maybe it's more like come cry with me... it's been almost a year since the last time I've flown anywhere. I'm going to boston for a short visit - just over 30 hours - for a friend's wedding tonight and am really not looking forward to it. the flight, that is. the wedding, I'm totally looking forward to. it's going to be party party party all weekend long! woohoo! also, I get to see my brother. what fun!

but those darn terrorists have gone and ruined my dinner plans tonight. my flight doesn't depart until 11pm, but now they're telling me that I have to be there at 8. which means I have to leave my house around 7. which means no time for my previously scheduled dinner. so sad... I'm probably going to end up eating a cinnabon. the terrorists are also making me check my luggage and taking away my right to take out my contacts mid-flight.

but enough of my whining! I got to do what I love best last night. and no, it's not knitting - I suppose I might love knitting more, but this is what I loved first - before I even had my first whiff of a skein of yarn... yes! it's packing! (no, not packing heat.) it's sick and twisted, I know, but I love packing. packing mountains of stuff into a teeny space makes me giddy enough to make a trained professional consider having me committed.

but, man, I love making lists of what I need to pack and what I need to do and what I need to do with the things I need to pack... and then crossing those things off as I pack them away. sadly, since my trip is so short this time, I don't really have all that much to take along and there is quite a bit of empty space in my bag. so I needed a challenge and I needed to pack up my in-flight knitting needs! so I made my list and started gathering just the essentials. I didn't want to accidentally bring too much stuff. nothing like being loaded down with unnecessary items. and here is what I came up with:clockwise, from the left: the pattern for crooked cable socks by sockbug, the tubular bind-off page from the knitting answer book (sometimes you just need one page - this is why God made scotch tape), knitty's magic toe up cast-on tutorial, my little green knitting bag containing two skeins of knitpicks essential sock yarn - one of which is attached to a pair of knitpicks circulars and the beginnings of a crooked cable sock, hipknitism's sherman heel tutorial chart, a pen, a darning needle, a crochet hook, dpns (just in case), a tape measure and a clover yarn cutter. (as you can see, I need all the help I can get. I can never remember how to do anything without a piece of paper telling me what to do.) I hope I didn't forget anything important.

and here's everyone inside the bag, ready to go:
after I took the photo, I realized I should bring something to read and/or listen to, just in case I don't have enough elbow room to knit (how sad would that be??), so I managed to cram in my copy of knitting rules and an ipod full of good knitting music. with room to spare! now all I've left to do is pray the terrorists don't take away my right to knit on the plane. actually, they should just stay away from airports in general. they're too crowded anyway, right?

*ps. I got a cute new bag at target a couple days ago. see it up there? I love it! it's big and floppy and was only $16. whee!