The Behemoth

Ah, packing. The final frontier.
This is how it went down. Imagine a super clean, empty apartment and in one corner, a 3 x 5 heap of clothing, accessories and stuff. Ladies, this is your life. This is your entertainment, wardrobe and life as you know it for the next 18 months. This is the bar night out with new girlfriends, the day hikes with Jim, the loungy stay in and watch movies days. Not to mention the everyday apparel. A girl can't wear the same shirt everyday. I was already only bringing 4 pairs of shoes. Okay 5. All of this, it all must fit into 2 bags. However, one is already neatly packed weighing in at 47lbs. I mean, I will go shopping, I will explore, but how do you decide what you need? Part of me wants to just get new stuff, but money would be better spent on adventures. So, all of this, the remainder of the "deemed important" stuff, must go into one suitcase that is 29 x 20 x 10. No time for order either, as My Ride was standing over me waiting for me to do something so we could have dinner.

Airlines charge if your bag is over 50lbs. So, with My Ride waiting, I shoved it all in. I unzipped all expandable parts, we pushed down on the top and zipped it up. Done.
Except that you needed 2 people to carry it! I repacked the Behemoth later that evening. Saying, "screw it, I will just pay the weight fee." At this point, I am only going to Michigan. I realize there will have to be some sort of stuff intervention before the "big flight".

The airport was exciting. One girl, 2 arms, a backpack and 3 pieces of luggage that need to be rolled...? Luckily, I didn't have to go too far. But I did face a hiccup. The Behemoth weighed 74lbs! That's like a 7 year old! Ahhh! And the airline doesn't take anything over 70lbs, even with the fee. So, I become "that person". My suitcase is on the floor at the check-in counter, unzipped and I am shoving clothing, books, and whatever into my carry on and perfectly packed 47lb bag. Suddenly, something divine intervened. It came in the form of a tall, skinny, bitchy blond with oodles of frequent flier miles. "Why is there NO ONE checking in first class?" She asked the clerk. "You've got all your best customers down there, and NO ONE is helping them!"

At first, I was like, "are you for real?" But, after she was handled, I reweighed my bags. The flustered clerk only asked to see my ID and didn't bother to charge me a weight fee. Score! I thought it was all good.