They say the best way to get to know a country is from the bedroom. Shampoo, toothbrush, deodorant, shoes, Nail clipper, face polish, lipstick, rouge. Slowly sink to your knees.
Nothing quite beats being humiliated at the hands of a piece of luggage.
Of course, this wasn't just any old duffel, but the Freedom Bag First Class, a small black canvas contraption that sent me into tearful hysterics the first time I tried to pack it. These products hold out the lure of an efficient and methodical brain, the way Slimfast promises a beautiful body. But for an unkempt lout like myself, who only recently learned how to operate a file cabinet, these are cruel promises, indeed. Even a bag with a lot of compartments stretches the very edges of my fragile organizing principles. I began yearning to travel neat and light when I shed my giddy slacker-backpacker goodwill and joined the legions of cranky business travelers.