All packed up and ready to go!

Holy cow, it's the last weekend before a major international vacation -- I leave on Thursday for Vietnam! 

As you might expect, I devoted this weekend entirely to travel preparations.  I made many lists: 

• a packing list (in the form of a spreadsheet with items sorted into six columns and categories),
• a shopping list,
• a list of stores that would have the items on said shopping list,
• an "order of operations" to ensure maximum efficiency in visiting each of those stores, and
• a backup list of all the things I thought of while shopping that weren't on my original list.

Thanks to good weather, good planning and good luck, everything went smoothly and I find myself fully packed and ready to go a good four days ahead of schedule.  Maybe this once I won't have to stay up all night before my flight trying to get everything done.  (And if I do, at least it will be for reasons other than packing -- like cleaning the apartment.)

Now if only all of my work projects were in equally tidy shape . . . .



The packing list materializes before my eyes

This one is for Lady and Quynh-Nhu, who will appreciate all these
tidy little bags full of things. The existence of little stuff sacks makes
me want to have more things to put in them.

My captive Boba Fett.  Mark gave him to me 14 years ago when I left on
my mission.  He travels everywhere with me in this little film canister.

And this, my friends, is what I'll be living out of for the next two-and-a-half
 weeks. (I've even set out my outfit for the plane ride to Hanoi --
can't wait till I'm wearing it out the door!)