Tuesday, Jan 26, 2010
12:33 am
I learned a scientific fact today. As it turns out, the interior dimensions of a backpack are inversely proportional to its desired volume. In layman's terms, this means that the more stuff you need to pack, the smaller the luggage seems. For such a large (and somehow very heavy) backpack, I am taking surprisingly little with me. (Okay now that I'm actually making a list, it seems like a lot more. But it made a seemingly very tiny pile on my bed.) My mother was trying hopelessly to give me "just one more" sweater/pair of jeans/shirt/pillow/cookbook/basically anything else that was within her line of vision. NOTHING else will fit in this bag. After all that, my pack contains:
1 sleeping bag + liner
1 pocket knife
1 multi-tool
4 books/notebooks
1 set of colored pencils
1 toiletries bag (toothbrushes/paste, deodorant, floss, etc)
1 solar charger + rechargeable batteries
1 DVD (I'll give you one guess, see below*)
5 t-shirts (well, six counting the one I'm wearing)
2 button up shirts
2 sweaters
3 pairs of pants (counting those I'm wearing)
3 pairs of shoes (my normal pair plus sandals and running shoes)
2 long underwear (pants/shirt)
4 pairs of warm wool socks
10 pairs of cotton socks (hey, they wear out quickly, and were in a pack.)
5 pairs of undies (boxers or briefs? I'll leave you in suspense!)
That's about it. This is what I'm taking with me. It's both scary and refreshing to carry all your possessions with you. True, I look a bit ungainly carrying a big backpack with a sleeping bag strapped to the top, a smaller backpack covered in flag-patches, and balancing it all with a bulky black guitar case... but knowing that I can carry everything I effectively own on my back makes me feel like I could go anywhere, and do anything.
At this very moment, I am on a bus. I have been on the bus for about an hour... only 14 more to go. I'm really good at booking myself on these overnight bus trips. I said goodbye to my room. Goodbye to my cat. Goodbye to my mom, dad and brother. Goodbye to the U.P.
*Domi trivia question: If the Domster were to bring one and only one DVD with him to Paraguay, which DVD would it be?
A) Napoleon Dynamite
B) The Princess Bride
C) Borat
D) The Wonderful World of Antique Victorian Lampshades
The answer is, of course, B) The Princess Bride! Only my favorite movie ever of my whole life! I only met one other person who can out-quote me watching this movie. Sadly she mysteriously turned up missing. Just sayin'. If you answered A or C to the above question, it's best you never mention this to me. If you answered D... then you're dumb. (It is, however, a real movie. I found it in a drawer of old VHS tapes in my living room. I didn't watch it.)
I answered D. Mostly because I like the name you made up. And I knew it was B all along, but answering the correct answer is boring.
ReplyDeleteReading this entry, I thought "wouldn't it be funny if he found even a small thing in Paraguay that he wanted to take home on top of all that stuff?"
I didn't made up the Victorian Lampshades movie! It really exists. I think it's my mom's, and I found it in the tape drawer under the TV. I don't think it has EVER been watched.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure there's quite a bit of stuff that I'll end up replacing. Especially clothes. I didn't bring much in the way of nice clothes really. But hopefully I'll come back with plenty of Ao'poi (as I think their called) shirts! I'll bring one back for you too. :)