Day -3: Packing

This post has been in progress for about an hour and a half. I write a sentence, then go procrastinate on some other website for a bit. Clearly I need practice writing about myself, even though I seem to have no trouble talking about the banal details of my life. But anyway:

I have two talents of which I am especially proud: I can pack a lot into a little space and I can peel a clementine peel off in one piece. (The latter I actually put on one of my college applications. Maybe if I'd put
both I would have gotten a better scholarship.) Unfortunately, airlines these days have weight, rather than size, limits, so no matter how much I can cram into a small space, it still needs to come to fifty pounds per suitcase and I can only take two. I'm fast approaching the weight limit, though, so even though I've actually got leftover space I can't really take much except extra pillows. Or my mini rubber ducky collection. Or a package of marshmallow peeps, which are both lightweight and have about the same chemical composition as rubber duckies.

I have to limit what I take, but I'm determined to fit in a few less-than-necessary items. I refuse to travel without books. Even if I'm just going somewhere for the weekend, or I'm going some place like a Model UN conference where I'll have no time to read, I still pack at least one. Novels are to me as teddy bears are to small children; just knowing that they're there is comforting. When I'm stressed I like to pick up an old favorite, open to a random page and read until I feel better. I'll definitely be bringing The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy omnibus and maybe my collection of Oscar Wilde's short stories. I think I need something to balance out the humor, though. Suggestions?

It seems like I have everything together, but I'm determined not to think that way. I have four airports and fourteen hours for everything to go wrong. Since I'm expecting crap to happen, I'll be ready for it and I can say I told myself so. But if it all goes well I'll be even more appreciative. That's the beauty of pessimism; you go through life either being constantly proven right or pleasantly surprised.