Friday 31 January 2014

The Girl Who Travels vs The Girl Who Loves To Travel


A recent blog post, Don't Date A Girl Who Travels, posted on lovethesearch.com by Adi Zarsadias got quite some interesting traffic after sharing it via social media. What was most interesting were the comments, with many girls agreeing that this post was exactly what girls who travel are like and with guys and a couple of girls stating that it made the girl look too carefree or flakey.

To summarize the article, the author states men should not date girls who travel unless they can keep up with spontaneity and adventure. Among some beautiful sun-kissed descriptions about girls who travel were these hard-hitting ones: This type of girl may have wasted her degree, doesn't have a permanent address nor knows when her next paycheck will come in. You can see why girls who love to travel got upset at those descriptions. But in all honesty it's quite the accurate description of a girl who travels.

While I disagree with the term 'wasted' her degree, I think she transferred the skills of independent thinking, responsibility-for-self, continuous learning, etc.to any occupation.

A girl who travels - this is not someone who goes on two-week vacations. This is someone who is nervous yet excited about uprooting her life and moving away for a year, at least. She might be cherry-picking in Australia this year, cow-tipping in southern France next year and teaching English in Korea the year after that. Truly, she knows not when her next paycheck will come in nor who will be the one paying it.

A girl who travels - while you may think she's flakey because she may change jobs frequently and may not even have a job you consider a 'real job' - before you criticize her or even try to understand her, realize she is living in a different league from you - not better nor worse, just different. There's no point comparing her to mainstream girls who just have a love for travel and dream of travel but could never even entertain the thought of a total uproot, let alone a backpacking adventure in hostels for months on end. There's a reason she's a freelancer, it always allows her to jump - flake, according to some - at any adventure.

The reason she doesn't have a permanent residence is because she's so used to living in different countries, she can't guarantee she'll be in this one for much longer. Or, that she lives with family when she's back in her 'hometown' as she'll be on her next adventure in no time.

And yes, she may never need you, but she will want you. She's independent enough to not depend on a partner but knows a very deep love, you'd be lucky to experience. She'll give you your space and encourage you to be your own individual but continue to love you, no matter the distance. Neither of you will be limited in your own bucket-lists just because you're a "couple" now.

Yes, most women who love to travel do share similar appreciations of travel as women who travel. They both want to see the world, both may be willing to backpack, stay in hostels, experience local cultures and become aware of the good and not-so-good that a country has to offer.

We all have a little bit of the Woman Who Travels in us, but can rarely commit to it as well as she can.

Friday 17 January 2014

Wearable Tech: The Age of Cool and Crazy but Companionless?


We’re heading into an age of wearable tech (see CES, a showcase on consumer electronics). If for some reason you still haven't heard of it, think USB necklaces, phone-charging bracelets, vibrating pants, GPS jackets, etc. Think Bond, James Bond. Wearable tech is technology that you can wear - hopefully fashionably. While it's a task in itself to design tech that can be worn on a person and is mobile all day, every day; it's even more cumbersome to make this technology fashionable, discrete and invisible.

As engineers and designers continue to collaborate to create items that will fill our lives in the near future, it's a clear sign that life is about to get busier. Who has time to call home and ask someone to turn off the dishwasher, just text your dishwasher to stop or repeat a cycle. Why ask a stranger for directions, instead wireless waves will tap you on the shoulder. Why waste time in a doctor's office around strangers, instead have an e-visit.

Yes, technology can and does make life more efficient, things happen much quicker and days go by much faster, but what's to say of how it will continue to shape our human interactive relationships with each other.

What's the impact wearable technology will have on relationships?
Instead of meeting up with people, we began to pick up the phone, and now we simply send out a 140 character message. When's the last time you laughed while typing out 'lol'? Why indulge in foreplay when I already caused your pants to vibrate at the bar for 20 minutes? Will we have more less-deeper connections? Or will be have cooler gadgets that will give us more in common to talk about? Will this create more ways for different groups to connect - like the vibrating pants club? Maybe tech is our way to connect now but don't forget to push forward for a more human connection - blog/post/click/like/share/snapchat/instagram your thoughts but also talk to your friends about it. 

People seem to be more connected yet less connected. Gadgets are cool, they make things previously impossible or too difficult, quick and easy. Hello, wearable medical gadgets, rather than being confined to a bed. And while quick and easy is great for some things - okay, maybe most things - it's not great for everything.No thank, food that can be consumed only in a pill form.

Once it becomes fashionable, it's made for the masses (see link on Barneys New York and CDFA's plans for collaboration with Intel). Fashion and tech will unite to affect our lives, as they always have. But when you wear a piece, don't forget to share it. Don't forget interpersonal connections. The increase in tech devices has increased everyone's number of acquaintances, but it's up to each individual to maintain if not increase their number of real friends.

Wearable tech means we'll be multi-tasking more often. Shoes that have an LED twitter feed will encourage wearers to tweet more at clubs (rather than enjoy the experience and interact with people?) and therefore to not just hold a drink, take a selfie, smile at the cute bartender but also to share it with the world. Aren't we already doing that? Yes, but if your shoes show you a constant twitter feed, aren't you constantly staring at it, reading people's tweets and feeling the urge to post?

Wearable tech would achieve its greatness in continuing to increase personal efficiency, being fashionable but also bringing people together. So far it's a sign that life's about to get busier and edgier, but hopefully not lonelier.

Upcoming event: Wearable Tech Expo