The great suitcase dilemma...

Packing…again

It feels a bit like ground-hog day because here I am, once more living out of a suitcase.

I’ve blogged about packing for away trips before, but I am undertaking a fair bit of travel over the next few months, mostly domestic trips with an overseas jaunt thrown in for good measure.  However, I still can’t seem to master minimalism when it comes to what goes in my suitcases.  So how, how, HOW is it that some people can pack of whole weeks’ worth of clothes into a teeny, tiny bag and still manage to look fabulous for the entire time they are away.  Whereas I, with my “big beast” of a bag, barely manage to string a decent look together for every other day.  How is that? 

My suitcases comprise of my weekend casual (wheelie) bag, my over-night (wheelie) suitcase and one that needs a forklift to get into the back of my car (wheelie) behemoth.  Thank goodness for wheels, I often tell myself while struggling with handbag, laptop bag and various other bits of paraphernalia that are wrapped around, strapped around, hanging off me, falling off me, and smashing into other people as I dash through the airport dragging “the beast” behind me.

"How much does your bag weigh"?  the eagle eyed airline employee asks me as I tip-toe past and try and sneak "the beast" onto the conveyor belt.  "I know it's under the allowance" I lie sweetly, tongue in cheek, and try not to give myself a hernia as I nonchalantly pick  "the beast" up, pretending it weighs no more than a feather, and place it gently on the belt, smiling like an idiot all the while to try and disguise the grunt of pain and the broken blood vessels that have surely burst in my eyes. Meanwhile, tendons and muscles have separated in my arms, and I'm sure I felt an internal organ rupture with the effort.  You see...big suitcase..must fill to capacity.  That's my motto and one that I live by.  Because who knows when you might need the three extra pair of shoes or those 20 pair of knickers for that five day trip.  Because....just in case!  Of what? I have no idea.

Let's cram in as much as possible

So I know I should have a “middie” bag…and I did…once.  But there was that one time…when grabbing the bag off the carousal and trying to lift handle, and wheel bag in the direction of the exit in one fluid moment – trying to look cool and like I'm a well seasoned traveller - I noticed said bag was not inclined to let me lift handle and wheel it in the direction of the exit…as handle was busted and wheels were no longer in existence.  It appears the sticky out bits of your bag are prone to massive damage when bag is dropped from great heights or thrown across cargo bays at the airport.  

And when claiming for a replacement bag on my travel insurance, it appears that sticky out bits are not covered.  What the….why else would anyone be claiming for damage to a suitcase???  Makes the whole travel insurance thing a bit of a joke!  Except for when everything goes missing…and while that hasn’t happened yet, I am sure it is only a matter of time...because this is me...and that's the kind of luck I have.  The most shocking part of the whole episode was that I had to carry….yes, carry...my bag through the terminal, and as I am not the most proficient of packers, that was quite a bit of weight to lug to the waiting car.

Years ago, a friend and I were waiting for our luggage at an overseas port, when out on a carousal came a guitar.. in two pieces.  And I'm pretty sure this wasn't a planned design of some new-fangled guitar.  I have to admit that we laughed a lot at that and wondered who the poor so-and-so was because I'm sure that passenger had checked in a guitar that was in its entirety.  It always pays to make sure you aren't standing next to the rather upset owner of the guitar before you start mocking the sad state of affairs of a mangled musical instrument.  For some reason, he didn't find it as funny as we did.

When I started travelling more for work, I promised myself a fancy suitcase - then I went shopping, and that fancy suitcase was suddenly not so appealing.  Because I couldn't really afford the "fancy" unless I sold a kidney or two.  So here is the question I pose to you. Should I set myself back a grand, or sidle on back to the budget store?  Should I lay-by myself a well know luxury brand?  Or think in terms such as "generic" and "cheap import"?

There is one important thing to factor into the equation. Whether your suitcase is expensive or a cheapo number, there are some things I know to be true.  When it comes to luggage, the chances of it being dropped from great heights, and being flung around are not, I believe, directly connected to the value of a suitcase.  Give the baggage handlers their due….I don’t think they discriminate when it comes to disdain or lack of care for a suitcase.  I think they are an equal opportunity workforce when it comes to inflicting damage, and it is kinda nice that luggage has no class system…as long as it isn’t your bag coming home to you without its sticky out bits.

So for now "the beast" remains in play, until the sticky out bits come to an untimely, sticky end!