Lyfe Strugglezzzz

My life is made of major and mini struggles, you know, in addition to my constant inward monologue and awkward pauses.

This is this week’s struggle.

Meet this small, but manageable suitcase.

I leave for sunny Los Angeles on Sunday morning. Los Angeles means airport. Airport means suitcase. Suitcase means packing. Packing means Anxiety.

I have opted to avoid reliving last year’s LA packing catastrophe, where I was that girl. Last year, I realized that I have severely over packed when I had to pull the “get on the scale and weigh yourself with your luggage to make sure your suitcase isn’t too heavy” move. I was only going for one week, there was no need to even approach the suitcase weight limit, yet somehow I managed to exceed it…on the way back.

Yes, I was that girl who had to throw out all her toiletries because I refused to pay the “my bag is too fat” fee. My bag had miraculously gained 8 pounds while in LA, yet I hadn’t purchased anything to cause such a change. I felt better knowing I wasn’t the only one who had put on a little weight, thanks a lot Pinkberry. At any rate, there were stress tears, but luckily I had gone through security without any coworkers to witness my said breakdown.

Fast forward to present day. I feel the need to pack my back to capacity, always. In order to not overpack, I need to choose a suitcase of manageable size. This means that I need to pack my entire life within the size constraints of said suitcase. I can feel the packing anxiety building already. Lyfeee Strugglleezzzz!

So, what do I do? I obviously make a complete listing of everything I need for LA, by day and outfit to ensure that I do not forget anything, but that I only pack the essentials. Did I mention I am the daughter of a packaging engineer? Did I also mention I am an extreme over packer?

At any rate, I usually start said list four days prior to departure, which would leave me starting my list, well, right now, but packing is #6 on my “Top 5 Most Important Things To Do” list, so I guess this is going to be one of those “throw and pack” scenarios that I usually get myself into. The “throw and pack” is usually a marathon of laundry, folding, shoving, and over packing, where I ultimately need to either remove clothes that I think I won’t need (which I almost always need at some point on my trip) or upgrade to a larger suitcase. Humph.

So, its just me vs. the small, but manageable suitcase.

Stay tuned for documentation of said match up. I will win.