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This time…THIS time I thought I’d scheduled all the packing stuff far enough in advance. Monday, this. Tuesday, that. Wednesday, fold and place in suitcase, and…whew! Thursday morning a final exercise ride, then wash my hair, throw the luggage in the car, and head for the city (where I’m spending the night with friends who will drop me at the train station, so we don’t have to worry about rush-hour traffic driving in on Friday.)
The trouble started on Monday when the power adapter for the netbook wasn’t in its place. Either place. It continued when the netbook, woken up on battery after a nice rest (I don’t use it at home much) started to install a new version of one of its programs and hung up. Couldn’t wait it out–it was on battery power. Forced a shut-down. Called around and finally ordered a new power adapter and rush shipping. All that helped me forget that Monday was supposed to be flu shot day, and go to the city and buy a decent pair of jeans for the train day.
So, Tuesday. Tuesday would be the city trip day. After the stuff I needed to get done before I left, including hand-washing some wool socks. The place that advertised flu shots (big HEB grocery 20-odd miles away) turned out to have them only from 10 to 12 noon, and though I was there shortly before noon, the flu shot givers weren’t. On into the city. Where the car gentle (!) announced that it was going to need service soon. EEEK. No time to get the car 20 miles in the opposite direction from home for service. Husband will have to do that while I’m gone. Along with getting himself and son flu shots and making sure son gets registered to vote in time (he sent in his registration application weeks ago–no card has come in the mail.)
Another place where I sought a power adapter in case the one on order didn’t get here in time–couldn’t be sure their universal adapter would work, and I hadn’t brought the netbook along. OK, jeans and slacks. Only, I forgot that a certain road dead-ends with no warning. Finally, jeans and slacks. Takes awhile if you’re not a svelte young (or old) thing, but old and un-svelte. Found a place for a flu shot on the way out of the city, and then went grocery shopping (we were nearly out of milk, and I needed snack stuff for the train) and then the slight but distinct after-effects of the flu shot hit when I got home. Did manage to cast on the second red sock in the backup pair that will travel with me.
Today–hit the ground running, yes sirree. Only to find in the email some “got to have this now” things from two different editors, and some other business-related stuff to do as well. Still, got laundry in, then hung on the line, another load in, first load brought off the line and folded, a third load in (some finally dried in dryer) , linens changed on bed, decisions made about some shirts. Actually rode NewBike to the post office to pick up mail, had mail to deal with. The new adapter arrived for the netbook. Plugged it in, turned it on…and that began six hours of frustration as the netbook objected to having been shut down and refused to make a clean boot until after many iterations, including more forced shutdowns. But it’s working now. Finally.
However: The trip to the bank never happened. Some of the packing is still in limbo. The big suitcase isn’t out of the closet yet. The last laundry’s in the dryer, waiting for me to fold it before I go to bed. (It also has the pillow-cases for this bed.) There’s a lot to be done tomorrow. But I did write another couple of pages on Book V.
I will get you all one more snippet before I leave. Somehow. It may be a bit scrappy.
Comment by ellen — October 4, 2012 @ 12:11 am
Yiiiikesss! Maybe you can have a rest on the train….And WHY can’t these computer/phone/notebook/tablet companies make their plugs and stuff interchangeable? Charge plug of my tablet broke the other day. And could I buy a new one locally, or anywhere else for that matter. Had to replace the tablet.
Comment by Naomi — October 4, 2012 @ 2:19 am
Sounds as if ‘Sod’s Law’ was operating on overdrive for you! sometimes I really hate high technology… an addendum to the law states that however well planned you are, you’ll always a) leave something behind and b) take something with you don’t need…
Comment by Daniel Glover — October 4, 2012 @ 6:49 am
Sigh, there’s always something. My apologies for inheriting my middle two weeks of September. Things are somewhat better here now. May they get so more quickly for you than they did for me.
Comment by Elizabeth D. — October 4, 2012 @ 12:03 pm
I hope you can rest during the journey. Unfortunately, we can’t go there; it probably would have made more sense than Chicago, as we have close relatives in NYC. I hope you enjoy the opera.
My days have been back to back crazy like yours the last few weeks; I can commiserate. Yesterday was about the worst: got a pain shot at the doctor’s in one of my trigger points (which didn’t work), then later that afternoon stepped on a thumbtack that my grandson had let drop on the floor. My last tetanus shot was in 2003; I’m in no mood for another until next year. I decided that age 7 is old enough to let him read all about tetanus; but now I’m not sure the punishment fit the crime. He was in tears, especially hearing that outside the United States (which has 50 to 100 cases a year) there are about a million cases a year, with about 300,000 to 500,000 deaths worldwide from tetanus.
Then later in the evening, I got to listen to the “debate” and was reminded just why we vaccinate against things like tetanus and don’t have a “voucher” system instead of insurance and Medicare. Clostridium, botulism, gangrene, tetanus, all one big happy family, like the GOP. (Sorry, but it was the capper of my day.)
Comment by Elizabeth D. — October 4, 2012 @ 12:07 pm
P.S.: I had been thinking that the unsingers were like something out of the clostridium family: anaerobic and lurking like demons underground.
Comment by Adam Baker — October 4, 2012 @ 3:29 pm
It always seems like when you’re prepping for a trip, things just go crazy. Had 3 business trips in 4 weeks early last year, and every single one started off rough, no matter how hard I tried to plan things out ahead of time.
Hopefully once you’re on the train, things will go smooth as silk!
Comment by Rowanmdm — October 4, 2012 @ 6:56 pm
I thought of you yesterday as I was taking the train from Grand Junction to Denver. It was more comfortable than I expected, so I can see why you prefer it.
I hope one of my traveling issues doesn’t befall you: the weather is different from forecasted. When I was packing it was supposed to be in the high 70s, but it is actually in the 40s and 50s and we should get snow soon. I am NOT packed appropriately for this weather!
Travel safe, and have fun at the con!
Comment by Nadine Barter Bowlus — October 4, 2012 @ 10:42 pm
Positive energy to you, Elizabeth, and the hope that you are not too frazzled when you board the train tomorrow morning.
At Rowamdm. When we are expecting guests up here in the Sierrs Nevada, we say pack layers suitable for the current season and the seasons on either side. So far, that’s worked.
Comment by Daniel Glover — October 5, 2012 @ 6:27 am
Well Rowanmdm, up here in Minnesota by the Canadian border we had a handful of homes lost to wildfire and high 70s on Tuesday/Wednesday and well over a foot of snow on the ground yesterday. The drought isn’t over, but the snow sure helped.
Comment by ellen — October 6, 2012 @ 12:19 am
@Daniel Glover Wow! I thought we were getting huge temperature changes here in New South Wales, but nothing like that. After the 96 heat yesterday and busgfire smoke visible in several places (and smellable – cough) snow sounds great!
Comment by Ginny W. — October 11, 2012 @ 3:46 pm
I sincerely hope that the trip was more relaxing than getting ready to go, that the netbook works, and that the trip inspires many more pages.
I am checking in after a hectic couple of weeks following the discovery that our sewer line was cracked (where it went out the basement wall). Its always something.
Comment by elizabeth — October 16, 2012 @ 6:09 am
Cracked sewer lines under a basement wall are worse than anything I’ve had to deal with. Sympathies!