I think packing for a trip is one of THE things I hate most in the world. Hate it. What do I bring? What about the fact that I have no clothes? (True, I manage to dress on a daily basis and I can hardly get into my closet because there are so many things in there ... oh, those are clothes. But you know, not the RIGHT clothes.) Used to be I would have to go shopping before a trip. New shoes, new shirts, shorts, whatever. Now, now I am not shopping for anything. I don't NEED anything, I just think I do. I do need sneakers, but this morning I was even thinking of packing the ones that hurt my feet. Why? I don't know. Oh, I do! Because it said in all the stuff I was reading about hiking in Sedona that my shoes would get red from the red dust. And I thought, well, I'll just use my old sneakers. But that doesn't even make sense because they hurt my feet AND I will have my hiking boots for hikes. (Can you see I am not making a lot of sense?)
Several years ago when I went to London, I was really sick the two weeks beforehand. I didn't have a chance to shop for anything and at the last minute, as I was packing, it all of a sudden didn't seem to fit in the bag I had planned on using. Because I was freaked out from being sick for so long, because I was freaked out that I might be sick over there, I panicked and started yelling that the bag wasn't right. Peter ran to the cellar and brought up every shape and size of luggage we had and because I was insane, I packed in the largest one.
Just picture a very narrow staircase in Scotland, four flights up, no lift, ma'am. And me dragging this bag from hell, all the while envisioning the "perfect" bag I'd purchased specifically for the trip that turned into a backpack. You know, pictured it on the floor of my bedroom where I'd left it! What the hell?
Before that trip I had bought the UGLIEST walking shoes, which I shudder to see when I look at the pictures. So I learned two things: Just take what you have and do NOT bring a piece of luggage you can't pick up and carry without falling over.
True, basic points, but live and learn and all that. So that is why I am hesitant to buy sneakers, because I might get ugly ones!
Anyway, what do I bring? Do I bring my blender? I have to! I can't go for weeks without my smoothies and chocolate mousses and salad dressings that I make in there DAILY. I just can't. But how absurd is it to pack a blender? I have already made peace with the fact that I'm not taking the 200 pound juicer. But I have to be reasonable here; it's pretty important. Almost as important as a computer. Which of course is another problem because my laptop crashed and burned and no matter how many hours I've put into it, it seems to be getting worse. I am diagnosing it as a shot motherboard ... and am most curious why it's doing it to me NOW, when I need it! Maybe I'm supposed to unplug for all that time. I will be honest, I am more interested in the blender than the laptop!
So what size bag is going to fit that, my backpacks, my hiking boots, assorted and sundry other shoes one will need, such as sandals and perhaps one nice pair of shoes ... and then not to mention the clothes. My brother says to bring stuff to go snowmobiling in the event we jaunt over to Colorado. Oh, no big deal. Just throw in a winter pair of boots, jacket, snowpants, mittens, hat, goggles, etc. NO BIG DEAL. If I was packing a STEAMER TRUNK.
And so it gets stressful, just thinking about it. And then I start to have the dreams, and I am thinking this is early, I'm not leaving until the 20th! That's a lotta dreams to have between now and then.
It is the one thing in life that gets me going. Seriously, very little bothers me, but having to pack stresses me out. I HATE IT! I have this vision of myself as a minimalist, with a small bag, footloose and fancy free. Hello ... little tough to be fancy free with a blender dragging you down. And yet, I go through the pros and cons of blender vs. no blender and always return to: YOU GOTTA HAVE THE BLENDER.
But if I was rational, I would just figure out how to live without it. Plenty of people live without a high-speed blender, right? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH.
***
Okay, now this REALLY has me going. I just received an email from Amazon announcing the Kindle 2. Oh, and because I bought their first version, they wanted to make sure that if I wanted the second generation, they are letting me know in advance so I can place my order. Why is this upsetting? BECAUSE IT IS BETTER. If I had waited just a few more months, I could have had the sleeker version without the bulk and the too-big advanced page button ... and while none of those things bothered me THAT MUCH before I knew that they were putting out a new and improved version, now I am INCENSED.
:::::::::::::::::::deep breath::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
SONOFABITCH! If I'd known that they were coming out with a new version in MONTHS I would have held off. Seriously! I want the better one! It's literally half the depth of the one I have. HALF! All the people holding it are smiling! I was a guinea pig. I even filled out a survey about my Kindle. And what do I get? BUPKUS!
::::::::::::laughing::::::::::::::::::::: I am not sure why I am drawn to screaming with my upper case words and swears right now, but I think I need to go chill.
***
It is now later, and I am still incensed (but not upper case incensed) at the whole Kindle thing. Bah. Let's think this through. It does the same thing, it IS the same thing, the only difference is that it is smaller, lighter, and you probably don't hit the too-big page forward button as much as you do with Kindle 1. These are NOT big deals. They're NOT. (I am working on convincing myself, is it working for you?) No, me either.
This isn't like Tide you know. New and improved versions of Tide never affected me like this!
Look how thin it is up there! Oh, maybe it's too thin. Yeah, it's too thin. There IS such a thing as too thin. Mine is chunky and easier to hold. SO THERE.
:P
8 comments:
I hate packing too. Seriously. I love to travel but the days prior to me walking out the front door are sheer torture.
Did not know about the Kindle II. Yikes!
As for the thinness of the Kindle, we would totally break it. I have an irrational fear of things that are too thin, that's why my ipod has always had that clip thing attached to it. And those new ipods, freaks me out every time I touch the one Maddie stole from me. :)
The part that annoys me is that it supposedly loads the pages faster and I have found that the speed (or lack of) mine starts to annoy me if I read it for too long. Eh, what are ya gonna do??? :)
I bet if you ordered it now, it would be here before the 20th. Hey, then there would be more room to pack the blender.
HAHAHAHA. I'm going to go with thin things are scary! Cheryl, you are no help, of COURSE you would insist upon upgrading! :)
As for packing, I didn't have another stress dream last night, which stressed me out! HAHAHAHA
They totally are! I always feel like I am going to break them! Same with small animals, I's scared I might squeeze them too hard when holding them. I think maybe i have a misconception of my own strength....hmmm
OMG!!! Just home from Sanibel where the packing thing was an issue for me. I wanted...of all things...music!! How were we going to be in a condo without any music? So I had to bring my docking station for my ipod. I too wanted my laptop...SO damned heavy that mine shouldn't even be called a laptop and so I brought what became, "The BIG Bag". of the group. I brought the duffel that I brogught to Scotland for three weeks for just FIVE days!! I figured I was checking it so what the hell. I was so nervous that my BIG bag was not going to fit into our little rental car, but lo and behold, we were upgraded to a mini-van (isn't that an oxymoron?) and so it fit fine and in the end I was SOOOO happy to have the big bag. I did not have to think at all to pack to come home. Just threw it all in and had a very manageable carry on!! Light is best for the carry on and all my friends were loaded down withe their enormous carry on's. Perhaps you cold carry on the blender in a backpack with a book or something...no...not if you have a laptop...
In fact, I think I am going to take it again when I go to Sedona...I was thinking I might also fit Emma's stuff in...or not!! STOP stressing my dear. The blender will fit. Which reminds me...have you ever gone onto youtube and watched "Will it Blend?" It is all about YOUR blender. They blend everything from iphone's to video cameras...bizarre!!
Regarding the Kindle II ... they are now being warned about their 'text to speech' . Apparently the audio book folks are not amused and are asking Amazon to disable that feature. It could pose a big problem in the future. I, personally, am going to wait until they figure things out. Thought you'd find that interesting.
Yeah, I was reading about that text-to-speech issue, but I can't imagine that it's anything more than that computer-generated voice ... and who wants to listen to a book read by that? Not I! I don't know as I would view that so much as a huge problem as I would a by-product of new technology. New horizons and all that!
Even though I complained, I do love my Kindle. Though, I am leaving for a trip and guess what I am packing (along with my Kindle?) BOOOOOKS! They are my friends!
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