Noir et blanc

Noir: Attendre la veille de son départ pour essayer ses vêtements d’été et se rendre compte qu’on a maigrit plus qu’on pensait et que tous nos pantalons légers sont trop grands. Des courses de dernière minute s’imposent.

Blanc: Recevoir en cadeau d’anniversaire une boîte de chocolats Geneviève Grandbois et se rendre compte que même conservés au frigo, on doit les déguster de 7 à 10 jours après l’achat. Je suis donc obligée de bouffer tous les chocolats avant mon départ demain. Obligée, je vous dis. Pauvre pauvre moi.

Gris: Si je bouffe tous les chocolats maintenant, peut-être que je n’aurai pas besoin d’aller m’acheter des pantalons plus petits?

Suitcases and nutcases

Don’t get me wrong: I love to travel and I’m grateful for the fact that I’m able to do it once in a while.

But man, do I hate packing! I hate trying to anticipate the weather in a foreign country and knowing that no matter how much stuff I’ll take, I’ll never feel like I’m wearing the right clothes: too hot, too warm, not stylish enough, too dressed up, not ready for the rain, etc.

No matter how much time I’ll spend picking the perfect suitcase or backpack, I know it will not be appropriate for my next trip and I’ll feel like I need a new one. Don’t even get me started on a daypack. Backpacks make you feel like the ultimate tourist but anything else is too small or too uncomfortable for a long day of walking through the city. And do you bring a purse to go out at night?

Picking the right shoes also makes me nervous. They have to be comfortable since I’ll be walking for hours, but what will I put on my feet when I want to wear a skirt to go to a nice restaurant? Shoes are heavy so you can only bring so many…

And how about toiletries? What if I forget my contacts or my glasses? Should I really bring a hairdryer? Will it work with a power adapter or will it fry my hair like that stupid dryer did in France? Will I just leave my hair curly and hate myself on every single picture? Has that bottle of sunscreen expired? Will I remember not to carry the pointy nail file and the scissors in my carry on so I don’t get busted at airport security?

Which book should I bring? Isn’t that one too heavy? If I bring that small book, will I be done reading it before we land? Will I really have time to read or won’t I just be too tired at night?

Then there’s the electronics: The camera, the memory cards and the battery charger with the appropriate adapters. Should I bring my PDA (and its charger)? How about my iPod (and its charger)? Should I really bring it since I’m not traveling alone?

And what if they don’t transfer my bag during the short time between my connecting flights? Will I have to stay all day in the apartment I’m renting to wait for the damn thing to arrive (that is, IF they ever find it).

Yikes.

If I were rich I would never ever bother packing. I’d just spend the first two days of the trip buying all new stuff.