OMG It’s So Heavy
The one thing I dislike about traveling is hauling around luggage. If it were possible to stuff five months’ worth of stuff (and a white Vespa) into a purse, wouldn’t that be pleasant? Amazing? Taking any suitcase anywhere, much less a 50 pound suitcase with a destination on the opposite side of the Earth or on the fourth floor of an elevator-less building, is bloody annoying. So I hate suitcases; I hate dragging them around.
If I were skilled when it came to packing, I imagine that my animosity towards suitcases would be less severe. But, I always pack extra clothes; I always take my laptop; I always take books; I always take notebooks; I always take more than one pair of shoes; I always… I always take a lot of stuff.
Regardless, the next time I go somewhere, I think I’ll do better: I won’t weigh myself down or stuff things in my suitcases to the point where I must sit on those suitcases to get them to close. Because, first, I wear a lot more skirts than I used to—skirts take up less space than jeans. :) Second, my Kindle eliminates the need for books. Third, my new laptop is much smaller and much less brick like than my old one. Fourth and finally, the thought of lugging a fifty pound abomination up multiple flights of stairs makes me think twice about putting non-necessities inside it…
Is there anything about traveling you dislike?
In other news, yesterday was my birthday. Thanks so much to everyone who sent me email, wrote on my Facebook wall, or posted birthday messages on Snark. ♥
Ugh. Baggage. I do not miss the stress of trying to fit impossibly large items into my suitcase. No, sir. I remember when I left Quebec, I had all my stuff, plus 9 months accumulated stuff. From Ottawa to Quebec, we took a bus, and I had two giant suitcases, a duffel bag, and a backpack. On my flight from Montreal to Calgary, I was only allowed my two cases, and a backpack. Eep. I made it, obviously, but not without sacrificing quite a few things, including my body lotion (which I tried to use up- we even had a lotion party, where I massaged everyone, with lotion, but I still had half a bottle left!).
I have exactly the same problem as you – I pack for every eventuality, which means that for a two-week vacation, I end up taking three weeks worth of clothes.
I’ve made a vow to myself though – I’m going to downsize what I pack next time I travel. I figure it’s a matter of packing a summer wardrobe of floaty dresses (approx. five), then packing about three pairs of black tights and three black turtlenecks/T-shirts to go under the dresses in colder weather. Capsule wardrobe!
Of course, this doesn’t solve your issues of taking laptops, notebooks, books, multiple pairs of shoes…:P
I looooove travelling but I hate the process of packing. However, I love that feeling of zipping up the luggage one last time after all the packing is done. :P Don’t you just wish you were a witch in Harry Potter’s world?
I’ve never traveled, so I don’t know how it truly feels to carry a lot of my stuff around in a suitcase. I do stay over my dad’s house two times a month, for a max of three days, and I take a lot of things stuffed in backpacks and in my laptop’s bag that. That usually includes clothes, shoes,hair stuff, shower stuff, my laptop, hugeass textbooks / dinosauric lab manuals plus lab attire and equipment (if I’m going to school next day).
I can’t imagine how I’d do if I had to pack for staying longer anywhere.
By the way, I sent you a birthday “present” on the mail along with the letter I was originally going to send :)
Ugh, I hate packing and living out of a suitcase, but the excitement of traveling definitely outweighs the annoyance of packing. I’m totally with Rilla, though. I could definitely use something like Hermione’s bottomless purse! I think the one (other) thing I don’t like about traveling is that a hotel room can never compare to the comfort of home — unless it’s a 4/5-star hotel, heh.
I love travelling and visiting different places. But yes, I hate having too much luggage because I always seem to forget something!
The thing I hate most is the airplanes. They scare me. Ever since 9/11, I’ve been scared that there’s going to be a terrorist on my plane, no matter how unlikely it may be. I actually love packing and bringing 15000 t-shirts on a 4-day trip. And hotels are so much fun!
I don’t travel very often, and when I do, dragging around a heavy suitcase is part of the experience :)
I hope you enjoyed your birthday!
I hate packing because I always tend to overpack and I can’t help it. I always pack at least 3 of jeans wherever I go, and on top of that, shoes for every occasion (runners, flip flops, boots, flats, etc) and my books! I love books too much to go without them even if I know I’m going to buy more on the trip…
Packing is actually one of my favorite parts of traveling. Not the hauling of suitcases, but the physical act of minimizing what I need. It’s the beginning of the fresh start that travel offers.
Was it a good birthday? I hope so.
happy belated birthday!
It’s not so much the amount of luggage that gets me down when traveling, though I’m not too bad at packing, it’s going through security. I got my coat, my carry on bag, my purse and sometimes my laptop and then you gotta take off your shoes, take the laptop out of the bag. Big pain in the butt. That and trying to figure out how to pack my shampoo and stuff now that they’re not allowed in carry-ons.
Lovely layout btw!
Whenever I pack for a trip, I always think of Mary Poppins’ bottomless carpet bag. If I had a bag like that, I’d be all set.
Overall, packing is okay. It’s unpacking everything when you get back from the trip that I find boring.
Happy belated birthday. :) I hope you had fun.
I have a distinct recollection of being in Venice (it was amazing, don’t get me wrong) but having to lug TWO giant pieces of luggage (I was touring Italy with friends for 2wks so packing light wasn’t an option) up to the fifth floor by stairs as well. I usually do pack as light as possible, but when you have to lug ANYTHING up five flights of stairs, it may as well be a five-hundred ton elephant. Long story short: I totally sympathize with your sore arm muscles! Happy belated birthday as well!