I started packing today

I started packing today. it wasn't one of those things where I said 'i'll start packing on Monday', or even a matter of waking up in the morning thinking it's a good day to pack. Nope, I walked into my office with the intention of clearing off a few surfaces so I could move some furniture around to accommodate friends who are visiting Friday and the next thing I know I'm sorting through every bit of paper in the room. With a growing pile of rubbish around my feet, a 'I want that back in Australia' pile and a 'probably not relevant to Australia- but worth stashing for if I ever come back' pile...there was no denying it. Packing had started.
I STILL HAVE SEVEN WEEKS!!!! ok I'm in denial. it felt like just yesterday I still had three and a half months. At this rate i'll be on the plane by tomorrow.

So then I gave in. I brought a suitcase from the awful new chinese shop in town. It is the first suitcase I've ever purchased. The first suitcase I ever remember using was a brown hardened vinyl thing my grandfather? used to use. Then I graduated to backpacks and the style of travel they suit. Coming here I packed everything into boxes, sent it off, then followed at my own pace, taking the scenic route with my backpack through Madagascar and northern Malawi.

Now I own a suitacase that has wheels and points north. You'd think I'd buy a compass, or an airline ticket rather than a suitcase if I wanted to know which direction I was travelling. But now i can pull up my fancy little handle and drag my suitcase down flights of stairs, twisting my wrist and making a terrible racket like everyone else. It's actually the perfect size to not fit in cabin luggage, but to take it on board anyways and obnoxiously demand that it go in the overhead locker while holding up every single other person on the plane. yup my first suitacase.
Or maybe I could just pack it and give it to my parents to add to their weight allowance and stick with my comfy backpack, held together with safety pins... yup (grin) that spells 'adveture' ! now I'm back in my comfort zone.