from a recent insomniac, regarding suitcases and hooker boots

Meanwhile, back on the farm, it is now 1:26 am and I naturally cannot sleep due to the incredibly exciting peak of my life experience which will commence in precisely 4 days, 14 hours, 24 minutes, if I am doing my math correctly, which is doubtful.

We finished packing today. Twice, in fact. The original bag we packed for the tour part of the trip was maybe, I don't know, 203 pounds and just generally huge. We decided that this would not work. My parents insisted that there would be some good-hearted young gentleman on the trip willing to tote my large suitcase around for me. Perhaps I could exchange baggage carrying with him, they suggested. No. This is partially because I am highly opposed to being dependent on others for things like, oh, computer-fixing, potato-peeling, and bag-carrying. Thus, we shuffled things around, decreased the total number of items, and managed to fit my tour necessities into 1 very expandable carry-on size suitcase, a duffel bag, and a bookbag. Hooray! My Stratford/London bag is however much larger and rather heavy, but I only have to move it around twice and by golly I will do it myself even if it takes me 4 hours! (Actually, I'm not really that morally opposed to getting help. At least not if it is really going to take me 4 hours.)

We were somewhat concerned about how much space I would have to hold souvenirs and such on the way back. Then I realized, what the heck, I can just leave stuff there! I can assure you I will never again need my Arden Shakespeare volumes of King Henry VI, parts 1, 2 & 3. Why not sell it to a used booksalesman there? And all those toiletries I bought? Eh, they weren't that expensive, just dump them in the trash! And while I'm at it, I've had those hooker boots for a few years, I could just leave them as a souvenir of myself in England!

No, I couldn't survive without the hooker boots.

On a different note: a woman in China decided her dog was intelligent enough to drive. She discovered via a head-on collision that in fact he isn't. Obviously she should have a cat instead. No cat in a car would ever look sane/sober enough to convince the driver that the animal should take the wheel.

Countdown: 4 days, 14 hours, 8 minutes.