I’m all in on this daily writing thing. After all, what’s the point of a daily blog if there’s not, you know, a blog daily? That would just be misleading. Like walking into a baseball stadium only to find out they forgot the baseball. Confusing, disappointing, and now you’re left wondering—what do I do with my hands? Where do I go from here?

I’ll start by admitting my patience is a bit shorter than it really needs to be. Extending it has been something I’ve been focusing on. Sure, I have moments where it lapses but two steps forward, one step back still keeps me moving in the right direction. I just believe if there’s something you want, why wait! Go get it NOW! Hence, my current and active progress towards patience. There has however been a dragon I’ve struggled to slay in my life and its presence has been felt more often as of late.

We’re back!!!! Yes, I hiked the dang thing which means my reward is conducting a post-hike exit interview🎉 YIPEEE!!! No, but for real it’s time I spill all the juicy tea on my experience because I most certainly underestimated the mountain…or overestimated my hiking ability!

I’m a very festive person. I go all in on holidays…at least the holidays in the back half of the year. I’ll admit I’ve slacked a bit on Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, and Easter since I graduated college. This is an attempt to get back some of that holiday spirit. Now, I could have gone in several directions here. I could have talked about Dublin and splitting the G, debate Boston or Chicago being the better place to celebrate St. Patty’s Day. Nope, my brain took a trip to the cereal bowl.

There’s a long list of terrible types of people in this world. Drivers who park their car over the line essentially claiming two spots. The people who watch videos on full blast, raw dog no headphones in public. Coworkers that replies all to a companywide email. The nasties that don’t wash their hands in the bathroom - especially public bathrooms! The window or aisle passenger that tries to claim the middle person’s armrest. The viewers who use their phone at the movie theater. I could go on with the pretty standard list of terrible people in our society. Unfortunately, I have a new type of person to the naughty list.

Every single day, without fail, you’re forced to answer one seemingly simple yet soul-crushing question. It’s relentless, never-ending, and somehow always worse when you’re at home. No matter how many times you tackle it, it comes crawling right back the next day, demanding your attention like like the check engine light in your car you’ve ignored for the last six days.

Let’s take a stroll down memory lane and crawl through a small window during my 4 months in Sydney, Australia. Australia was full of surfing waves, late night to early mornings, and stumbling into random neighborhoods. For months, I soaked it all in, as any wide-eyed traveler would. But there’s one weekend that sits a little differently, not because it was some wild adventure, but because it was the weekend I learned a valuable lesson.

I open the floor to debate what is the best show, movie, book, game, entertainment option when it comes to how you occupy yourself at 30,000 feet. I have plenty of different arguments I’ve made for this specific topic. But today, I’m here to argue why Below Deck, specifically Below Deck Mediterranean with Captain Sandy, is the perfect travel show

I’ve spent the last decade of my life with travel near or at the top of my priority list. Much of my life choices have revolved around new experiences and different cities. I’ve looked to expand my food pallet and understand different cultures. I’ve moved to different cities and states. I launched a travel brand. I say all of this to paint the picture of how important travel is to me. However, there is a problem I face when traveling.

I’m a big shower guy. Good news for anyone who ever hangs around me. Personal hygiene is important! But it’s more than just the hygiene aspect. It’s a part of my routine. It’s like a cup of coffee to jolt me awake in preparation of the day’s adventure. It’s also a huge reason why I dislike camping. The filth accompanied with the lack of shower options create my worst nightmare.

People love massages. They’re romantic. They’re relaxing. They’re healing. They’re soothing. Everybody only has nothing but great things to say about massages. When I complain about a stiff shoulder, someone from behind a bush will jump-scare screaming I need to get a massage. No matter what mood you’re in or how your body feels at any given moment, the answer to fix or maintain that feeling is a massage.

Coming back from a trip is always a hassle. There’s the obvious - going back to work! No more 5 days of enjoying the afternoon however you so please with a cocktail by the pool. Then there’s the less spoken about post-trip Return to Reality responsibilities that drown you the second you walk through the door. And somewhere in there is the need to unpack a weeks’ worth of carefree wadded up mess.

We as a society fixate on the laundry list of things that need to be done pre-travel. There are millions of blogs, videos, posts that dive deep into the strategies to master the clothes to pack, the must-dos for itineraries, when to buy airline tickets, on and on and on! (Lowkey only one source really nailed it *cough cough*) But NOBODY talks about the strategies and techniques to master life post-travel.

Staring at the near pitch-black ceiling that is only visible thanks to the single ray of light from the lamp post two blocks down that slipped through the crack of the window shades, I wonder how much longer I can lay here. I tap around my nightstand like a game of whack-o-mole in search of my phone. 4:17am.

Sorry I can’t come to the phone right now! How personal are these things supposed to be? Do I just say “hey, reach out to so and so if you need anything.” Do I add something about having my phone on me for emergencies even though we know I will not be responding to any work emergencies?

I like to consider myself a strategist. In developing a plan to squeeze in a movie before our trip, I had been scoping out movie theaters - seats and timing. I always get sticker shock when I go to confirm purchase. We usually snag the AMC 2 tickets & $20 gift card from Costco but I wasn’t sure if we’d have the time.