Floor Time
/flôr tīm/
noun
the 15-60 minute time period spent laying on the floor in the middle of the work day, typically as a relief from the soul-sucking reality of corporate America.
I’m baaack. After two weeks in the Philippines resting and recharging, I am feeling truly refreshed and raring to go for spring. You may recall that I had a similar feeling back in January, but that was before I spent the entirety of February devastatingly ill. So consider this my second rebirth of the year? I’m now taking daily immunity pills and got the clear sinuses and stellar gut health to show for it.
Usually after an amazing trip, I would break down all the cool things I saw/did and give you my recommendations for when you plan your vacation. But given that I recently did this for Mexico City, I figure we all may crave a different approach. So instead, I’m offering you 5 tips for how to have the most enriching vacation possible. Much like florals for spring, none of these are particularly groundbreaking. That said, they might just be helpful tips for your next international vacation (I’m seeing everyone and their mother in Asia right now…are we all just trying to escape New York winter in the same way?).
1. Make yourself be off the grid.
You can judge me as much as you want for how eat, pray, love this sounds, but I never pay for international data (my lack of eSIM has nothing to do with having a locked phone, promise!!!). Most places have WiFi where needed so I’ve managed to get by. That said, in the Philippines, WiFi is a rare commodity and I do understand the need for data when visiting certain destinations. Caveats aside, OOO means OOO, honey! I’ve referenced this many times in Floor Times past, but the wisdom never fades: if you’re offline, be offline. If you’re trying to do vacation and your job at the same time you’ll just be half-assing both. With that, here are my tips for signing off:
Always download an offline map in Google for the areas you’ll travel in so you’ll never be lost (especially if you have anxiety about that sort of thing).
When out adventuring (for us in the Philippines this included surfing, scuba diving, cave exploring, snorkeling, playing beach volleyball on a private island, etc.), there’s really no need to use your phone aside from taking glamorous photos. So during these points, either leave your phone in your bag or just give your data a break by toggling it off.
Have a travel buddy that pays for data so you can passenger princess the whole trip 😁.
2. Pull a Rory Gilmore and pack multiple books (or upload a handful to your Kindle).
If you’re a big reader like me, you may need multiple books just to hold you over for the amount of time you’ll be traveling. But also, who knows what mood you’ll be in that day?? I read my fae series for the first half of the trip and hit a wall—there’s only so much mythical diplomacy one can stomach on a tropical vacation. Then I switched to my easy beach reads (quick romcoms, fiction). I have always said that reading should be fun and you should do it when you are in the mood. Having a variety of options to match what you’re feeling will help with that.
3. Do the things you can’t do at home.
This is probably the most cliché tip I have on here, but sometimes it’s good to have this reminder. You are not paying $[redacted] to fly across the globe to sit in your hotel room and eat ramen. Get out there and have a once-in-a-lifetime experience. For me on this trip, it was scuba diving in a WWII shipwreck. The reef was so alive and I saw marine life I’ve never seen before1 like Nudibranchs (weirdly not afraid of them despite my molluscophobia), a crocodile fish, and a Juvenile Harlequin Sweetlips. I was reminded that being underwater is probably the most at peace I can ever feel—I experienced the craziest level of tranquility and peace 10m below the surface and threatened to move to Coron to be a scuba instructor permanently (watch this space).
4. Look up signature dishes beforehand.
Unlike places in Europe, say, Siargao and Coron are not known as “food destinations,” so there aren’t specific establishments you have to reserve and try. Knowing this, I polled a handful of Filipino friends before departing to ask what dishes we had to have. What I got was a very extensive list of foods including sinigang, halo-halo, and pancit. Those were easier to check off at any Filipino restaurant we visited—and ensured we were sampling the most local things possible.
5. Dear god, do NOT forget to pack your probiotics.
As I mentioned in previous Floor Times, I am a pre/probiotic die-hard now. Constipation is out for 2024 and free-flowing, effortless bowel movements are in. Travel tummy was out in 2016 yet remained with me until The October I’ll Never Forget™ when I went to Korea and the combined fermented food (kimchi ju-se-yo) and probiotic gummy super combo opened a whole new world of possibility—that you could travel across the world and enjoy the food right out the gate without a gurgling tummy to contend with.
Something I Thought of in the Shower
🎶We can't be friends
But I'd like to just pretend
You cling to your papers and pens
Wait until you like me again🎶
and also
🎶Sixteen carriages drivin' away
While I watch them ride with my fears away
To the summer sunset on a holy night
On a long back road, all the tears I fight🎶
Something Pretty
Trying to pick the prettiest photo from the trip was hands down impossible. Here’s a few.
Something To Laugh About
I’ve been in the post-vacation slump, so naturally there’s been a lot of scrolling time. Here are this week’s gems:
POV this is anyone walking with me ever. I am the husband.
One day I’ll tell you this story of how the Boy Wonder won my heart because he read ACOTAR and ACOMAF after listening to my entire TEDtalk about romantasy. No further questions at this time.
This is one of life’s greatest and most painful truths.
No but it’s genuinely terrifying how vividly I remember this day.
The way in which I’ve been put on BLAST so many times for this. We are a cult, leave me alone!!!!!!
Something for Clarice
Hey! This newsletter is free and I intend to keep it that way. That said, if you love it and want to show your appreciation, buy me a coffee :)
By the way…I’m reading this.
I finished Empire of Storms while in the Philippines (it was fine—too much diplomacy, not enough 🌶️) and am now onto Tower of Dawn. Perhaps turning thirty means finally finishing this series jfc.
COWBOY CARTER hive RIIIIIIISE (a BLACKBIRD cover?! JOLENE2?! feat. WILLIE NELSON?! be still my gd heart). Happy album release day to all who celebrate 🦅🇺🇸!!! I’m about to hop on a 4-hour road trip during which this album will be playing on loop. My 2024 Spotify Wrapped is shaking in its (cowboy) boots.
Til’ next time, fishies. Your friend,
Clarice
shoutout to all my girlies who also wanted to be marine biologists when they were young, but then perhaps like me, barely passed AP Bio because hey, some of us just don’t have science brains, and instead entered creative industries where we—you guessed it—doodle for a living.
welp. that does it. between this and Miley’s backyard session this is retired as my karaoke song.