Creature Comforts
I'm about 99% packed and ready, at this point, and have been walking around doing some final surveying — making sure boxes are sealed and visibly labeled, no spare items are lying around, and so on.
I was doing a quick inventory of my backpack, and got a little embarrassed at how many luxury items wound up in there (this occurred as I was deciding whether to take my tea jar with me), but then I figured, you know, the cat battles his anxiety by pacing around, guarding the folder of border documents against thieves, and peeing on the suitcase — I'm allowed at least the coping mechanism of making myself feel like I have the things that make me feel at home, even if I'll be living out of a backpack for a few weeks.
The list of things going in the backpack is actually kind of telling regarding the things that matter a lot to me:
Sony laptop, with cables for both ethernet and modem, if needed. Trackball for the laptop Documents for crossing the border, finding the hotel, and finding the office Ivan's brush, because that's one of the fastest ways to make him happy again if he's freaked out Dead Babies by Martin Amis Heavy Water by Martin Amis (I'm honestly not that much of an Amis freak, but I'd gone to Half Price Books to buy something else, and found a whole bunch of his stuff that I'd wanted to read) My Chinese textbook from Hangzhou My journal to write in A couple of pens, a pencil, and some paper Tea jar, with a small tin of jasmine tea iPod, with headphones and charger Cell phone, with charger Palm, with sync cable and charger Gameboy, with some games and charger Digital camera, with extra battery and charger
That's not too crazy is it?
I was doing a quick inventory of my backpack, and got a little embarrassed at how many luxury items wound up in there (this occurred as I was deciding whether to take my tea jar with me), but then I figured, you know, the cat battles his anxiety by pacing around, guarding the folder of border documents against thieves, and peeing on the suitcase — I'm allowed at least the coping mechanism of making myself feel like I have the things that make me feel at home, even if I'll be living out of a backpack for a few weeks.
The list of things going in the backpack is actually kind of telling regarding the things that matter a lot to me:
That's not too crazy is it?