packing whinge

[jaeclectic]

I have barely started to think about packing, and already my head wants to explode.

Or my suitcase.

Part of me says: I'm an experienced traveller. I know that I want and need to be able to manage my own luggage. It should not be that hard to choose a reasonable number of generic, multipurpose items that will fit in one largish suitcase and one small carry-on wheely bag.

The other part of me says: Waaaah!

We're talking 12 nights, that's a lot. With multiple legs of travel (first to Pgh, then a few days later to Montreal, then a few days later back to Pgh), and a busy conference in the middle, meaning I can expect it to be inconvenient to do laundry half-way through.

And I want to take my hiking boots in case I go hiking in PA. And I want to pack a skirt and dressy ankle boots in case I feel like trying to look pretty. And my regular walking shoes. But I also like to wear slip-ons on the plane (the better to kick off in flight, plus the whole security shoe-screening foo). So it seems I've already got the suitcase half full of *just shoes*.

(OK, slight exaggeration. May the suitcase is only 1/4 to 1/3 full of just shoes.)

And it might be warm in the day, but the evenings will probably be cool, and it might be rainy. So I want a couple of sweaters and a light jacket and my fleece vest (also good on cold airplanes) and my raincoat.

Plus I'll be carrying my work laptop, which will be a noticable bit of mass.

Et cetera, et cetera, ad frickin nauseum.

All of this makes me mildly panicky, as if it really mattered how many suitcases I take.

Silly, silly. *sigh*

Comments

[bulieb.livejournal.com]

If it makes you feel any less silly, I'll confess that I'm already fretting about how/what/how much to pack for my four weeks in India which is 3.5 months away.

It'll be hot, but I will want to dress modestly. I will be walking a lot, but I'm most comfortable in shoes with socks. It will be raining, so I want to bring lightweight clothes that will dry quickly and shoes I don't mind getting muddy. That basically means I need to bring all of my clothes and all of my shoes, just in case.

And *that's* not even including books and knitting.

Knitting is bad enough! Will I have trouble bringing needles on the plane, even though on my way there I will be checking in stateside? What knitting? It must be lightweight (lots of knitting for the size and weight) but simple enough that I can do it half-asleep on a plane or distracted on a bus.

I can't even stand to think about books yet. And certainly not my pharmaceutical arsenal. Anti biotics, anti nausea, anti upset-tummy, bug-repellent, anti histamine to deal with bug bites....

See -- there are crazier, more obsessed, less successful packers out there than you!

I don't suppose that made you feel ANY better.

Happy Easter. Good luck with the packing. My advice: wear the bulkiest shoes on the plane and just put up with the security bit.

[jafitz.livejournal.com]

I'd be more inclined to take your advise about the transit shoes if this trip didn't involve 8, count 'em, 8 different flights -- 2 legs to get from SFO to PIT, another two from PIT to Montreal, same in reverse...

Besides: you get a free pass from feeling silly about packing difficulties when the trip you're planning is 4 weeks long *and* to a distant continent. (A mere 12 nights, all in North America, hardly ought to rate as a challenge.)

But at least I can be grateful that I don't have to worry about the knitting part :)

[zabet.livejournal.com]

i had to pack for a 4-day conference recently and had huge issues with the shoes thing. so its not just you.

some poor guy had to help me hoist the suitcase, and was all "what's in this? gold?" and i was "no. shoes. lots. of. shoes."