Tuesday, 9/6

 Lists.  There are lists everywhere.

First of all, hope you had a great Labor Day weekend.  Despite the fact that the temperatures were more fall-like than summer-like (we'll be getting the summer-like temperatures during the week, when we're at work, naturally) we made the most out of the three-day weekend.  And with just a mere 20 days before we (hopefully) go to Germany, one of the many things I did was make a bunch of lists of everything that needs to get done before we go, or what we need to bring with us, or what we need to do should the (and this is quite possible) unforeseen happen when we're on the road.

So that's why there are so many lists.

There's a list of what I have to do at work to get everything ready.  There's a list of what I have to do at work when I get done getting everything ready because, as you may recall, we're on the eve of a new computer system.  There's a list of a few things we need to buy, because not quite everything we thought was in our suitcases was in there when we brought them up Saturday.  There are several lists of clothing to bring, because we'll be in Germany at the beginning of October, and we're not quite sure what the weather will be like.  There's a list of electronics to bring, a list of exactly how we need to store and present the tickets for the match, and a list of chocolate or tea I'd like to buy over there.  And there's the list of phone numbers and web addresses that we may need should a flight get cancelled, delayed, or just plain disappear, leaving us in limbo in some strange airport.

Like I said.  Lots of lists.

I put them together because, unlike past times we've traveled, so much is up in the air.  That's just the way the world is these days.  Normally, when we're 20 days out from departure, we're pretty much set.  We just need to gather everything together, pack, and go.  But with everything the way it is these days, you can't be 100% certain you're ready to go.  And the closer we get to departure, the more we're discovering we need to "list"

For instance, I had mentioned the weather in Germany while we're there.  Long-term temperature averages really don't tell us what kind of clothing to bring, especially because in the past few years Europe as a whole has seen its temperatures shoot up because of climate change.  So will it be in the 60s, as historical averages dictate, or in the 70s, as recent years say it will?   And will I need to bring one phone, my older phone with a new French phone number that works in Europe, or two phones, because the ticket app for RB Leipzig will only work on my new (American) phone, and the team doesn't accept tickets not on that app?

Of course, they haven't even started to sell tickets for the match we hope to attend yet, so everything we need to do for getting those tickets (a strange process in and of itself) is on another list.

As I've mentioned before, this will be a trip unlike any other we've ever taken, not only because we still have no idea if it'll actually happen, but because the world has changed so much since the last time we visited.  So if you're wondering why there are lots & lots of lists, it's because there are lots & lots of things to do, and lots & lots of things that could (or could not) happen.

We just want to be prepared.

(jim@wmqt.com)