So I am working on my packing list for this trip. Eighteen days usually requires a lot of clothes. Usually I can wash my gotch and socks in the sink in the hotel room so that's not soo bad, but still, it's nice to have enough, and not be putting on damp gotch in the morning.
This time I will not be staying at a hotel. Instead I will be staying at Khanada's flat for the week working in Houston, and then with the ghost for the time I am in Stefnee, Kansas. So I am hoping that they will let me use their laundry machine (ooh! we can fold gotch together! how thrilling!!!) which will cut back some on the amount of clothing I need to take, towels, and hair dryers (with short hair now I don't shed anymore). And of course a facecloth to do my usual eco-showering!
Also, YES is a casual place and Khanada said she often works in jeans. That's good. I'm not a jeans guy as I overheat in them, but it means no suits, no dress shirts, no coach black leather shoes, no ties. That will dramatically cut back the packing, let me tell you.
So, what have we got to pack?
Well, first of all I need to pack the CLOTHING...
- t-shirts (5) - easy to roll up and stuff
- short-sleeved work shirts (3) - don't need to work in long sleeves, can wear out in evening
- long-sleeved dress shirt (1) - just in case
- tank tops (3) - for that holiday heat
- gotch (5) - not a commando guy, and if it's hot, it's great to change into something "dry" after work in Houston
- pj shorts (2) - I don't sleep naked; especially when I'm a guest
- socks (5) - we wear socks in Kansas
- outdoor shorts (3) - I don't wear pants much in the summer at all unless I'm working
- casual pants (3-4) - for work, and going out where shorts are inappropriate
- belt (1-2) - need to hold my pants up as I don't have hips to hang pants on.
- sandals/shoes (2) - getting around
- thin sweater (1) - cooler nights, going out
- jean jacket (1) - in case it's cool on the porch in Kansas
- sports coat (1) - you never know
- airplane slippers (1) - keep feet cool, and fresher
- of course one set of clothes in this list I'll be wearing on the trip, so that decreases the total volume somewhat...
Then we have the TOILETRIES...
- toothrush/paste - fresh breath, clean teeth
- razor/cream - I prefer me without facial hair
- anti-p - necesarry
- just-in-case tylenol stuff - different time zones, different air, different living conditions, long flights... they all add up
- Airborne - to enjoy a "spritz" of effervescent vitamin bubbly once in a while
- YES Supplements - essential travel gear
- pi perfume - because I like it!
Can't forget the travel ESSENTIALS...
- passport - necessary for globalized ootnaboot travel
- airline ticket - obviously
- travel insurance - covers everything that might not happen
- train tickets - $160 to go to the airport and back.
- wallet - yep
- gaijin card - necessary to leave and come back into Japan
- USD/JPY - obviously
- credit cards
And add on to that the SUNDRIES...
- sunglasses - have sunnies, will travel
- lip chicken poop - traveling dries out the lipperoonies
- book to read - have a new one on order, recommended by Abby (more NewAge Wackhead shit)
- gifts - coming from / going to Japan you never ever ever travel gift-free. Ever. Got that?
- carry-on bag - Awesome new Eddie Bauer bag. I love it! best one yet (see photo at top of blog)
- stefnee sling bag - still waiting for it to come. something to carry books, passport, etc.
Lest we forget the ELECTRONICS...
- computer et. al - must do work (in Japanese), and keep in touch with outside world (this is the biggest pain in the ass of all to travel with - I hate traveling with computers)
- video camera / charger - cam without video? hahahahahahaha
- camera / charger - still shots for those folks still on squirrel dial up
- IC recorder - plan to see what happens when I sleep with a ghost for a week
- keitai / charger - need this for when I return
I think that's about it. Now I just need to pull this up as a checklist next week for travel.
I wonder if I'm going to get all this stuff into one check in bag (my big rolling bright red duffel), and then the other stuff into my carry on day pack, and the stefnee bag...? I hope so. I'm seriously going to try to do these 18 days without two pieces of check in luggage.
If the weather looks like rain, since Mayu will be away when I leave, I will pre-ship my suitcase to Osaka Airport a few days early (by wednesday next week) and then walk down to the local train pickup point to ride into Fukui. It's not a long walk by any means (nothing here is), but not something I recommend doing while pulling a suitcase in the rain. I will just take one of those little fold up travel umbrellas that keep your head and shoulders dry, and that's it.
I love you!
Cam
Don't care about your gotch BUT your hair is growing again! Whoot whoot! Sexy pic here too Cam
ReplyDeleteAm I feeding you the Attention Whore yet?
love you
Michelle - I cut it after this. I think I went the next day and cut it short again. But it's grown a bit since then. Thanks. I was balancing the cell phone on my car to take this photo, so it was difficult to get a good one. Had to take a bunch and pick one. I'll take any attention I can get. Don't waste your time on JI, he doesn't care about attention. From anyone. I love you!
ReplyDeleteMe waste my time? I would never do that! And you are a s*** disturber to bring it up. You know he will be over here fster than jack rabbit! He craves that attention and you know it. lol
ReplyDeleteMan, that used to drive me nuts back in my kNAVerY days. You're going on deployment and your weight allowance is so many kgs, but when you have size 14 combat boots you quickly go over that. Then you have to leave your civilian pattern clothing behind and purchase new stuff when you get there, which will then have to be abandoned for the trip home. Aaaaargh!!! Bad Flashbacks!!! Thanks Cam!!!
ReplyDeleteWow! Well, just goes to show, Rob, how the mind stores EVERYTHING, whether we can access it or not, and whether we WANT to access it not! Glad to bring back the good memories!
ReplyDeleteI hated traveling to Europe because you get one suitcase, maxwt of 20kg. That's it. And the big horkin' Japanese suitcases are bulletproof wonders, but they also weigh about 10kg. So taking 10kg of size ginormous clothes and suits and samples to a trade show and then traveling around Europe (gotta be fashionable) to meet customers for a few weeks was also a nightmare!
Well thats a fine howdy-do...wackhead shit......hummmm! you are supposed to read them, not wack yourself in the head with them! Der!
ReplyDeleteAbby - I'm looking forward to it! I lovingly use that term because Kristen said that with all the breathing, and meditating, and bacon and stuff that I've been talking about, I sound like some New Age Wackhead! And I take that as a very high compliment!
ReplyDeleteSo thank you for recommending it, and it arrived today! The cheapest one was also the newest one which is full of cute drawings and colours and stuff. I'm going to save it for the airplane where I can be nothing but 100% present as I ride the air waves.
I love you!
What you need is one of those food dehydration things so you can make some bacon jerky and add that to the list , They may try to poison your purity with airline carbolicious poisons this way you can survive the upteen hours in the air and not starve and die from lack of pig meat. And that list, thats worse then some of my girlfriends who are really anal, except they wouldnt bring any electronic items, well not the kind you want to list LOL
ReplyDeleteAlso, im sure these people will let you use their laundry applicances, I mean please what kind of host would say NO!?!?!?!
ReplyDeleteOh btw I like the garden photo, it reminds me of my sisters backayard garden in Burbank, she has the green thumb,...sadly I do not
ReplyDeleteKristen - Well then my dear, you and I have one thing in common because I also most definitely do NOT have a green thumb. That's why I don't touch that stuff!
ReplyDeleteAs for the airlines... I always boil about 4 eggs (shaken, not stirred), take a couple packages of those little german sausages we love for breakfast, and buy a big chunk of the hardest cheese I can find. That usually keeps me going throughout the flight.
So, if it's worse than what some of your girlfriends would bring... how would you suggest I pare it down? I'm all ears... List away, dear travel advisor, mine.
I had no idea what Pi perfume was, so I looked it up. The blurb certainly sounds like you: "An alternative to the citrus scents of the 90's, Pi cologne is a celebration of what makes a man seductive - his intelligence, courage, and contributions. Pi is more than a name, it's a symbol. The masculine bottle, designed by Serge Manseau, has a hi-tech closure system and plays on the contrast between pure lines and perfect proportion. Designed by Givenchy in 1998, Pi cologne is a refined, oriental, woody fragrance. It's fragrant nature explores essences of bergamot, lemon and sage. Blended with notes of jasmine, orris and sandalwood, far from light, the scent is deliberately masculine, woody and intense. Definitely intended for the naturally confident man."
ReplyDeleteI think I will have to refer to you from now on as The Pi Man.
I look forward to the video travelog.
For starters, loose some of the electronics, You say your stuck with the computer, and if this is really for work, well then you have no choice. Just bring a still camera( which I assume is digital?) so you can document your adventures in the "Red States" leave the IC thing. How many carry on's are you bringing? and how many books do you really need to bring, are you just bringing one, that should suffice and keep it small maybe trade paperback? Also you say you need to keep in touch with the outside world. do you really? Now yes you say your working so the comp is a necessity, But if your ever travelling just for fun, cant you leave most of that behind? I guess if you must take photos of every tree and bush and you standing in front of something and pointing ( thats just an example not something you do) then you MUST but keep it simple, You'll know what you dont need if you really look at it, but since this is business with pleasure you have no choice, some things must come. but I would just bring the digital I assume its rather small?
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteI want to know do the call it Pee or Pie
Kristen - Yes, the IC recorder is the size of a small iPod. Very cool. I am bringing it and plan to run it when I am sleeping in the basement of Stefnee's house. She has a ghost that lives down there. I want to see what I experience, and document anything that might happen.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking of leaving the still camera behind, actually. The digital video camera has 6mega pixel stills. The only problem with this great video camera is that it has no tripod mount, and the bottom is convex, meaning it cannot be set for self-imagery.
Keeping in touch with the outside world = work, and home updates. I could write a blog on anybody's computer if I so wished, so that's not a problem. If I didn't have to do work in Japanese, I guess I could try to do my emails through yahoo and stuff. But with invoices, and communicating with Japanese suppliers, sending invoices, shipping documents et. al, it is a necessity.
It's pronounced PIE, as in the mathematical number 3.14159654...., you smartass.
Lyvvie - That is awesome! This perfume is stunning.... just ask ANYBODY who has purchased a kimono from me in the past what happened to their senses when they opened the package and pulled it out. I haven't had too many in the past, but my best friend Daydreamin' found it and sent it to me for a gift... .and I DID have a pigasm when I sprayed it on. Even now... it is one amazing perfume... Thank you for finding that description. I like it!
Let's see what Stefnee thinks when I hug her, wearing it, hmmm?
Im surpised after living in Japan for so long you should know better then to mess with the spirit world, If I were you I would talk to someone at a temple or someone in japan who knows about protection from these things, recording it is the last thing you want to do or should be doing. the last thing you want is to bring it back to Japan with you. Once this happends and the US ghost hooks up with its japanese counterparts, your cute little Japanese house could end up being the new portal for the underworld all because you wanted to play scooby doo.
ReplyDeleteWell leave some of those electronics behind Also you will be around other people, they can hold your camera. As I said the comp because of work is probably necessary. And I know what PI is, do you know what the symbol for PI is???
PIGasm or PIgasm? now I wonder is this some pork laden fragrance? Now your just sick LOL!!!
Stefnee may think, Mmmmmmm "BLT's for lunch???"
OMG-when Cam sent me a kimono a few months back he sent me his scent. OMFG-that scent still lingers to this day and oh...................*swooning*
ReplyDeleteWhat you need to do is get that scent then put it on a boyfriend or hubby or significant lover and then, have at them!!!, usually when they are mixed with the person's PH it gets really mmmmm.
ReplyDeleteI have a friend Jeff down in San Diego and he wears a rather nice mens cologne I think its an older one thats been around it might be Kouros I cant remember anyway, lets just say the few times he has had that on and well he wasnt dressed for long and....I think you know, but its so different when its on the actual body,
I agree, it is completely different. And it's even better a few hours later, after the alcohol has evaporated off. Did you ever see the movie "Perfume"? Very interesting.
ReplyDeleteKristen - I've never had the "pleasure" (note the quotes) of ever experiencing anything regarding the afterworld. For better or for worse, I seem to be totally unconscious of it. Our friend here who has talked with them all her life until she gave birth, said that I'm lucky. Do you have any sensitivity to it?
No I just think there are some things that shouldnt be messed with so give that stuff a wide berth, so maybe that might be a form of sensitivity but not in the traditional sense of being able to communicate with them.
ReplyDeleteNo I never saw Perfume is it a documentary or was it some drama or comedy?
Ok, Typing as I go.
ReplyDeleteSkip the jean jacket... esp since you're packing a sweater. Trust me. Even if it rains, you'll only need a light sweater.
Um.. you can wear sandals here. :oP
why don't you just stop once you're stateside and pick up the airborne and tylenol stuff? Or... pack the tylenol and such in little teeny cases? We DO have airborne here, yanno.
Never travel without gifts?? OK..... does that mean... the host should have a gift? Damn. I was thinking... I'd *make* yours when you were here... (sleep shorts and such)
Don't forget to practice walking around lugging all of your stuff... just to make sure you can manage it!
My last trip, I didn't even pack a suitcase. I managed to get everything into one carry on bag!! First time EVER!! I felt so... free! I was able to check in online, print out my boarding pass... bypass all of that.. and go straight to the security check points. it was fantastic!
P.S.
I love you!
*swoooooooooooooon*!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteOh yeah... I fully expected this to be another PreachyLowCarb blog.
ReplyDelete*giggle*
Speaking of... those sneaky 10 lbs that found thier way to me over the winter are gone. Yaay!
There you go, see Cam Your Host knows exactly what you should do!!
ReplyDeleteShe does indeed!
ReplyDelete1) Wear pi
2) Hug her
3) Prance around
4) Eat lots of meat for good health
(Stefnee - Me too! Yaaay!!!)
Oh yeah.. better pack your swimsuit unless you wanna swim in your gotch.
ReplyDeleteRight! Thanks. And I can wear the swimsuit when WE do that pilates circuit training in your living room!
ReplyDeleteDeal! I must warn you though... the boys think it's fun. And it gets kinda crowded.
ReplyDeleteI was hoping they'd all be there for the event! Time to cook.
ReplyDeleteAt your recommendation, I just finished watching 'Perfume'
ReplyDeleteI liked it.
Yes, it was a good movie. I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially because it was not too "hollywoody". A bit disturbing... and fantastical, of course... but interesting indeed. Thanks for letting me know!
ReplyDeleteNEEDASHERPA.COM
ReplyDeleteINTEXAS.WHAT?
ReplyDeleteHAVEKHANADA.THANKS
I love those kinds of movies, Cam. Quirky and real. Not really a happy ending.. but not a tragic or sad one either. Just... a little window into the lives of others.
ReplyDeleteLoved it.
omg
ReplyDeleteI would LUV to see Mayu in a THONG
ok, weird thoughts of kayak and Mayu aside here
you MUST MUST MUST KISS my Seamus for me
PUHLEEEEZE!
if you do I will buy Mayu a thong
wait
that is my fantacy not yours
just kiss Seamus for me
luvs to you~c
Hey!
ReplyDeleteMake sure you kiss Seamus for me too!
Almost forgot he was a neighbour.
Give him a squeeze from me too.
I will do that! I wonder if he'll let me get near... He might try to punch in my face like Adrian almost did when I tried to hug him! Some guys just aren't into hugs!
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Gerry's wife will get jealous of me when I hug him..... (good! It will keep her on her toes and maybe appreciate him even more than she already does!)
Cam - it's a British thing, not necessarily a MAN thing. Adrian isn't touchy feely with anyone other than me. Seriously.
ReplyDelete