Final Countdown

10 pm: I have been so on schedule for this trip it isn't funny. I am, by nature, a procrastinator to the max! But I laid out a schedule of when what needed to be done by and found myself yesterday with a quiet evening rather than the normal chaos associated with a trip! I thought I was doing good but we all knew that something was bound to go wrong.. and it did!

I have decided that the UPS drivers here in Sacramento are not the sharpest crayon in the box. Apparently they couldn't find the 122 unit apartment complex I live in. Santi's thread? It hadn't arrived by yesterday so I contacted Eli at Melco. He spent an hour on the phone with them to get them to deliver it today but no time specified. So that's good I thought. Because of the size of the packaging on the thread I have no problem with space or weight in my bags but it would make my life easier to have everything here when I was packing...

I've had deliveries as late as 7:45 pm from UPS and I fully expected them to take all day to get around to it. I did get all of my last minute stuff done while I paced the floor most of the day. By 6pm I was beginning to be unhappy for the first time since planning this trip! These idiots are messing with my perfect schedule! I was supposed to be in bed (according to the schedule) long before now. Since my first flight leaves Sacramento at 6:30am I need to be up by 3am. It's 10pm now and I have everything staged in the living room and now I need to go throw it in the suitcases.

So, I give up on UPS finally. I emailed Eli and told him I want a phone number for someone at UPS so I can have a "chat" with them. They had their chance with the very nice Melco salesman we have but he's done all he can. My friend, Karen, wants me to do this as a 3 way call (she's seen me when I'm not a happy camper and she just stands back and enjoys the show...).

11 pm: I have the stuff thrown into bags and all of the tops are still open just in case. When I have to pack like this, I tend to throw everything in the luggage that I can get my hands on! Great restraint was exercised here. Jazzy my fawn Pug knows something is up. You can see it in her eyes. Duchess (the black Pug) is more interested in the suitcases, she thinks she needs to crawl in there and go with me I guess. I keep telling her she doesn't have a passport so she can't go even if I had room in the bags, no passport no bye bye! So what am I forgetting? My liquids are in their little quart size bag, of course I had everything in the cabinet except quart size! Lisa, my neighbor, saved me a last minute trip to the store for that. The airlines are rather picky about things like that... All batteries are charged and ready to go, chargers are where I may some day find them (you know, those safe places).

12 am: I'm done for a few hours. I can't think of another thing I need to do at this point. I'm sure as soon as I close my eyes I'll think of something though. Or better yet, standing at the curb at the airport when Jany (my step daughter) pulls away! Oh well, it is what it is right now. Hey, I just remembered that I need a few pieces of jewelry! Oh Cara, I found a watch ;)