Where does the time go? Reprise

I would be lying if I said I wasn't in an almighty tizz right now. I have long known that I only function at 100% capability when under pressure of a deadline, and now that I only have four days until I leave for six weeks in California, I am, to put it frankly, doing my nut.

How can there be so much to do? Partly it's because I am researching interesting California-based stories to pitch to my various editors in the UK, which occupation could fill as much time as I cared to give it, and partly because I gave up my apartment so I could afford to go away, so I can't just lock and leave.

Every day I cycle fifteen blocks to my storage container, my bike basket filled with a teetering pile of winter clothes, books & random stuff, which gets replaced on my return journey with items from my summer wardrobe that I'll need in CA. Of course I could just save time by booking a car, but I need the exercise and I need to save the money. And then there's all the admin: car hire and insurance and buying & researching my GPS and guidebooks and booking hotels and eh, just, eh.

Of course, I do have plenty of time, it's just that I get distracted by the internets, Twitter and watching re-runs of Law & Order on Netflix.

And there's the packing. The state of my room has to be seen to be believed. My case is brimming and I am at my wits' end about how to fit everything in that I need. Normally a light packer, I'm finding that you need as much for six weeks as you do for six months. Even though my summer wardrobe is basically silk frocks & shorts, I'll need clothes for three distinct climate zones: Los Angeles, San Francisco and the desert, all my shoes seem to be clumpy wedges which weigh pounds and, as I am covering various physical activities for work, I need my hiking boots & yoga kit & a sleeping bag (the horror), as well cocktail frocks & party dresses. Then there's all my unguents, hairdryer, books and the rest.

It's been suggested that I box up some of the small but heavy stuff and send it on, so maybe that's the answer. Only problem is that whatever I do, it all has to fit in the trunk of my rental car eventually for security reasons. Sigh.