I like the idea of writing something up about myself. It’ll be interesting to see what I come up with.

-Rachel

What kind of food and gear do you keep in your car? Just basics like granola bars and flashlights, or do you have a more in-depth setup?

2. Grab wedding ring, stuffed bear, inhaler, and day-of-the-week pillbox. Not only am I ridiculously sentimental, but also apparently five years old and eighty at the same time.

3. Pick up phone, exit, head to car, already stocked at all times with extra clothes, food, blankets and other gear. Which is less a factor of my paranoia and more about trying to survive during winters in rural Wisconsin.

It’s just a standard backpack, but it has two changes of clothes, a poncho, a small first aid kit, a small toiletries kit, etc. Certainly not something I could go camping with, but enough to make the next 48 hours a little easier.

And now I’m picturing you standing in a living room, with flames climbing the walls, as you stare at your collection of bikes trying to determine which one to save.

My items:
– Shoes/socks
– Laptop (no power adapter, easy to buy) and external hard drives
– My camera and lenses
– Everything went in my bag with wallet/keys/paper/etc

– Should have grabbed clothes as I was stuck in sweatpants for too long
– Should have a small package of essential documents easy to grab (like passport or whatever)

I have a lot of paper notes and such that I would have lost, and I should probably install a process to scan and online backup that stuff so I’m not beholden to the physical copy, even though I enjoy perusing the physical copies more than a pdf. All my other important documents are on my computer or online storage.

I didn’t grab a bike, though at that time I had a car, so it wasn’t essential. Nowadays, I’d probably end up dying in the house fire while I tried to decide which bike to take or while attempting to roll 4 bikes out the door.

In larger groups, people tend to think I’m in a bad mood or bored, and ask me what’s up. It’s gone so far that my wife bought me a t-shirt that says “I’m really excited to be here” and I wear it as a joke. It does help ease the tension.

As for Impostor Syndrome, I’ve never heard a name for it, but I know exactly what you’re talking about. In my freelance web developing, I’ve done a few things and people are usually very happy. I know I do good, solid work and I know my stuff., but deep down I hate making the commitment to promise someone something because I feel like I may not be able to meet their expectations (especially for money.) Maybe it’s not the same thing, but it sounds the same.

Great post. I may need to do something similar.

The Impostor Syndrome is hard. You have to just keep trying to convince yourself that you really are competent at what you’re doing. And if that doesn’t work, accept that you may be a professional at bullshitting, but if you’ve gotten this far with that, maybe you’re not actually fooling anyone. That’s just what the world needs to get by.

Dinner night, you say? Is that one of those things I can invite myself to? 😉