Do everything to get ready day (today)

(UPDATE:  everything is not ready and it is two days later)

My little 'vacation countdown' app is not helping with my vacation tranquility.  At the moment, 4 days, 19 hours and five seconds. That's soon!  I have to work right up to the day before I leave so that doesn't leave much time for organizing! 

So, you are probably saying, Joanne you have one day to get ready and you are blogging.  Yes, it is pretty hard to deny it.  Because here I am, you are reading the evidence.  Actually, I am sort of waiting for the cat sitter to come by for a walk through. He has been here before but it's been a couple of years.  I am doing 'mini-tasks' that don't mess up the house (so he is fooled into thinking the house should be tidy :).  Filling travel shampoo bottles, attempting to make that sleeping not-bag as small as possible, laundry, hunting down bug spray and sunhats.  You know, vacation stuff.  

You all may remember my good friend/neighbour Chris.  Well, she passed away last month.  She was so excited for me about this trip.  She was already compiling a shopping list of Moroccan treasures for me to find for her.  It's hard not to let that put a bit of a damper on my excitement.  She wanted the most ridiculous purse, round with a fringe?  I will probably have to find one as a tribute.  

something like this? 

Chris has a nephew who lives in the UK, Jordan.  Jordan is like family.  I'm not even sure he is aware that we are not blood related.  I met him and his brothers in Aberdeen when I was in my 20s and he was about 9 or 10.  He has been to visit us in Canada many times.  

Did I mention that I have a 10 hour lay over in Paris on my way to Morocco.  Jordan is going to pop over and spend the day with me!  That will be fun.  All I really want to do is have at least one more Parisian croissant in my lifetime.  I wish I could have told Chris about this plan.  She would have been so tickled!   She loved that Jordan got absorbed into the Cumberland family and that we got absorbed into the Aberdeen family.  This picture should tell you everything you need to know about Jordan.  

Now we just have to hope France/Paris doesn't implode before I get there.  They had a general strike last week and I heard two (TWO!) transit drivers were working in Paris that day.  I don't think two is going to cover the city's transportation needs.  Fingers crossed for Jan 28.  

  

Back to trip planning.  Valerie upstairs is going to take me to the airport in 4 days and 16 hours.  

Oh LORD.  I didn't hit post and now it is TWO DAYS 13 hours, 6 minutes and 24 seconds!  

You will be surprised to learn I did not get everything done in one day.  It is Tuesday now.  I got home from work and started throwing things at the spare bed.  That is packing process in this household.  

I'm just going to hit post and watch some Netflix.  I've got Thursday after work.  That's fine.  No worries.  Nothing to see here, no panicking happening. I assure you. For sure.  

Friday 4am: 

8 days. 8 DAYS. EIGHT DAYS!!!!

On Monday, someone asked me when I am going and I answered 'next week'.  And then I realized:  I'm going to Morocco NEXT WEEK!  And then I kind of freaked out a bit.  

Is there such as thing as jet lag for vacations?  I am all out of synch and I can't wrap my head around this vacation.  It is too soon after my last vacation.  I'm discombobulated - finally a good excuse to use that word. 

Like I said in my last post, I am not doing much prep for this trip.  I haven't even shopped.  But I am borrowing. I've heard it is tempting fate to have a purse hanging off you in the markets (it might get cut off) so I borrowed a under-shirt travel pouch from Valerie upstairs.  And I need to bring a sleeping bag apparently.  So I borrowed a down sleeping not-quite-bag from Rob who used it on his trip to Morocco. And as you all remember the tragic demise of my camera in Antarctica (not fixable as yet), I am borrowing Amy's camera. 

I haven't started packing but I am hoping to move back to my smaller backpack for this trip.  I needed the next size up for the Antarctic to fit the rubber boots.  No boots this time.  The sleeping not-bag packs up pretty tight but we'll see.  

So far, the biggest challenge has been to find Dukoral.  I figured if I was going to get traveler's diarrhea, Morocco seems a likely place.  Yet, Dukoral is in very short supply.  All of those other February travelers I guess.  I spent my lunch hour yesterday calling every pharmacy I could think of.  I called upwards of 15 with no luck.  Jen, my next door office neighbour mentioned Save-On pharmacy. They had one dose of Dukoral!  That's all I need.  

Since you are asking.  Dukoral is a vaccine for E-coli and Cholera.  I took my last dose four months ago.  The E-coli part is only good for three months. I do not want to be on a bus tour and need that E-Coli half, if you catch my drift.  

This may be true but I am going to take ALL precautions available

Anyway, Save-on put their one dose aside for me but I am a big believer in a vaccine in hand as opposed to a shelf where some other desperate traveler can sweet talk it out of a pharmacist.  I had an afternoon meeting at the other campus so I stopped in at Save-on on my way, got my Dukoral and then mixed it and drank it in my meeting.  Everyone gets to participate in my E-coli aversion!  

I am sewing my secret pocket in my travel pants.  I bought a new pair of travel pants to replace the pair I left in Ushuaia.  I guess I did do a bit of shopping.  

I should re-confirm with the cat sitter, Daniel.  I got a new mattress for the guest bed so that should help with the enticement of living with the aloof cat.  A decent night's sleep might help with the "you're not my mom" meoweling.  

I have exactly one day before I leave that isn't completely booked with work or social engagements.  Let's call that packing day.  I'll let you know how it goes.