I’m sure this is a pretty common dream…that sweaty anxiousness of showing up in your classroom and realizing you had no idea there was going to be a exam, and knowing too, that you have no idea what they’re talking about. Or getting to your locker and failing to know the combination. Or realizing you’re naked in a crowd. Or running in that molasses-slow-motion-dream-running for a bus or a plane or train and arriving as it pulls away.
They are all nightmare-variations on that age-old anxiety of feeling ill-prepared.
It’s one of the reasons I tend to steer clear of early morning flights. Even if I set alarm or two, I have restless dreams of running for (and just missing) the plane or half-awake-nightmarish-visions of forgetting my luggage or passport or…
Again, it’s all based on fear of not being prepared.
To a lesser degree, I think the issue I have with packing falls along the same continuum; a form of worrying about being ill-prepared.
I leave Sunday for my trip as a guest of South Africa Tourism.
I know what I want to achieve – I want to have the exact right item for the each specific occasion. Then I ramp the stakes up a little higher, declaring that not only does it have to be the right stuff, it also has to be very edited so that it all fits into a carry-on bag.
I have received my schedule and itinerary. Aside from looking it over to make sure all the dates and flights line up, I default to my usual modus operandi for any trip. That is, I never add up the hours of transit time. I’d rather not know.
I do know that I leave on the 12th and get to the actual beginning of the trip on the 14th. Considering there are no hotels in between, one can safely assume that there is a lot of planes and airports and ongoing travel time. To me, this translates to needing one perfect travel outfit that will carry me through all those hours.
When you throw in the actual trip requirements of dressing for safari, cool nights, zip-lining, horseback riding, a gorge swing (?!?) fancy dining, walking, touring, and chi-chi hotels, that little carry-on feels a little teeny. But like the spy with his hidden cyanide suicide pill, I have a backup plan. There is another bag waiting in the wings…it’s comforting to know it’s there. I know this blog is called Traveling Light. I know that. But still, it’s nice to know that bag is waiting…just in case.
I’m working through it. It’s only Wednesday. There’s still lots of time to figure it out.
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I remember dragging a monster suitcase all over southern France a couple of years ago in late June/early July. I simply had no idea how freakishly hot and humid it could be, and literally everything I brought was too heavy by half.
What fun to tour South Africa! Have you watched Sugar Man yet? A must-watch pre-trip and a great soundtrack to land to!
Laurie. I have done the bloated bag thing too. It’s a special type of hell.
It’s one of the reasons I need to really think about the packing. I don’t want to just throw things at it. Plus, I’ve had bags go missing. They have always been found but sometimes it’s two or three days later. When it’s a short trip like this one, that is a serious percentage of time spent waiting for my stuff.
And yes. Loved Sugar Man. Great movie and amazing music. I recently met a couple from NYC and they said his shows were sold out.
I’ve travelled with you and know firsthand that you seem to be able to pull an unlimited variety of fab clothing from an impossibly small bag. Computer equipment and camera gear too. I think we need photos.
Bless you Michele. I am hoping for that same type of miraculous morphing to happen on this trip too. Kind of a loaves and fishes trick 🙂
I just read over my itinerary again and realize I have no lightweight khaki pants for the safari. I’d forgotten that bright and dark colours are mosquito magnets. I do NOT want any bites from any killer mosquitoes with their silly dengue or malarial or who knows what. So…one more quick shopping excursion and then I pack. I like your idea. I’ll do some photos if it all fits. If it doesn’t? We’ll pretend we didn’t have this conversation:)
I’m doing quite fine with my one daypack/carry-on bag for my 3.5 weeks in Paris, Belgium & England. And that includes my laptop, and running gear. One thing I’ve realized is that with so few items of clothing, I’m more creative about what to wear with what. And I didn’t take only one colour. I actually have about 5 colours, but they mix and match very well together. Oh, I did stumble across a charity shop in Lille, France (hmm, was it Tuesday?) where they had a perfect lightweight, scrunchable white top that was perfectly cool for the unusually warm afternoon. And only 2 Euro.
What is a challenge is the weight of the bag, heavy on my shoulders for in-transit days.
It’s day 5 today. Could care less about having so few clothes with me, am just so pleased to be exploring such fun places! 🙂
That’s it Elinor…I want a photo of everything in your bag. You’re a star!
This is very inspiring. I’m doing another edit and accepting the challenge! Thanks 🙂
I have a trip planned to trek to Macchu Pichu. It’s not until October, but I’m already starting to figure out what I need, or at least, to realize I don’t have anything appropriate. Of course, I’m hoping that after five months of getting ready to hike at above 11,000 feet, I’ll need smaller everything, so I can’t get anything now. I need to just put it out of mind for at least another three or four months, but how will I survive the anticipation. Argh!
Of course, it’s a delight to have such problems.
Sharry, it is indeed a delight to have such problems. Once again my biggest problem in life is one of abundance.
You’re so right that you can’t do anything about packing yet, especially after months of training…who knows what new muscles will need to be accommodated! Trekking Macchu Pichu sounds divine…