Technical Difficulties (Was Tote Bags R Us)

I just found out this morning that this did not post last Tuesday when it was supposed to, so here it is now.

I am finally finished packing for Grand Chapter and am afraid that I will become known as the bag lady.  Three of us are going in one car down to the session, with our men folk following in other cars to take us home, so we have to get everything into the one car.  At least it is an SUV.  So to try to make my stuff as packable as possible, I am using tote bags and duffel bags and dress bags and suit bags and just about anything that is not an actual suitcase.  But the number of bags has gotten rather frightening.

I have packed three formal dress bags.  One bag has the formals I will wear on Thursday and Friday (yes, that's two different dresses), one bag has my cloak, (which is a heavy monster with my emblem appliqued on the back, so it will drape over my chair and make it look really cool and will keep me warm if the arena gets cold, which it usually does) and one has my 2013 Worthy Matron dress in it.  The WM dress doesn't fit me quite right yet, so it has to be altered, but I have to show it to my girls again before I give it to Kimi to fix.  There just wasn't time for a fitting before I had to show it last time and I haven't gotten it back to her, but she will be at Grand Chapter, so I will find a time on Friday or Saturday to leave it with her.  But don't worry that the bag will go home empty because I am picking up a fourth formal, my new 2012 Installation and Winter Formal, at the session and that will come home in the third bag.  I also have a suit bag with the travel suit and other nice pieces that I will wear at the session.  That is a pretty big bag, so I should only have to take the one suit bag.

So then I am on to duffel bags.  I have packed two of those, one with socks and underwear and stuff like that, and one with shoes and petticoats and make up and jewelry to go with all the other clothes.

Then we go to tote bags.  These have specific stuff in each one and I try to use the smallest one that holds all the stuff, but some of the bags are not at all small.  I have a massive Costco tote/shopping bag full of presents, stuff to sell and my 2011 carrying piece, which has to be brought back to be used as a decoration for the session.  I have my Grand Officer tote, which travels with me and has all the essentials, like Kleenex and cough drops and a Roster and maps and fans and so on.  I have my legislative tote, with a copy of our Constitution and Laws, Instruction Book, Ritual, Red Book, Robert's Rules and current legislation items.  I have Grand Line tote, filled with stuff that my soon to be Patron and I have to go over and fifty letters that have to be signed, folded, stuffed and stamped to be mailed next Monday.  I have my To Do bag, which has books (yea, like I will get a chance to read - Hah!  But hope springs eternal), my iPod in case I get to work out (equal yea right!), my GPS in case I get to go somewhere and assorted stuff like that.  And of course, I have a purse too.

And finally, we have some wheels.  I have my computer bag, which has my laptop and also all my office stuff that I need to take care of business while away from the office.  Yes, I have one of those sorts of jobs where work days gone are not really gone - sigh!  On the other hand, I get to choose my own days out, so that part is kind of cool.  But there is lots going on right now, so I fear that I will be working nights and mornings and lunch times.  Sigh again!

And I always take a portable dolly with me.  Getting into the hotel is not hard, but getting out is six kinds of nightmare.  Since everyone arrives at a different time, there are often plenty of bellmen and carts to get your stuff up, although of course with my amount of stuff, I am looking at a ten dollar tip, but hey, it's better than making three trips.  But on Sunday, lots and lots of people are leaving and even if you get on the list for a bellman and a cart, it can be past noon before you get one.  So I always take a dolly with me.  With it and a handy escort (also known as a gronker/schlepper or a Hewer of Wood and Fetcher of Water), I can usually get everything down to the car in three trips, well, maybe four, because you always take back half again as much stuff as you arrived with.  But without the dolly, you are doomed!!!!  Lots of people have portable carts that actually fold up into a clothes rack, but I am not sure that one of those will fit in my car because the bottom is bigger.  Maybe I can get the guy who makes them to make one to the dimensions of my car trunk, well okay, my escort's car trunk, because driving is an escort job. :-)

So ready or not, here I go, off to Grand Chapter in Fresno through next Sunday.