About To Leave

I'm done packing. The baggage is so heavy, I think I have to offload something before I leave. Don't think I overpacked - there is just too much stuff to bring. I bet my baggage weighs more than 50 pounds. Which means trouble.

I'm done getting a new phone as well. I managed to leave the office at 7.30, and therefore managed to get the phone/get the wedding gift/have dinner by 11, and therefore managed to start packing only slightly before the clock struck 12. I never fail at this everytime I am to leave for the States.

I'm done booking a seat on Amtrak. Wanted very much to redeem a free domestic flight, because the money that went into the new phone is pinching me sorely rightly. But no tickets available - I just think it's a crappy online booking system. I almost got a seat on the U.S. web site, until they asked for my credit card details, which has to be issued with an U.S. billing address. Another crap. The train ride, albeit a new experience for sure, will cost me more money - all even before I can think of Gap and Old Navy.

I'm tired, and I can't bear to think of the journey all the way to Seattle. The 18-hour plane ride, the 4-hour wait/tram ride/walk from Portland Airport to the Amtrak station, then the almost 4-hour train ride, before I can see my cousins. With the more-than-50 lb baggage in tow.

I love adventure. Did I say?

I'm glad I had a nice dinner tonight, before I am to leave. A little painful, but it is making me feel better.

One more hour before the cab arrives. Somehow, suddenly, I feel like a walk. And a good cry before I go.