Gypsy Bits and Bytes

by Nomadic Chick on February 19, 2010

Apologies, I missed last week. I had zip to say except whine about my corporate tour-of-duty.

Bits and Bytes

It’s always a pleasure to meet another chick, and a Canadian to boot. Shauna Watson abandoned career overdrive for a one way ticket to Thailand. Throw caution to the wind, girl. I like you already. Though she’s been hoofing it for 13 months, she just launched her blog, Gypsy Chick Travels. Check out her stories, I am!

Are you hankering to take your blog to the next level? I “discovered” Problogger recently. Darren Rowse guides digital nomads on generating income or crafting a winning blog. He even has a job board. Sadly, money is required for shelter and food, might as well succumb to that fact.

Us travel junkies enjoy that touchy, new age word: sharing. We love to hear ourselves talk about the time we had a few coins left, trying to cross the border into Laos, but neglecting to realize there was an entry bribe. Such sweet moments. If you’re a blowhard like me, Were You There is a decent site. Start a profile and tap into collective stories. Not all of them are sourced from long term travelers, many document short trips, such as a memorable excursion to a museum or a short vacation to Mexico. You can even read memories from a certain era.

Yes, the Olympics are in Vancouver. No, I haven’t exerted any ink on the matter. I’ll leave it to the major papers. My support of the games is not favorable. I love the camaraderie and cheering on Canada, but the hidden impact doesn’t look rosy. Even David Suzuki rated Vancouver’s “sustainable games” in the bronze category.

Must Reads

I was blown to bits after reading this lovely story written by one of Lillie’s students. Pamela recounts her first day at Covenant Preparatory School.
Having only experienced the government system, private school territory is scary and fraught with lurking witches. She gathers enough strength to engage in the culture without knowing a soul. Sounds a bit like stepping off a plane into an unknown country, don’t you think?

A seasoned journalist, Caitlin Fitzsimmons’ piece on fat discrimination by airlines is brilliant. I’ve lived on both sides of the argument. Though I was not clinically obese, what’s relatable are people hurling harsh judgments. Weight gain is vilified in our culture. What thin people don’t realize is the underlying, segregated lives heavy people endure daily. Kevin Smith has the power to shed light on this because he’s famous. Regular folk, not so much. Caitlin did an adept job when describing other annoying passengers that fly, pointing out that such people have annoying habits, but airlines target portly people based on their body composition. I call it – not fair and horrid.

Nomadic Chick News

Despite no shower and lousy punctuality, I still managed to secure a new contributor. Her first piece will appear March 15. Look for it.

Thunderous handclaps go to GRRRL Travler for being my first podcast victim. I’m planning more in the future, so keep listening. Let’s hope I can maintain that community radio flavor for future recordings. It’s pretty humorous hearing the amount of “ums” that exit my mouth. I’ve been watching hockey player interviews virtually all my life. Thanks, Trevor Linden!

Have a splendid weekend!

Photo: Pat MacDonald under Creative Commons

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