I lose something every time I travel

Today I noticed that I quit using an email client and I probably won't be going back any time soon. I spent the past week using Gmail directly in a web browser instead of my Apple Mail client, because I've moved to a desktop iMac and I was traveling with my old laptop. Gmail doesn't honor the "read" flag on stuff you've seen online, so it would mean if I open Mail now that I'm home, I'll have about a thousand unread messages, but in my web browser, I'm all caught up. Aside from that, being forced to use browser-based Gmail, I've noticed the search is really good. I can search for the last name of someone I got an email from once and a single word they probably used and I can find that message instantly. I've kvetched about Apple Mail's terrible search before, but the online search was perfect. So I'm sticking with Gmail online from here on out.

Another data point: a few years ago, at SXSW I put on some tight jeans, realized my overstuffed wallet that I've carried for ten years wasn't going to fit, so I grabbed just the essentials: my atm card, my drivers license, and wrapped a few bills around it. When I got back home, I threw my wallet away, and to this day I still walk around with 2 or 3 cards wrapped with a bit of cash.

When I go off for a week somewhere, I am forced to change my daily routines. By the time I get back I realize whatever random change I made is actually better. I should force myself to change my routine more often (there's probably a life lesson in there somewhere).