I'm ready to hit the road in the early AM.

• Suitcase & car loaded except for last-pack items.
• Electronics updated & charged.
• Clothes laid out.
• All prep lists checked off.
• "Don't forget" list of last-pack items updated & ready.

And because a super-kind coworker took my shift tonight, I get to enjoy a restful evening before the hectic rush & excitement of tomorow's drive, check-in & set-up. Huzzah. TV & comfort food, here I come.

Now I digress.

If it seems like I'm overplanning a 3-hr road trip to a 4 day event I've attended a dozen times, let me share this gem: I once left behind my wallet on a 2-hr road trip I'd done dozens of times. True story. I would lose track of my own head if it wasn't firmly attached.

Left to myself, I am a happily absentminded scatterbrain.

This takes some people by surprise. "But you're so organized!" they exclaim. Every job evaluation I've gotten has praised my organizational skills. I'm one of Those People with a clean desk.
Paradox? Not really. Life is a puzzle, I love solving puzzles. I am INCAPABLE of being organized, but my life is easier when I'm not always losing things, forgetting things, or having to live without. So little by little, I've been figuring shit out.

Now I have a huge collection of quirky workarounds that keep me from getting buried by life puzzle pieces. Most of the time.

Many quirky workarounds have become habits--easy homey mental routines that run in the life background and don't take much monitoring. (Designated zones for chaos & clutter & every Items ALWAYS go back in their spot even if that means having 1 per floor of the house, etc etc)

But travel routines are different. No trip is ever exactly the same as the last one, and that means I can't trust myself not to lose a piece or five. (Like, say, UNDERWEAR)

I've done it enough that I'm good at it, I have lots of SUB-routines to deploy -- but the process still sucks up mental energy like an old smartphone sucks up battery power.

So I have to do a lot more planning than some people do, but it's the right amount for me. I have to put in extra time to make sure I don't arrive without, oh, say, the ID I need to get into an event, or my phone, or something else that would make the trip a misery.

ANYway. Gen Con prep is officially done. Tomorrow, the fun part begins.

Except for Spouseman, who is holding down the home fort while I'm gone. Poor him, he gets to deal with the kitten. Gonna be ineresting to see if Mr. Pips remembers who I am when I get home on Sunday night.

That's all for now. Until later!