Leaving: Thoughts on or related to…

Airport Bookstores (in particular in Germany/foreign airports)

It seems like a goldmine to have your book in these stores because the competition is so small.  Alan Greenspan’s was the only non-fiction book.  Then some expected books – Agatha Christie and the like.  But then a book by a Danish author I have never heard of.  How do these books get selected?  Another case of lobbying and friends?

On a side note, magazines are getting expensive.  In an effort (successful) to get rid of my remaning 40 euro I bought a sandwich and 3 magazines.  The sandwich was 4 euro.  

The most expensive magazine was 19 euro (Purple Fashion – which I felt a bit strange buying but I read a copy once and it actually had really interesting interviews), which was actually a deal as it retails for $35 in the US.  I really wish there was some way to find out way more about pricing information.  It would help me understand the world a lot more.  For starters, how much does each of these ads in this magazine cost?  How much does the distribution network cost?  How much are the writers paid?  How much do the stores buy the magazines for?  What fees are the photographers paid who took the pictures that appear in the ads?  And beyond magazines, even this bank of chairs I am sitting on in the airport – how much did it cost?

Packing

Of course it still is one of those activities that sucks inordinately, seeing as it really only takes about 6 hours of time, but, that said, I am definitely getting better at it.  After a few months in a place you inevitably acquire “things” and end up having more “things” than you started with when you are repacking your bags.  But this is a great way of cull the heard.  As I pick up an article of clothing – often one that I quite liked at a certain point – I realize that I haven’t worn it in weeks and so out it goes.  

Part of me wishes that all these castaways could go somewhere – a huge underground cave would be good – where one day I could come back and visit them.  Old clothes, and old stuff, can be pretty good memory triggers.  

But, at the same time, I like the idea of non-accumulation.  It leads to greater circulation and a fluidity of assets.  I gave my basketball to one friend, a pump to another, a bag to a third.  It’s not really gifting, but a highly localized and directed version of the trickle down effect.  

Also, a tip.  You are actually allowed two carry-ons, as long as the second is a “personal item”.  This includes shopping bag with purchases in it.  So I took a highly reinforced shopping bag from Berlin Fashion Week and filled it with all of my heaviest items.  The shopping bag ended up weighing in at about 40 pounds, but it saved me over $100 in overweight fees on my checked baggage.

Goodbyes

I like leaving in the morning without saying goodbye to anyone.  The expectation of a crescendo of sadness/poingnantness at sendoff is hard to live up to.  And, increasingly so, the more goodbyes you are involved in.

Epilogue

So, that was the summer in Berlin.  Now I am back in LA, and you can see what I am up to HERE.