Tuesday, October 06, 2009

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go.....


Well, its down to the nitty gritty....tomorrow night we drive down to a family friends' home to be closer to the airport, so we don't have to leave the house at 3:30am and dodge deer and bears to get to Montoursville for my 5:45 am flight to Philadelphia, which if it didn't end in a deer collision would probably end in someone getting crankily punk-slapped somewhere in the Route 15 construction zone.


For those of you not in the know, my best friend all the way back from Freshman year Espanol Uno has rented a house in the Georgia hinterlands and we are converging on it to celebrate a certain birthday milestone that I won't be cheeky enough to reveal here but it wouldn't be too hard to figure it out. She has the pleasure of being one of the first of our gang to get there.


My last vacation was in November of 2006. Since then I've only taken days off for bronchial infections (my own) and death (someone else's). You can just imagine how excited I am.


I have travelled quite a bit, both for former jobs and, for a brief single and wild period, internationally. Given my adventures it might surprise you to know that I'm an anxious traveller. At T-minus 72 hours I'm usually in 'legal pad' mode. As in, wake up in the middle of the night and sit hunched over a notepad, writing down virtually everything I can think of that I need to pack, change, consolidate, pre-pay, or wax. This feeling of anxiety will likely remain until I get on the first plane and the doors close and I'm 100% certain that nothing I've ever done or failed to do will prevent the plane from taking off.


I also feel compelled to make a list of 'to dos' for Himself while I'm gone, as if my lack of proximity will result in his failure to attend to either his hygiene or the cat. (Fortunately the cat attends to his own hygiene whether we're home or not.) The man did manage to get through four months without me when we first moved without falling in a well or dying of rickets. Of course, we didn't have a cat then. So honey, scoop the litter every day. Drive carefully. Don't forget to put out the trash on Sunday. Don't eat too many hot wings. Slipcovers are not giant napkins. Don't give Seamus too many treats. Jagermeister is not a food group. Don't make me come home to a sinkful of dishes.


There, its out of my system now.


Oh, one more thing: I'll miss you.

9 comments:

Kathy said...

It absolutely shocks me that you'd have any travel anxiety at all. But maybe because it's in a plane and not on the ground? I hope you have a blast visiting with friends. We'll check in on the Mr. from time to time to make sure he's doing everything on the list. Do I smell a huge take-out bill in his future?

p.s. We'll miss you too!!!

Shieldmaiden96 said...

I'm not afraid to fly, I'm afraid that frowny woman typing at the counter won't LET me fly for some arbitrary not-thought-of reason. Does that make any sense? When I had to go through customs on trips I was so nervous I think I peed a little.

Tricia said...

I dropped my hubby off at the airport this morning and started my 8 day vacation today. :)

I am not a nervous traveler, I usually pack around midnight the night before a trip (for a 6am flight) and throw the toiletries in the last minute. I don't worry about forgetting things.

When we went to San Francisco for a week my husband who was carrying out the bags carried our toiletry bag to his office, set in on a chair and left it there. 2 hours later we're at the airport getting bags out of the car and I realize it's gone.

We had to buy new toothbrushes, shampoo, lotion, make-up, etc but it wasn't the end of the world, really.

I've gotten to my location several times and had my bags lost (by US Air every time) and had to live on the $40 a day they give you to spend on essentials - undies, etc. :)

Have a great time! :)

Jocelyn said...

I can't wait to read about what you needed to wax, randomly, on this trip! I hope it's your suitcase.

So your friend IS TURNING 10????

Shieldmaiden96 said...

Tricia: Fortunately I pack like Inspector Gadget and I adhere to the 'if I can't carry it on I don't need it' rule.

Jocelyn: To answer your questions:

1) My Groucho Marx eyebrows, since I have a strict rule of not wearing anything that requires MORE than the eyebrows to be waxed.

2) Yes, for the fourth time. :)

I don't have a crackberry or anything so I'll be scribbling journey notes in my strumpet-red composition book for later online transcription. (Complete with, I hope, surreptitious photos.) I may get some computer face time, but don't want to be all up in someone else's laptop like some kind of tech-mooch so we'll see how that goes.

Lisa @ Boondock Ramblings said...

Aw! That is so sweet. . . . "Don't eat too many wings." We all know what happens when he does.

Besides, I heard he's going to visit his mother for a couple of days. She's a pretty nice lady and will keep Himself in check! :-)

JD at I Do Things said...

I hope you have a great time. I say this to anyone who will listen: I would LOVE a solo vacation. Not that I mind traveling with Dave, but YOU know.

So . . . slipcovers aren't giant napkins? Hmmm. I've been doing it wrong.

Jen said...

Just found you by way of JD and I guess I've been missing some fun.

Love your little reminders. When I left my ex for a month long trip to take care of my grandmother I was sure he was going to burn down the house. I actually was afraid for him to use the dryer. It was kinda broken and only worked with the right touch. He was also accident prone. I told him to buy new underwear and socks rather than risk using the machine. Big surprise we're divorced.

Nanny Goats In Panties said...

Yep, I'm off to Vegas tomorrow for 4 days and I swear my husband is going to starve to death by the time I come home. Or hit the Drive Thru every night because apparently, he has no idea where the stove is. Or the microwave, for that matter.