Perfecting Packing and Preparation

I am a notoriously disorganized packer; I tend to pack schizophrenically and, especially if I am uncertain of my destination's weather conditions, I always over pack. While packing last Saturday for my business trip in Prague, I was surprised at how smoothly everything was going; I had run errands to obtain necessary travel-sized toiletries, was able to neatly fold three of my suits, a charcoal, a cream, and a black, picked appropriate and comfortable travel attire, and all was fitting in my carry-on sized suitcase. As I was transferring in Rome, and could not afford, obviously, to lose anything in transit, an economizing carry-on was a necessity.

Then, as all was seeming to come together seamlessly, my driver set to arrive in a little under two hours, I double check my travel laptop to ensure I have the necessary files for my upcoming meeting; much to my severe dismay, the files did not synchronize properly, though I had connected to my office's network and had opened the files late the previous night, before leaving. Anxiety already mounting at the prospect of travel and other professional responsibility, I start to dry-heave a bit. Then, miraculously, I remember that I had already planned for this event of misfortune, also miraculously, and had uploaded additional back-up files to an online file sharing service. Due to their immense size, it took some time to download them onto the laptop, again, meaning some excruciating nail biting for over half an hour while I stared furiously at the crawling progress bar, every muscle, every last one, clenched.

The files downloaded successfully, and, most importantly, the meeting itself was also a success, so this is all now a hilarious and mildly self-deprecating meditation, where I can fully revel and appreciate my ability to pack for five days in Prague, where it is prone to tempestuous spring and summer weather with frequent rain, in a single suitcase.