I'm currently beginning the process of packing. Why so soon? you ask? Because on the 2nd of May, I will be driving out of Tallahassee with a U-Haul trailer loaded with all my earthly possessions, bound for West Texas, where our family ranch is located (outside lovely* Colorado City). There I will be storing my belongings while I'm away for the next two years.
It was an easy decision disguised as a tough one. Tough, because I'd much rather keep my stuff in Florida, since I intend to at the VERY least reside in Florida when I return from my service. (Hawai`i is my ultimate goal.) But it turned out to be an easy decision in that it's hard to turn down free storage. So off to Texas I go! I'll begin packing all my things next week, but for now I'm packing for the Peace Corps. At first I was going to just "test-pack" everything just to see if it will all fit, do an "official" packing job the week before I depart. But as I was laboring over the shirts and slacks today it hit me -- why not just pack it all now, and not have to worry about it again? I have plenty of other clothes and supplies that don't need to go in there... I'll just wear those for the next month instead. Simple! And anything I can't pack just yet, like my cap or rain coat, can easily be included in a heartbeat once I'm ready to go.
This is nice, because it gives me the time to pack and do it right. Last time I desperately packed under an insanely-tight deadline, and I'd like to avoid that again. Plus I've already had one nightmare about packing and I don't care to have another. I don't need that kind of anxiety. In addition, I'm notorious for not remembering everything the first time I pack, and then having a terrible epiphany in some airport terminal that I forgot socks or something, so this gives me five weeks to add things I initially forgot.
The problem of the day: to bring, or not to bring, a pair of jeans. The packing list from the Peace Corps says bring two. Brokekid's packing list says bring one. But I'm sorta basing my decisions on what I'd be willing to wear during a Tallahassee summer -- summer around here can be pretty intense, topping out at like 100 degree Fahrenheit and 95 percent relative humidity -- and jeans are not something one wishes to bear on days like that. I also remember one evening during training in St. Lucia looking down into my duffel bag and thinking, "Jeans... I'll never wear those down here!" So I'm leaning toward not bringing any jeans. If there are any Guyana PC readers who wish to vote pro or con, I'd love to hear from you.
-Bri
2 comments:
I wore mine less than ten times, useful only as a backup pair of pants, when EVERYthing else is dirty. Alas, it's only one pair, so if you like them or they're a part of a particular look/outfit, then bring them (like I did).
Man, it seems the jury is really out on the value of jeans. But I think I agree with you -- having lived in a place with high humidity and high temperatures for a while, I can vouch for *not* wanting jeans under 99% of the circumstances, and then only when I wanted it as part of a "look." From May to November I don't wear anything but shorts in Tallahassee, at least for the most part. Maybe jeans on a date so she doesn't have to stare at my hairy legs or something. :)
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