A simple checklist for day one
Only the basics until you find your bearings
Three weeks ago, after a costly and unnecessary Uber tour of the highways around Newark airport, I eventually arrived relieved and exhausted at this pet sit in Connecticut. I ate a delivered meal and scanned the homeowners’ binder with information about the cats, the house, the local contacts. Then, I crashed into bed. When I woke next morning, I checked the binder for a feeding schedule. That’s when I realized I’d missed the cats’ nighttime feeding. If only the comprehensive binder had had a simple first-day list.
I’ve landed on the composition page of this Substack already weary from navigating the new-to-me platform. Let’s just get in and out of this first newsletter without harming any animals or humans. To get us started, here are four key things to know about me.
1. I’m not an avid adventurer
One time, I tore a calf muscle getting into my airplane seat. I’m prone to anxious thoughts. I have a terrible sense of direction and am easily disoriented. Paradoxically, solo travel has become a mysterious counterweight to the fears that plague my mind. In my brain, feeling lost seems inevitable. Might as well make it a good kind of lost.
2. I’ve taken care of homes and pets in about ten countries
I started out doing pet sitting for friends in my hometown. I used to have a flaky fantasy of living without a fixed address, just moving from one house sitting gig to the next. Somehow, that flaky fantasy turned into a flaky real life. I’ve written about it a few times.
3. I’ve been living an itinerant lifestyle for nearly a decade
I’m a late adopter of all things tech. I had never heard the term “digital nomad” when I first started working freelance jobs and realized I didn’t need to stay in one place. When I had to stop travelling for the pandemic lockdowns, I stayed in a tourist-skint vacation rental.
4. I believe in the wisdom of flaky dreams
I used to fantasize about having an off-site job before I knew they could be a thing. I used to fantasize about saving living expenses by taking care of other people’s homes. That was before online freelancing platforms and housesitting websites. My 20-years-ago self would never have believed those ridiculous fantasies could ever be possible. That’s why I believe in paying attention to fanciful thoughts.
If you’d like to follow along with me here, I’ll share a few good tips, a fair share of fun photos, and lots of fanciful observations on the places I visit and the creatures I encounter—feline and otherwise—along the way.
Like what you see here? Subscribe for free to receive weekly posts delivered to your inbox every Sunday morning. Upgrade to paid for a full-access subscription for $2.50/month or $25/year. That’s 50% off the regular Substack rate.