Tag Archives: networking

Crazy is the new cool. Meet, Plan, Go told me so.

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I’m just an itty bitty, teeny tiny inch past my mid-twenties (Eek! …And I thought I’d be 17 forever. So much for that…) and I live out of a suitcase and I don’t have a permanent address—and a lot of people tell me (even if sometimes it’s only with their eyes) that that makes me a little crazy. And well frankly, they’re right. I am a little crazy. Hell, I’m probably more than a little crazy. But regardless, I’m crazy, and happily so.

A little crazy and proud of it!

I fought for a long time to “reform” myself of my “here, there, and everywhere” lifestyle, always Kung Fu-ing myself (…because that just sounds cooler than saying “beating myself up”) for not settling into the infamous “9 to 5,” salaried job. But long ago (as in 5-some odd years …And yes, that seems like a long time ago to my “spry, youthful-not-nearing-thirty self.” …Did I mention I was in denial about my age?) I sat down with myself and had a little face-to-face pow-wow. All said and done, we (I) walked out the room a little scratched up and teary eyed and definitely a bit scared and uncertain, but the battle was settled. Change of plans. From that point on, I was going to embrace my life out of a suitcase, no more fighting it. (Cue Mel Gibson. “Freedom!”)

(By the way, just for the record, I did not actually scratch myself. Pretty sure that would’ve taken me from crazy status to just plain psychopath.)

…Now this of course could devolve into a long ol’ story about my transition after making the decision to accept my nomadic side and all the good, bad, and ugly that followed, but that’s not the point of this post. The point is…

Apparently I’m not the only crazy person out there!

…And ok, I did actually already know that. I mean really, I just walk down the street (especially in San Francisco) and I end up feeling relatively normal in comparison to my fellow passersby. But among my peers and friends (and their Facebook pages) I feel a bit like a funky monkey. They have houses. I have a car and a sleeping bag. They have a salaried job. I have a MacBook, a blog, and a collection of freelance work projects. They have 2 weeks vacation. I have total travel freedom. (Muhaha!) So yes, I feel like an oddball, but given all that being an oddball includes, I am totally okie dokie artichokie with that…

Sherry Ott, co-founder of Meet, Plan, Go, and Spencer Spellman, a freelance travel writer and blogger, were two of the "crazy" panelists at the Meet, Plan, Go event in San Francisco.

And on Tuesday night, I found a little bit of crazy-people heaven on Earth. Tuesday night was the Meet, Plan, Go nationwide event and I attended the San Francisco portion. The event was packed with fellow travel junkies living (or eager to live) the same way I do. When I told people I ran my life out of a suitcase the response was, “Awesome!” Versus the typical, “You do what?” followed by a look of “bless her heart” (and a $5 bill from time to time. Not that I’m particularly complaining about the free money part…).

Even the panelists (Sarah and Morgan Smith, Kristen Zibell, Spencer Spellman, and Sherry Ott) spent their time up front ranting and raving about the joys of being considered “crazy” by most people’s standards and living and loving the travel life. (I don’t know what it is, but there’s something very comforting about a person with a mic telling you that the way you are is a-ok. …Wow, do I sound the like perfect cult victim or what?!…) And sitting there listening to fellow crazies share their stories, I couldn’t help but grin a bit, realizing that for the first time in a long time I felt right at “home,” surrounded by people who understood and shared my lifestyle.

Of course, regardless of whether or not Meet, Plan, Go ever gave two thumbs up to my kooky lifestyle, I would’ve been/still am crazy, living and treasuring my life out of a suitcase. But I can’t lie–it was a welcomed treat on Tuesday night to meet and hang out with some equally loco-minded travelers and to be reminded that I’m not alone in this wackiness of mine.

So it looks like crazy may be more in style than I thought. And I’ve found my peeps, my crazy, funky monkey, oddball, travel-hungry peeps. Finally!

Here’s my card, now take me to Thailand! – How I got invited on my first press trip

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This April, I, quite unexpectedly, ended up spending 10 days in Thailand. And not just any 10 days, 10 free days (I mean, not to brag or anything). The occasion for my visit was this nifty (and by nifty I mean, “Why the hell didn’t I know about this sooner?!”) little thing called a “FAM trip” (also often referred to as a “press trip”).

Now when I say the trip was unexpected, I totally mean it. And just to prove my point, here’s the quick (a.k.a. perhaps not so quick) play by play (and in some cases, second by second) of how I was invited in the first place.

Sometime in early March…

Alexandra, recently unemployed, decides to apply for a travel writing “position.”  (I use the word “position” lightly as it was more a, “Here, work hard and don’t get paid” sort of thing.)

Two weeks later…

Alexandra decides not to be lazy on a Saturday and goes to the Los Angeles Times Travel and Adventure Show.

That Saturday at the Travel and Adventure Show…

Not gonna lie, I loved getting to have a media pass. In fact, I pretty much sported that pass like I was a rapper and it was my bling bling.

11:00 AM: Alexandra stupidly picks up too many pamphlets, books, and goodies and realizes that she has no way to carry everything.

11:15 AM: Alexandra sees that the Tourism of Thailand’s booth is giving away free bags. She wants one.

11:19 AM: Alexandra tries to get a bag. She fails. (…Primarily due to the fact that they apparently didn’t have any bags in the first place. Which to this day still leaves me totally confused on what it was then that I thought I saw them handing out.)

11:21 AM: No hope at a bag, Alexandra decides to leave a business card and tell them that she is a prolific, world famous travel writer that no one yet knows about. (World famous and yet unknown, weird contradiction, I know. But *sigh* I guess that’s just the life of being awesome.)

11:23 AM: The man Alexandra is talking to (clearly not believing Alexandra’s explanation about her status as a famous unknown travel writer) passes her off to a woman named Pbody. (Names have been changed for privacy sake and cool factor.)

11:25 AM: Alexandra tries again to explain that she’s famous and amazing. Pbody believes her. (…Or at least that’s the story I’m sticking with.)

11:28:00 AM: Pbody goes on and on about how amazing Thailand is and tells Alexandra that she should go.

11:28:45 AM: Alexandra replies with a, “Sheesh, it sounds so cool! I hope I make it there someday!”

11:29:00 AM: Pbody tells Alexandra, “Ok, well we’re going to Bangkok, Pattaya, and Chiang Mai. We just need your answer by Monday.”

11:29:07 AM: Alexandra, now totally confused, reverts to operation “Smile and Nod.”

11:29:15 AM: Pbody ignores Alexandra’s confusion (either that, or I unknowingly employed my awesome spy skills and covered it up with ninja-like craftiness) and proceeds to explain that, “Of course, everything will be covered. All we ask in return is at least one article.”

11:29:37 AM: Alexandra, still entirely uncertain of what Pbody is actually talking about, awkwardly chuckles, says, “thanks” and walks away.

Ten minutes later…

Alexandra is visiting another booth and all of the sudden realizes that Pbody just invited her to go to Thailand, for free.

Two minutes later…

Alexandra faints. (But not really.)

*Note: The hours, minutes, and seconds listed above are subject to total inaccuracy and complete made-up-ness.

That all happened on Saturday. I spent Sunday contemplating the sanity of Pbody. And on Monday I decided I didn’t care if I thought Pbody was crazy, I was going to Thailand, and going for free.

…This decision of course opened up a whole ‘nother can(s) of worms, such as figuring out just what in the world a “FAM trip” was, breaking the news to my family (which shouldn’t have been a big deal, but it was), and realizing that, “Sweet woolies! I actually have to write something ‘real’ now.”

…But I’m saving the tale of those “wormy” little treats for another post…

In the meantime…

Though they look somewhat like tiny ants in this picture, those are travel gurus Kelly Merritt, Johnny Jet, George Hobica, and Mary Forgione sitting up at the table hosting Q&A time during the budget travel forum.

I feel that this is the appropriate moment at which to mention a bit about the Los Angeles Times Travel and Adventure Show. However, the problem is, the only thing that really sticks out in my mind about the show is that well, uh duh, I got invited to Thailand. …But ok, fine, I’ll admit that I do also remember meeting loads of awesome people representing countries and travel companies from all over the world. I also picked up some neato-frito tips on budget-friendly traveling (which I’ll perhaps share in a future post) during forums with cool travel gurus such as Kelly Merritt, Johnny Jet, George Hobica, and Mary Forgione.

And aside from meeting great travel people and getting invited to Thailand, probably the most memorable part of that day for me (and perhaps also for anyone else who walked by me and thought, “Lord help that child” once noticing the commit-me-worthy, slap-happy expression on my face) was gloating (yeah, can’t lie, I did a little gloating) in the success of my “networking” efforts that day. So, allow me to offer a piece of tried and true advice…

From Indonesia to Botswana and beyond, there were representatives from hundreds of countries at this year's travel show. ...A prime time to do some quality networking!

Embrace the art of networking. All of the trips I’ve been invited on in the last year and plan on getting invited on (*wink wink*) in the years to come have been/will be via networking. You meet someone, who knows someone, who knows the Queen of England and before you realize it you’re having high tea with Prince Harry (he of course is the only ideal pick at the moment as he is the only member of the royal family still available for me to marry. Unless… Haha, just kidding, Kate. Sort of…).  So rockstar traveler to rockstar traveler, get your hiney off the couch, put down the tub of ice cream (or send it to me, especially if it’s mint chocolate chip), and go out and meet some people—and get invited to travel the world.

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