Ok. So for my trip I have a brand new, red, big enormous could-never-fill-it-all-no-way-no-how suitcase. I'd link to an informative sheet about it, because I'm that much of a geek, but the Samsonite website is a nightmare of javascript and popup windows and redirections, and slow-loading to boot. Ahh well.
As I was saying, I have this suitcase. Thought there was no way in hell I'd manage to fill it all. And in fact, it's not completely full. It is already, however, over the weight limit, which is a pain in the ass. And I know exactly what is causing the weight problem, but I can't remove it because it's essential. There's nothing else I can leave home, either. And buying it when I get to Edinburgh would cost me more than paying for the excess baggage weight. So I guess I can't whine.
And then of course there's the "aww heck where did I put that?" moments. Like the "aw fuck, I could've sworn I'd left my digital camera's box, with manuals and software, right here near the computer". And I looked through the whole damn house for that damn box, then, not finding it, plodded back to the computer, resigned to having to search for the software online. And I looked to my right, and sure enough, the box was. right. there. And I'd somehow managed to overlook it in my extensive search of the shelves next to my computer. Rrrrrgh.
Then there's "what books do I pack?" problem. I know I'm going to buy a metric assload of books while I'm in Edinburgh, so ideally I need to only bring one or two books there (for the plane trip), in the interest of having as much space left over in my carryon bag as possible that I can fit all the books I'm going to buy in it. And the books I bring need to be short, but not too short; not too heavy; and not books I'd really regret losing if I forgot them somewhere. Mrrr.
[More to be added to this entry as I run around like a chicken with its head cut off scrambling to track down everything I need to bring and to finish everything I need to finish before leaving.]