What I take on the plane: Tips for carry-on luggage!
I wanted to take a picture of the good eats I bought for the weekend but I haven’t had a moment of downtime. So instead of a post about the food, which will have to come later, I decided to tell you a bit about what I pack in my carry-on for these plane trips. It’s funny to me when friends who aren’t involved in debate freak out about flying and ask tons of people for advice on what to pack. My carry-on is in a virtual state of preparedness. I am never *not* packed for a trip. Probably because I don’t have time to unpack from the last one.
I bring two carry-on bags and neither of them are a suitcase. I understand that airlines charge for luggage, and that sucks. However, I also recognize the stress that carrying everything on entails. Especially when you have teens in tow. Until I made elite status on Delta, I always carried on luggage for my personal travels and I was paranoid about overhead space and fitting everything into smaller bags. However, now my bags fly for free. And my students always check bags, so there is no time savings for me to carry on mine. So, as I mentioned before, I carry on two smaller bags.
The first bag is my camera bag. I love my DSLR. It’s my baby. I have two bags I alternate for it. One is a Jo Tote which doubles as a purse. The other is a basic small camera bag that just holds the camera and an additional lens. I have a strap attached to it for one of my pillows, which will be discussed later, and it has a pouch for my cell phone. But that’s it. Small and simple.
The second bag varies, depending on how long the trip is. However it always holds my laptop. I have a Camelbak that has a laptop sleeve as well as a Mobile Edge bag which holds my laptop and small travel printer. The Camelbak is great when I want to throw my travel pillows and a blanket in for a red-eye flight but it isn’t as protective for the printer.
I mentioned pillows. I have one for my back (not this exact one but close) and this neck pillow I LOVE! It is bulkier than an inflatable but so much better for sleeping. Seriously, if you travel and like to sleep on planes, you need one! When I bring a jacket on board, I forgo the blanket to save space.
In addition to the tech and the pillows, I have a set of headphones and my iPhone which doubles as a music player and e-reader. And snacks. I always have snacks for the flight. Whether it is fresh fruit, pistachios, a single energy bar or a sandwich and fresh veggies. One thing to note though is that I never pack more than I plan on eating. Because when boredom hits, I am tempted to eat it all. So portion control is key.
What is in your carry-on? Any unique tips? Would love to hear them!
Someone was reading my mind last night…
I started this blog after a number of conversations with coaches in the high school and college community. When I was in college, there were coaches studying and writing about how unhealthy the lifestyle of debate can be on it’s participants. That was almost a decade ago. However, even today there is a push to increase the focus on creating a healthy environment.
While no one may be reading my blog yet, a college debater who knows I am attempting to live healthier, directed me to a college debate forum focused on the Healthy Debater Initiative. To my surprise, I found an email I had written to another coach had been shared with the community about healthy eating tips. How cool is that! While my eating habits have changed (I rarely eat animal products), I still follow most of the guide.
It is good to know that there is a movement at the college level for a healthier debate community. I hope the high school community will take notice and work to improve our environment as well. I am probably on a plane to Chicago as this post is being auto-published. After we check-in to the hotel, my students and I will had to the grocery store. I have a shopping list from my assistant coach who arrives later in the evening and will create my list on the plane. Tomorrow I will share the stash with you, so you can get an idea of what this Healthy Academic is eating.
A Critical Self-Examination of the Health of Competitive Forensics Coaches
You don’t know me, but I wanted to tell you that I am an addict. I spend most weekends feeding my addiction. Most of my friends are addicts as well and often when we get together, our addiction is all we can talk about.
Twenty or more weekends on the road. Summers spent in dorm rooms and classrooms and libraries. Monday through Friday spent with adolescents, discussing research methods, delivery styles, argument structure followed by weekends with those same students at exotic locations like Lexington, Kentucky. Nights spent in chain hotels that all eventually blend together into a home away from home. Addiction. All of it.
If you haven’t figured out what I do by the title of this post, let me explain. I teach high school communication studies courses and coach a debate team. This means that I teach classes all week and then spend most weekends at debate tournaments. Many of these tournaments are located in other time zones which means that my high school students and I are hoping on planes, trains, and automobiles to get to destinations where we play academic mind games all weekend in high school and university classrooms. I spend almost every weekend during the school year at tournaments and during the summer I attend one or two more plus a couple of residential summer debate programs at various universities.
Debate coaches/teachers don’t do it for the money. That’s clear. Don’t ask what my hourly wage would be because I broke it down one year and almost had a breakdown. We do it because we love engaging students in the research and critical thinking that debate requires. We love watching our students discover new arguments for themselves and communicate those ideas and advocacies. Plus our students sometimes win things and that makes us proud. Finally, after awhile, the debate community becomes a part of our extended family and going to tournaments in like a family reunion.
My sane friends, the ones who don’t do debate, and strangers often say, “I don’t know how you do it!” Well after some prodding, I decided I would spend the next year telling you how. This weekend, one of the largest and most well-known high school tournaments in the country will take place in Illinois, and what better time to start a daily blog than right before a high-stress event?
I was hesitant to create this blog. I had a personal blog that didn’t have my name attached. A few students found my blog and I panicked and shut it down. There wasn’t anything too personal, but it was weird and I didn’t like it.
I knew that writing this blog would put me out there. People will read this blog and will know who I am. And I had to make sure I was okay with that. I have decided that the purpose of this blog was more important that the minor discomfort of putting myself in the virtual public eye.
Debate is a competitive activity but a sedentary one. Combine long periods of research and debate rounds with incredibly late nights and early mornings. Fast food, caffeine, travel, lack of sleep and little down time all contribute to a lifestyle that isn’t healthy. I am not the picture of health and I am not alone. While many debate coaches do focus on health, our career path has obstacles built in by it’s very existence.
This summer, a debate coach I knew personally passed away. He wasn’t the first debate coach to die too soon and he probably won’t be the last. But his death was the straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back. I began to examine my life. I have made an effort to live a healthier life, taking up running in 2009 before getting injured, and making healthier food choices. However the lifestyle of a debate coach is demanding and the stress of the job means that sometimes I don’t want to prepare a healthy meal or hit the gym. And this stress can snowball into a pattern that is less than stellar.
I won’t make any promises of perfection. This isn’t a “change my life” blog. But rather it is the examination of a communications teacher/debate coach who is trying every day to do the job she loves while protecting her health to the best of her abilities. I recognize my job is a health-hazard. But I don’t think it always has to be. So I have decided to document my life for one year. From the travel to fitness to daily struggles to views on debate topics to just about anything else that life throws at me. You are invited to join my adventure as this coach documents my attempts at improving my health while being the best teacher/coach I can be.
The Healthy Academic 