The Sunday Succulent - February 18, 2024
Horseshoes and Hand Grenades
Bienvenidos to The Sunday Succulent.
It’s rumored that close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. That a miss is as good as a mile. And that you can be so close, yet so far.
I can confirm those rumors are true.
Case in point, my living situation in Buenos Aires.
I arrived last Sunday with minimal sleep but a positive attitude. The first order of business was finding a spot to watch the Super Bowl1. With that accomplished, I returned to my apartment post-game, whipped up an abbreviated Succ, and had a restful night filled with sweet dreams.
Everything was going according to plan.
Then came Monday. With it, the morning sun illuminated the plenitude of my studio apartment. I awoke to an abundance of natural light shining in from my open-air patio, a comfortable bed with an (almost) suitable number of pillows, a satisfactory workstation, a kitchen with all the amenities, and a bidet with enough water pressure to make Lil Nas X blush.
That’s not to mention the rooftop pool and in-building laundry, all located in one of the city’s best neighborhoods.
But it’s also said that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
This unfortunate but recurrent fact of life was again proven correct on Monday night.
As I gently tucked myself into bed, I anticipated another night of blissful sleep. Then the beat dropped. And continued to drop for six hours at a volume and bass level that rendered my falsely advertised soundproof windows completely ineffective.
That’s how I discovered my apartment was connected to a popular nightclub2. (When a nightclub opens at 11:45pm and closes at 6:00am, 96% of its business hours are during the morning. Therefore, morning club would be a more accurate business category for Beatflow. But I digress.)
On Tuesday, I sleepily reasoned that surely it was an outlier due to Monday being the last night of Carnaval. (Hint: it wasn’t an outlier, Shirley.)
At this point, I found the club’s lineup on an Argentinian ticketing platform, so I was ready and helplessly waiting for the bass to drop on Thursday, which it did. This was followed by Friday’s concert which would have put a sperm whale to shame.
So Saturday was spent finding and moving to a new Airbnb.
After arriving to mold-covered walls, broken appliances, and general filth throughout the apartment, Saturday afternoon, evening, and night were spent appealing to the better nature of the new host and Airbnb support staff for a full refund3.
Today was back to square one, looking for a new home, which is thankfully found and settled.
So close, and yet so far.
Due to these unforeseen circumstances, I wasn’t able to explore this weekend. I should have some initial observations ready for next Sunday.
But, some important lessons were punctuated in this first week in Argentina. (I’m exhausted so these will not be checked for grammar or punctuation and I’ll probably wake up horrified that I wrote them at all. But they’re on my mind, and it’s unlikely anyone will read this far, so why not?)
Lesson #1: Money vs. Time/QoL
While the original outcome was no bueno, the decision to double up and book a new Airbnb was obvious. Money is a tool, freedom is the goal. In this case, the freedom to be able to sleep in peace was nearly priceless.
How many times do we sacrifice (non-renewable) time, or quality of (probably non-renewable) life for a dollar amount that is immaterial in the grand scheme of things? What’s your time worth?
Lesson #2: Trigger Events
The decision to book another Airbnb was made at 6:00am on Saturday morning after a sleepless night of tossing and turning. At that moment, another month and a half of that situation was unthinkable. So, why after I finally got my refund late Saturday night from the second Airbnb did I briefly consider the idea of staying in the current Airbnb (“everything is great except for the morning club in my bedroom”)?
Humans are creatures of habit and comfort, and big decisions are made at moments when we feel compelled to act.
An example of this in everyday life would be someone in a comfortable but unfulfilling job (been there). The comfort is more dangerous than complete misery. Misery requires action and therefore change.
An example of this in business would be that someone isn’t going to buy your product or service just because you say it’s great. Even if they believe you. There has to be a significant reason for them to trade their resources and status quo to try something new.
Lesson #3: Anger = Self-administered Poison
Today I had to meet the host of the doomed Airbnb to return the keys. I was self-righteous in my anger. And I was extremely cold when we met. Not rude. Not mean. But cold. I had worked up that anger before the meeting after going over everything from the mold to the refund refusal, and the fact that I had only gotten two hours of sleep the night before. I carried it with me after the meeting for about three blocks before I realized it was not only useless to be angry, but counterproductive and stupid. It was an uncomfortable feeling in my chest. And total preoccupation of my mind. When I realized this, I snapped out of it and my entire mood changed. It felt like being poisoned and then given the antidote.
Then, I felt bad for the previous interaction.
I think there is an underlying code that we look for in other people and how we think they should behave. It’s unique to each of us and relatively inflexible, although it changes with us. People who behave within that code, we allow ourselves to become intimate with. People who operate outside of that code, we keep outside of our circle. But even with those people, we can and should still remain kind.
It’s kind of like receiving poor service at a restaurant. You don’t make a scene, you just don’t return.
Bonus: Packing list
For anyone interested, here is what I carry in my two backpacks. (Pictured below.)
Bags:
*Peak Design Travel Backpack 45L
*Osprey Nebula 32L
Base layers:
*Socks (x7)
*Boxers (x7)
*ClimateSmart Arctic Core (top)
Tops:
*Vuori workout pocket t-shirt (x2)
*Vuori everyday t-shirt
*REI dri-fit t-shirt
*DSG dri-fit t-shirt
*Patagonia pocket t-shirt
*Mizzen and Main golf polo
*Mizzen and Main short sleeve button down
*REI dri-fit long sleeve
Bottoms:
*Vuori all-purpose shorts
*Nike running shorts
*Vuori Meta pants
*DSG joggers
*Levi Strauss jeans
Shoes:
*Strike MVMT Haze Trainer
*Oboz Bridger hiking boots
Travel documents and wallets:
*Eagle Creek RFID blocker travel wallet
*Ridge wallet
*Driver’s license
*Passport
*Photocopy of passport (x2)
*Credit card (x2)
*Debit card (x2)
*Cash ($100 bills) to exchange for Blue Dollar Rate
Electronics:
*Lenovo laptop (14”) and case
*Asus ZenScreen dual monitor
*Roost laptop stand (I know, not an electronic)
*Logitech bluetooth keyboard and mouse (+ mousepad)
*Kindle paperwhite
*USB Type-C (x2)
*Lenovo laptop charger (x2)
*iPhone (x2)
*iPhone charger (x2)
*Airpods
Toiletries:
*Bagsmart dopp kit
*Shaving cream
*Razor
*Toothpaste
*Toothbrush
*Fingernail clippers
*Tweezers
*Carmex lip balm
*Deodorant
*Cerave facial moisturizing lotion (30 SPF)
First aid:
*Imodium
*Ibuprofen
*Neosporin antibiotic gel
*Three band-aids
Miscellaneous:
*Buff
*Waoaw sleep mask
*Cabeau Evolution S3 neck pillow
*Goodr sunglasses and case
*Mini carbon monoxide detector
*Nalgene 32 oz. water bottle
*Journal (x3)
*Pen (x4)
*S-biner (x3)
Notably missing: plug adapter
Ciao,
Sam
This turned out to be more challenging than expected. Apparently, even the mention of American Football is like a stab to the heart of Argentinian national pride. A lengthy Reddit search and a 20-minute Uber ride later and I found two bars next door to each other showing the game. I ended up meeting and watching the game with a Bishop Chatard couple from Indianapolis that had several mutual connections. Small world. Fun evening.
To be fair, I knew the club existed and was aware of its proximity to the apartment. I did not imagine, however, that it would be open until 6:00 am, on weekdays as well as weekends. And that it would be so intrusive as to make my bedroom feel like I was backstage.
On Saturday afternoon, I was on the hook for two different one-month+ rentals, both of which were less than ideal. The new Airbnb host refused a refund. It took five hours and four support tickets with Airbnb to get it resolved. Big shoutout to my girl Trixie at Airbnb for saving the day.