You know what they say: in order to make an omelette, you have to break a few eggs. I'm in the process of packing. I'll try to finish as much as I can on Monday, but there are certain things - a number of kitchen items, a number of bathroom items, bedding, and such - that can't be packed until I'm about twelve hours from vacating my apartment. In the mean time, I've been working to get as much sorted out as I possibly can.
For those who don't know me, I can be exceptionally detail-oriented. I decided on labels for my hard cases, made from packaging tape and 3" x 5" index cards. (There are several people reading this whom are shaking their collective heads, as they know how fixated I am on organizing my life using note cards.) I've divided them into the following categories:
TT01 to TT12 for those knock-off Action Packers;
FL01 to FL03 for the foot lockers - unfortunately, one of these sustained enough damage being shipped back from the Middle East that I'm going to have to bin it;
APS01 to APS02 for the small Action Packers;
APM01 to APM06 for the medium Action Packers; and
APL01 to APL02 for the large Action Packers.
Thus far, I've put secured items and decorations into the two APS', field gear and electronics gear into two of the APMs, books into four of the TTs, and some household items into one of the APLs. I'm getting less confident that I have enough TTs for all of my books, but I may be able to expand into space in some of the other bins. I'm either in really good shape as far as storage space, or entirely delusional. We'll find out which soon enough.
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Okay, when last I posted, I was quite nervous about my credentials. I'm still quite nervous about my credentials. However, I'm a firm believer in the great advice afforded us from the 1999 film South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut: make a plan, and follow through. It commonly rubs me the wrong way when a finely tuned plan is derailed, particularly for no good reason. In this case, though - and with the help of my good buddy and probable travel companion, Gus - I've realized that this hiccough in the plan is an excellent excuse for more planning.
Challenge accepted.
There are essentially three options, which will be determined based upon the date that my passport arrives back to me from the British Consulate. Well, four, I suppose.
Option #1 - The Passport Arrives In Time: If the passport arrives in time, we proceed as planned! Great success!
Option #2 - The Passport Arrives Slightly Late: If the passport arrives slightly late - something on the order of one day to fourteen days after we're supposed to travel - then we'll do what we can to change our travel arrangements (mainly rebooking tickets, hopefully without having to pay another two grand), and arrive as early as we can under the circumstances.
Option #3 - The Passport Arrives Really Late: Gus has some obligations in early October that he can't get out of. There will be a brief window, closing at the end of the first week of October, when I can still arrive and join classes late. If the passport arrives during or directly before that block of time, Gus may be replaced in the rotation by Ken. Maybe.
Option #4 - The Passport Arrives Too Late: If, for some bizarre reason, the British Consulate can't get me the passport until the end of that particular window, then I'll have to arrange to defer my admission and arrive in January. Although this would be a worst case option, I'd rather not do this for a whole host of reasons. The only advantage of this option would be that I could read more of my textbooks prior to departure.
I don't have to come up with hard dates for Options #3 and #4 until Option #1 expires. Fortunately, I don't have to be out of my apartment until the end of September, though I'm not sure where I'll live if I don't have the benefit of my own place. If I have to, I'm sure that I'll figure something out. In the mean time, I'll keep packing and sorting.
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