July 17, 2015
Dear Everyone:
I’m getting ready to go up to
Portland, Oregon next week.
That’s where this year’s ARMA* Leadership Conference will be
taking place.
Naturally, I’ve already started a Trip List.
A Trip List, as the name suggests, is simply a list of things to
remember to take with me on a trip.
Some things are painfully obvious, like remembering to take
deodorant and a hairbrush.
And maybe an umbrella.
Others are more specific.
For instance, if I’m going to a wedding I need to take special clothes
and shoes. If I’m going to
be flying to my destination I want to remember the
MP3 player and
noise-cancelling headphones.
There was a time when I used to travel on business every month or so.
I even had a rudimentary “Go Bag”.
This is a travel bag that already contains everything you need
for a generic trip, where you can just grab the bag and go, hence the
name.
And since we almost always went to Ashland for the world-famous Oregon
Shakespeare Festival every summer, the list for that trip was almost
always the same. Most
importantly, remember to take the theater tickets.
And a cooler filled with cold soft drinks for the very long
drive.
So right there we have two very different sorts of Trip List.
In fact, I long ago created templates for business trips and
Ashland trips. When a new
trip presents itself, I only need to copy the appropriate template,
rename it, and use it for this trip, making adjustments as necessary.
For this particular trip, one thing on the list is the “ARMA Bag”.
This is a kind of “go bag” in itself.
It contains all the things I typically need for any ARMA event.
Such as a name badge holder, some kind of notepad for taking
(what else?) notes during presentations, a small stack of
business
cards, and so on. (Note to
Self: Print more business
cards.)
Another advantage to Trip Lists is, because I make a new one for every
trip, I have a kind of record of all the trips I’ve taken.
So when I ask myself, “What was the last trip I took and where
did I go?” I have at least
the beginning of an answer.
Last March, I went somewhere.
But the Trip List was very, very short and did not include
anything for overnight.
Ergo, it was a single-day trip.
Of course! The ARMA
Spring Seminar in
Milpitas.
Before that, the International Conference in
San Diego.
And before that, the Wedding Trip to
Denver, where (almost)
everyone got sick. (Note to
Self: Make sure
Pepto Bismal
is on the list, just in case.)
I actually have these lists going back twenty years.
No kidding.
Prior to that, I didn’t have a computer to keep the lists in.
I do remember one summer when we were going to Ashland.
I had packed only very light cotton sun dresses to wear since it
was very hot out. About 200
miles into the trip I suddenly realized that I had forgotten to pack a
slip to wear under the sun dresses.
And I’ve been making Trip Lists ever since.
Programming Note: I’ll be in
Portland next week, so no Letter.
Like the quote says:
“Hang on tight and pretend it’s a plan.”
Love, as always,
Pete
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