The World Incorporated Travel Blog

Category: Life

Joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware.

  • A Love Letter to My Expired Passport: Reflections on Ten Years of Travel

    A Love Letter to My Expired Passport: Reflections on Ten Years of Travel

    My new passport arrived in the mail. Those crispy pages between the shiny cover just BEG to be worn down by stamps. I picked up my old passport, cover fraying in a corner, pages a little soft from turning, and lovingly looked through the stamps and visas again, one last time. Each page, stirring memories and rousing nostalgia. Officially expired, I retired it to the filing cabinet, now to take permanent refuge among other paperwork deemed important.

    My first passport. My formal invitation to the world.

    It felt anti-climactic, retiring it to the old filing cabinet. Pushed aside. Like that emotional scene in Toy Story 2 when the girl leaves her box of toys on the side of the road. And you suddenly want to hug your childhood blankie. Cue when she loved me.

    So I suppose – out of respect or to pay homage or to honor it, I’ve written a letter to my dearly beloved expired passport, reflecting on a decade of travel and adventure, change and growth.

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  • 2017: A Year Uprooted

    If I had to pick a single word to describe 2017, it’d be “uprooted.”
    An uprooted year for me, meant I experienced a bit of a travel fail.

    Like the pattern of ocean waves, I’ve watched my vacation days begin to finally accumulate, only to watch them ebb for weddings, holidays, and other personal obligations. Of course, every vacation day used was beautifully spent and worth every minute, but in terms of travel, my PTO was not leveraged for a true, solid international trip or weekend vacation. In fact, I used a total of seven (7?!) vacation days this year. A part of me feels like a massive failure – I’m a travel blogger who writes about traveling more with a full time job!  

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  • This travel blogger sold her house. What happened next may surprise you.

    This travel blogger sold her house. What happened next may surprise you.

    Such a clickbait post title, eh?

    After a few months of keeping it “show ready” and vacating the premises with cat-in-tow on a short 30 minute notice and hearing crickets after showings and open houses, we sold our house.

    Finally.

    my cat Cheddar at the Chesterfield historical village
    What do you do with your cat when you get kicked out of your house for a showing? Wander around the local historical village, of course!
    Cheddar the cheetoh cat visiting the one room school house in Chesterfield.
    Cheddar isn’t impressed with the one room schoolhouse. Look at that cattitude. “Mom, can we go home yet?”

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  • 2015: The Year of Celebrations & New Beginnings

    2015: The Year of Celebrations & New Beginnings

    This post is my way to figuratively place my highlights of the year in a pretty box, tie it to a balloon with 2015 written across, and let it sail into the stars. The box will have two tags on it. One will say, “The Year of Celebrations.” The other, “The Year of New Beginnings.”

    Though I’m not typically a year-end round-up poster, 2015 was too exhausting (in the best way) and too bright to let slip into 2016 without some acknowledgement. It deserves a nod of thanks, a firm handshake, and a genuine smile.

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  • Marriage & The Monogram

    Marriage & The Monogram

    About an hour before Eric dropped down on one knee and proposed, I had a timely encounter with the will call worker at the Whitehaven Beach boat ferry from Hamilton Island.

    Advising that my tickets were listed under the name “Carnagie,” he cheerily leafed through the folders repeating the name.

    “Carnagie! That’s a really great last name.” I agreed, expressing my love for it as he shared a few more compliments and the expected steel tycoon reference.

    Now that my wedding is next month (what?!), the realities of the future of my last name became all too real:

    I just purchased my first monogramed gift for myself. Ah, marriage & the monogram.

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  • I Traveled to Australia With A Boyfriend & Returned Home Without One

    I Traveled to Australia With A Boyfriend & Returned Home Without One

    I traveled to Australia with a boyfriend and returned home without one.

     

    They say traveling with your significant other can be a true test of a relationship. In our case, this proved true.

    We arrived in Queensland, Australia – me & Eric, my boyfriend (at the time). When we made our trip home? He no longer held that title. Queensland is the perfect backdrop for couples in love – picturesque beaches, swaying palms, amazing nature… What could go wrong?

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  • Breakfast Cannolis & Birthday Lists

    Breakfast Cannolis & Birthday Lists

    26 Things I Hope to Accomplish During My 26th Year

    Here’s the trick to making lists of goals: always throw in a few things that are already guaranteed to come to fruition. I suppose the fitting way to mark this birthday is to write up a list of things I’d like to do during the next year. Goals stay as goals when they remain in your head. They only become action items when written and shared. So this morning I started my birthday with a cannoli for breakfast and a full day of work. But my affinity for lists and thoughts for the next year inspired me to take a moment to reflect and write down 26 things I hope to do/accomplish during my 26th year. (more…)

  • My Epic Craziness

    My Epic Craziness

    Something epicly awesome has happened. Remember this post where I talk about which bucket list items I would choose if I were to win the Most #EpicBucketList Contest (ever) from Contiki & The Buried Life? Well, I made it to the round of finalists. I know. Crazy. I wasn’t expecting it at all. I barely slid through the finish line with JUST enough points to be in the top 25, but I’ve got the scraped knees & the “Congratulations!” email to prove it.

    Of the nearly 10,000 who entered, the top 25 will compete by submitting a 1 minute video where we are supposed to creatively share our story & explain why we should go on the #EpicBucketList adventure.

    Featuring my inner rapstar “A-Car” and my trusty sidecat, “Chedda”, here’s my video:

    If you want to read the lyrics, I posted them in the info on YouTube. If you like my video and want to support me in this endeavor, please share with your friends so they can watch me be a rapstar, or go ahead and send this tweet:

    Hey @theburiedlife & @Contiki_US & @ContikiCAN – I want @AmandaaaCar to win the #EpicBucketList Challenge! http://youtu.be/zn0hQJVMAx0

    Sometimes I feel crazy. But maybe being a bit crazed will get me to the Galapagos or Angkor Wat. :)

  • Something You Didn’t Consider Including on Your Résumé

    Something You Didn’t Consider Including on Your Résumé

    High tea in Manchester, England
    No, this photo has nothing to do with a resume. This is me drinking high tea in Manchester. However, I supposed if you were to work on writing your resume it WOULD be nice to do so while drinking tea in Manchester.

    I suppose a disclaimer would be appropriate: I’m neither a hiring manager nor a recruiter. I’m merely writing from personal experience. Now that I’ve discounted my credibility, what’s one thing you didn’t consider adding to your résumé? Travel.

    Study abroad trip? Of course! Internship overseas? Absolutely! But what about that backpacking trip through Europe? Or your cross-country U.S. road trip? These adventures weren’t university-oriented or career-focused.  You embarked for the sole purpose of travel and adventure.

    You may think, well, those trips are irrelevant to me securing a job in accounting… the most math I did in Europe was calculate how many Euros I had left!

    I would argue that most travel experiences are résumé worthy.  I say this because I guarantee that you can reveal some work-related skills that were exercised and sharpened during your travels. After all, on your résumé (or in an interview) you should be able to show your skills vs. tell about them. Saying “I’m well organized” sounds like a baloney sandwich that any old Joe can throw together.  “I organized a 5-week backpacking trip through Europe” is a genuine example. Suddenly, instead of me just thinking hey, this girl must alphabetize her crayons, because she’s obviously well organized, I see this job applicant accomplishing a logistical feat that was researched, executed and successfully accomplished.  ­

    So here are some skills I believe are sought after by employers… and how your travels can illustrate that you possess them.  (more…)

  • Road Trips & Birthday Cake

    Today is my dad’s birthday (Happy Birthday, DAD!).

    I feel that it is only suiting for me to write a post that both appreciates him for my love of travel as well as appreciates all the travel opportunities he has given me.  In doing so, I’m going to return to March 2009.  (more…)