i hate packing

and i hope i don't end up regretting car-tripping with my aunt dolores. she, wen'l and i are headed for small-town northern california this weekend for a 50th anniversary party.

we hosted my aunt and the happy couple for dinner about a year ago (and got shitty drunk with them!), and wen'l and i vowed to make it to the fiesta this year. until about 2 weeks ago, it looked as though we wouldn't be able to make it... but shortly before xmas, my aunt said she was thinking about going... would i like to go with, she doesn't like traveling alone, etc. well, it ended up being the three of us when all the plans were made.

apparently, she can be a bear to travel with. she gets lost frequently and doesn't take direction well. lovely combo, eh? i'm going to cut her a bunch of slack, but i'm going to try to make it so i'm the one doing the driving north of slackamento.

i'm leaving my brother a clean house (how nice of me, no?). i'll finish packing as soon as wen'l gets home and picks out some shoes. i think we're going to have pizza for dinner tonight. she's supposed to get here somewhere between 6:00 and 6:30 tomorrow morning. she was thinking we'd leave after our traffic died down, but that would put us square in the teeth of slackto's rush hour (which apparently can be a bitch). praise jeebus she would listen to reason, and we're leaving before our traffic.

anyhoo... i'm hoping it'll be a lovely weekend.

o! one more thing! if you're in dire need of luggage (as we were, seeing as my father ganked ours when he moved to michigan... lovely weather they're having!), hit your local discount retailer, a la ross, marshall's, etc. i got a big, like i'll have to check it on an airplane big, samsonite suitcase that was originally like $250 for a tick under $60. nothing wrong with it. i went over it with a fine-tooth comb before i bought it. it was obviously overstock somewhere. and what a screaming bargain, no?