I opted for the Samsung Note II.  I can even edit my spreadsheets with it. 

Of course afterwards, I find out the next one may be coming out later this year...But so far so good.  We've both been very impressed.  It feels familiar because it runs on Android, just like our tablet plus I can write notes on it.  It is large so I use a headset to make calls. 

Guess this means I'm working another 3 years (This phone serves as my business line).  Signing this second contract wasn't as traumatic as the first one even though it is costing me $20 more per month.  I found out that the older Blackberrys compress data so they recommended upping my data plan to what "regular" smartphones use so I don't get dinged with extra charges.  And from what we are seeing so far (my new phone tracks data usage), they are correct. 

While we were at it, we explored newer TurboHub options as well as providers as our contract for that ended recently as well.  It is still the best option for us while at the cottage and serves as back up when Internet at home isn't working.  D has to have reliable Internet to be able to work from home, cottage or out west.  We happily pay extra for that privilege. 

This post has been brought to you from our new RocketHub.  D's currently working and we have 2 laptops and both cell phone browsers running (for testing purposes) and it is working like we are at home.  The real test will be when everyone else comes up for the long weekend and are using their devices...Happy Victoria Day Long Weekend Fellow Canadians!