Notes on Packing for Work, Not for a Photoshoot
Pack merino, meds, cables, and documents for the desk and the border — not for a photograph of a bag.
[ journal ]
I pack for the desk, the pharmacy, and the border. I do not pack for a photograph of a bag on a hotel bed. The backpack note is about the bag. The carry-on gear list is about what earns its grams. This is the contents I will not leave to the destination’s shops if I can help it.
Merino first, because I live in humidity from Louisiana and rain in Aotearoa and I am tired of cotton that will not dry overnight. Two or three layers I can wash in a sink. One thing that looks like I meant to be in a meeting. That is enough clothing. The rest is ego.
Meds next, in original packaging, with a copy of the prescription. I do not assume a pharmacy in a new city will have what I take, or that they will like a photo of a US bottle. I keep a small kit for the boring failures: pain, stomach, blister, antihistamine if pollen season in Tāmaki Makaurau is going to be a problem. This is not a pharmacy in a pouch. It is the difference between a workday and a hunt.
Cables in one pouch: laptop, phone, a spare USB-C, the dongle I still need for a client’s older room. Labelled. I have lost hours to a cable that looked right and was not. Chargers stay with the electronics. I am not writing a gadget review. I am saying the work dies if the cable is in the other bag I do not have.
Documents in paper and in an encrypted store: passport, visa printouts, insurance, prescriptions, a card of emergency contacts. Phone photos as backup, not as the only copy. Borders still like paper. So do some banks.
I buy shampoo and snacks locally. I do not buy a second wardrobe because a listing had good light. If it does not serve sleep, the desk, or the border, it stays home.
— JV · Dark Heart Labs.