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Archive for April, 2007

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I hated it so much I went back for more…

Friday, April 27th, 2007

After thoroughly trashing Lush products in my previous post, I naturally decided to go back and try more of their stuff.

Clearly Lush is a successful company that doesn’t need me to tell it what to do, but what it needs to do, is fire whoever names its products.

As noted earlier, in anticipation of my trip and my goal to bring as little stuff (and liquids) as possible, I bought a $5 sampler of Trichomania “bar” or solid shampoo, which in latin, or greek, or some historical language no one uses anymore except Latins or Greeks, means “excited about hair”. Well, that’d be a totally cool name if wasn’t pretty much already the name of both a sexually transmitted parasite, Trichomoniasis, and a disorder that causes people to pull out their own hair, Trichotillomania.

[read on]

Who names a shampoo after an STD anyway?

Thursday, April 19th, 2007

Lush did not change my life. I’m rather sad about the fact as I was really hoping it would.

As a result of my addiction to toiletries, I have been experimenting with “bar” shampoo, in the interest of traveling with fewer liquids and with one product that should last the entire trip.

In case you’re not familiar with Lush, their value proposition (important term learned in MBA school) is:

    We believe in making effective products out of fresh organic fruit and vegetables, the finest essential oils and safe synthetics, without animal testing, and in writing the quantitative lists on the outside. We also believe that words like FRESH and ORGANIC have honest meaning beyond marketing.

I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt that “in quantitative lists on the outside” might be translated from another language. They are a British company, after all.

[read on]

$395, 3 Shots, and One Closed Consulate Later…

Wednesday, April 18th, 2007

Holy $#!@ shots are not cheap.

Went to the travel clinic today instead of my regular doctor because the shots are way cheaper (believe it or not!). I was planning on going back to work after but decided to come home and pass out instead. I must admit, I think it may have been the best sleep I’ve gotten in weeks, but the fact that I was operating heavy machinery across town was probably not the best of ideas. I wonder if there’s a condition called “DUV” Driving Under Vaccination? [read on]

Confessions of a Toiletry Addict

Monday, April 16th, 2007

Hello. My name is Snarky, and I am a travel-size toiletry addict.

One of the many bits of travel advice from seasoned travelers is “don’t bring too many toiletries. There’s almost nothing you can’t buy along the way.” This may be true, but when you’re an addict, there’s a little voice in your head that constantly says “but maybe they won’t have it, and it’s so cheap, and it’s so small how much weight to your pack can it really add, and it’s so cute!” [read on]

Backpacks don’t care how fabulously long your legs are

Tuesday, April 10th, 2007

Not that I’m the type that obsesses about things (ha ha), but you’d think getting a backpack for my trip shouldn’t be THAT difficult, right? Let me take you on a tour of Snarky’s World of Anxiety.

First problem: I’m short (5’2”)
Second problem: I’m short-waisted short.

If upper-body matched my legs, I’d probably be a leggy 5’7” or more (and maybe blonde and bubbly, too!). On the other hand, if my legs matched my torso, I think Mini-Me and I would hit it off rather well. So, I basically go from legs to neck, with a few well-placed diversions in between. [read on]

“You’re going WHERE?”
The Who, What, Where, When, WHY, and How

Sunday, April 8th, 2007

What NOT to say when someone tells you they are going on a trip to Africa:

    “Are you going to bring home an orphan baby?”

It wasn’t all that humorous the first time, it’s definitely not funny the fifth or fifteenth time and beyond. They’re doing a good thing that most of us wouldn’t do, so they get no snarkiness from me.

So why AM I going?
[read on]

Shots suck worse the next day

Wednesday, April 4th, 2007

When they put one in each arm so you can’t sleep on EITHER side during the night, and so the next day you’re both in pain AND exhausted!

Shots Suck

Tuesday, April 3rd, 2007

Today I did two things trip-related. I got two of my 10,000 shots (OK, 7 shots, but still!!) and went back to REI to further obsess over backpacks. Regarding shots have you by chance kept a rigorous history of all vaccinations you ever received as an adult or child? Yes? Well good for you — you’ll save yourself a lot of money and pain before traveling. For the rest of us, there’s needles. Lots and lots of needles (and lots and lots of MONEY). [read on]

Why REI has smart cookies working for them

Sunday, April 1st, 2007

When I was an anthro student there floated around a list of jokes such as “you know you’re an anthropologist when you see someone with a limp and the first thing you think is how you’d like to see the wear patterns on their tarsals.” It’s funny if you’re an anthropologist, believe me. [read on]