i hate packing.

but at least in every fold of a tshirt and every pull of a zipper there is the excitement and the anticipation of the time ahead, the growth, the fun.

and hell, just getting away.

so i guess it's better than unpacking, which is filled only with smelly clothing needing washing and the sad, heavy fumes of the end of the vacation and the return to a room that needs cleaning and a family that needs a team of psychiatrists.

but i'm not very good at packing. i mean sure, i can squish clothes in with the best of em. em being them professional clothes squishers. um. but i can fold and tuck and organise and cross off items on a mental list. nonetheless, i don't work well with fitting my life (and by life i mean wardrobe) into a bag that seems to get smaller and smaller every time i go away. cos, like, i do this thing where i don't wear less than two tops. i'm all about the layering, baby.

exhibit a: and yes, this habit of mine means that i have to pack about fifteen tops for a four-day vacation. if i were better at maths, i'd work out the average of tops per day. it's a lot, that i can assure you.

also i'm not good at making decisions. where are we going for lunch, alix? i don't know, it's up to you. what do you want to do next, alix? i don't know, it's up to you. want to jump off this bridge, alix? i don't know, it's up to...oh. what clothes are you going to wear for the next four days, alix? and then my brain explodes like an exploding brain.

it's all about the options, you see. i like to keep mine open. wide, wide open. like my eyes when there's chocolate in the general vicinity. so i tend to bring more outfits than it is humanely possible to wear in the period of time i'm going away. even counting my penchant for layering. i mean, you have to count for the different weather possibilities, right? so hot semi-hot warm semi-warm cool semi-cool cold semi-cold freezing semi-freezing. and then, you want to have a bit of choice in there, you know? like, you don't want to be feeling like wearing a green top on wednesday and find only red, pink and purple pouring out of your bag.

it's a very important thing to consider. i'm serious. it really is!

exhibit b:

told you i was serious. and apparently kinda angry. anyway.

so basically it's the night before i go away and i haven't started packing. because i hate packing.