Friday, December 3, 2010

Leaving on a Jet Plane....

Well, I am sitting here at the Kansas City "international" airport waiting for my late afternoon flight to Nashville.  It is a wonderful feeling to be sitting here free from grading duties, my two-pound netbook in my lap, looking forward to a wonderful weekend with my son and his girlfriend, my brother and his wife, and the piece de la resistance ---- the Birth of Impressionism Exhibit at the Frist Museum.  I have been looking forward to this trip since July and I am finding it hard to believe that the time has finally arrived.

Before I must board the plane I want to share my packing woes from last night, as I know the readers of this blog are probably the only ones who will fully appreciate my predicament.  Now you must know that I will be gone for just the weekend, so I only had to pack clothes for two days.  This proved to be very easy as I only needed one pair of jeans and two sweaters.  The required undergarments and toiletries took only a few minutes to assemble and I was done.  The real problem, however, occurred when I had to decide which books to bring in my carry-on bag.  I knew that I didn't want to pack too many because lugging them around causes my shoulder severe pain.  I didn't want to take too few because I didn't know if I would be delayed at the airport.  And then there is always the quandary as to what sort of book I would want to read this weekend.  Some non-fiction?  Perhaps I could read a bit on Impressionism in preparation for the exhibit --- or I could read a photography book:  Visual Poetry is my current interest.  Or maybe I would feel like escaping into the world of fiction.  But which world?  I could begin reading something for the Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge, or perhaps I would prefer a cozy mystery?

It took me no less than forty-five minutes to make my ultimate decision, and even now I am afraid that perhaps I will regret not bringing just one more book.  For a two-day trip I have brought a total of four books!  Am I pathetic or what?

For those who are interested, here are the ones that made the cut:
Well, I now must sign off and decide which one of the four books I want to start reading.  

I hope you all have a terrific first weekend in December.  I know that I sure will!

13 comments:

  1. I totally understand and always overpack books when I travel. I guess you could always buy more if you needed to.

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  2. That's too funny! Can't wait to see you!

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  3. I can so see myself doing the exact same thing!!! One more reason for both of us to buy a Kindle!!!

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  4. You are certainly not pathetic! I'm always afraid I could run out of "reading stuff". However, I assume there are bookstores in Nashville, so if there's an emergency... I'm not good at reading in airports or on planes, so I always go with some light reading for these occasions. I guess Debbie Macomber would have made the cut for that scenario. Anyway, have a wonderful weekend in Nashville.

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  5. I am sitting here chuckling aloud as I see myself in your conundrum of which book(s) to pack. I always do this myself, often then buying a book while I am gone. I am not interested in ebooks, but, if I travelled by plane often, I think I would consider it.

    Safe travel and enjoy your weekend.

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  6. I hope you have a lovely weekend. I would struggle with the book decision too. I think you did well to just pick four.

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  7. I pack more books than underwear!! ;) Have a wonderful weekend Molly.
    *smiles*

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  8. Hope your w/end is perfect and that you are happy with the books you took as well.

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  9. But you have a Kindle right? This is exactly WHY you have one ... so you can bring a bunch of books with you!

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  10. I know I'm about a week late in commenting on this post but just wanted to say I definitely "get" your predicament. It's the number one packing question for all book lovers when they think about traveling. Hope you had The Best weekend with your family and your art.

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  11. I can so relate to this issue. I have a horrible time trying to limit the number of books that I take on trips with me. Even if I am to be away on a short weekend I still feel the need to bring a stack of books, my Kindle, and always some magazines. I guess us bibliophiles are all the same. I hope you enjoyed your trip!

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