Prepping for Vacation

It's just three days until I go to Las Vegas!

It is late - about quarter to 10. I'm doing laundry now and have cleaned up the kitchen (which I will undoubtedly have to do again prior to leaving). The house is in pretty good shape. Tomorrow I'm going to go to Best Buy and get noise-reduction headphones for the flights. I love flying but I'm not crazy about the noise. Once in flight, I'll have my iPod on and by into music. Maybe I will watch something on my laptop but I doubt it. Typing a letter is one thing; draining the battery at the speed of light with a movie is another. I may not even pull out my laptop. But I will have plenty of things to do - reading, writing letters, listening to music, looking out the window (if the flight takes off on time, that will allow me a little daylight to see the eastern terrain. Unfortunately it is unlikely I'll see anything western - the setting sun will outrace us. Sadly. I was told the Rockies are gorgeous.

So it is Saturday night and this is what I'm doing. I have the laptop going, I have Episode 4 of Season 1 of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation on; the laundry is going (and almost ready for me to pop into the dryer); the cat is settled on the couch behind me. I have the luggage here. I'll pack tomorrow, unlike Luis, who will predictably wait until he comes home on Tuesday afternoon to pack. I don't try to figure that out...

I will have everything ready by the time I go to bed tomorrow night and I'll feel really good about that. I hate being disorganised and I don't like rushing at the last minute to do this. I know that the latter causes the former. Organisation is a beutiful thing. I do a lot of reading about this: make a list, check everything off. I packed my parents for their trip and they were thrilled. I packed exactly what they need plus one, and sorted out all their pharmaceuticals, and put together the 5,000 bathroom things my mother needed. Not wanted, needed. She wanted to bring along a face masque and I argued the point that where was she going to find the time to do this? I won and the masque stayed home. So did a multitude of other products that she did not need. She ended up being thrilled. And I felt great - she'd've packed three suitcases worth for a six-day trip!

So tonight I will make a list of everything I will need (I can tell you that it will be short - one tiny little sample tube of perfume, one travel thing of shampoo, one travel thing of conditioner, one travel thing of toothpaste, one toothbrush, one small thing of Biolage, one small thing of shower gel, a few Q-tips, a travel thing of powder. The sum total of my bathroom needs. Maybe an SPF-30 sunblock - it is the desert and it will be 90+ degrees. Other wise, what else do I need? No make up, no special items. Just the basics.

Clothes are easy. Mostly EMS pants, sleeveless tops and hiking boots. Socks. A bra, a bathing suit, one long sleeved shirt just for nights, a pair of clogs (I'll be damned if I'm wearing shoes that require lacing/unlacing to get on the airplane!), a bit of jewelry One nice outfit for a show/dinner. Easy.

Carry-on: camera, camera items, iPod, books, writing paper, letters unanswered, laptop, snacks, something to drink. Tea bags, Smarties. Ambien (I hate sleeping in a hotel bed), sunglasses, cell phone, cell phone charger, batteries, stamps (domestic & international), more books. Maybe some work, but probably not.

And there must be room in the luggage for purchases. Lots of room.