Seattle or BUST (my luggage)

Off to Seattle this weekend! Yippee. . .a much needed respite from the craziness of everyday life. FREEDOM!

I'm teaching a class tonight so I did most of my packing yesterday. I packed light. Really light. In fact, everything fits into one small carry-on bag. Those of you with whom I've travelled or visited will understand that this is indeed a sacrifice. I like to be prepared for any travel emergency. It usually pays off. I spent the night in the Seattle Airport a few years back. . .something about fires in California holding up our plane. I didn't buy that story for one second. I'm pretty sure the pilot was having dinner atop the Space Needle with his Canadian lover. Anyway, I always pack extra socks, extra unders, extra gum, extra magazines. . .you name it, I've thought of it. Not this trip! I'm even leaving my hair straightening creme at home. Why would I do such a wild and crazy thing?--you might ask. Well, I am putting my super small carry on into a rather sizeable piece of empty luggage to ensure that I will have enough room for my SUPER Seattle purchases? Pathetic, I know!

When I was there in October, I stood in the IKEA parking lot for half an hour with the trunk of my rented Toyota Camry open--stuffing my luggage with miscellaneous treasures. I almost left some clothes behind to fit a slew of requested cheese graters. Oh, I can't wait for the new IKEA in Draper to be finished. It'll change your life! In fact, I've volunteered to help in the building process on several occassions. They seemed a little bit perplexed at my offer, but I'd do just about anything to get that place up and running--even put up drywall.

Ain't life grand?