"It is fatal to know too much at the outset: boredom comes as quickly to the traveler who knows his route as to the novelist who is overcertain of his plot." Paul Theroux, To the Ends of the Earth

Mum and Dad left today with two suitcases filled with the last of my belongings. One is for Dad to take to Ireland, and the other is my checked-in luggage. What didn't make the cut - what I'm still not ready to part ways with and what didn't fit into these two suitcases - was dropped off in our storage unit yesterday. There's nothing left here. All I have is a shoulder bag with enough clothes to dress me next weekend in DC, let alone the rest of the week here in Portsmouth. I'm not planning on bringing both suitcases to Australia, it's just that, and I don't know why, but I'd rather have the majority of my stuff in Ireland, as a somewhat stable "home-base," or in one place, rather than sitting in storage. Most of my clothes are there anyways, leftover from Italy as I only packed to come back to America for a month. Who knows where I'll end up, but somewhere inside of me, despite this vagabonding adventure I'm about to embark upon, is itching to have just one home where I can set up all my things, rather than it being here and there, making friends with mice in storage, and taking up space at John and Sheelagh's. (Maybe one day I'll have more than one home :) ) I consider myself to be a particularly good packer, but I wonder if I'll be able to pack for a trip across the world with just my backpacker bag. And I HATE over-packing, it makes me fidgetly-anxious and hot-flashed-claustrophobic. 

one year in this bag?

Packing for such a trip is hard. I try to think of all the things I packed for Italy and didn't wear (those red heels for dancing in Milanese clubs that were only worn for Halloween - the Colorno cobblestone, the Colorno everything were just not well-suited for such footwear). I guess once I figure out what I'll be doing over there, I'll be able to plan a little bit more accordingly. Until then, it's a lot of What If's and oooh-maybe-I'll-have-an-excuse-to-wear-this-headband-that-I-haven't-worn-in-5-years-again. 

But at least when I'm in Ireland, I'll have ample amounts of time to pack and unpack, pack and unpack, pack and unpack - one of my favorite stress-relieving late night activities.*

*Arina!! Who's going to make fun of me?!