On Saturday morning I’m flying off to Boston. Normally I’d be on a red-eye, but when I booked this back in November(!) the cheapest deal was a daytime non-stop on Alaska. I’m going to be there for four weeks, dividing my time between working remotely and helping Kate and Mark with the children ((Hmm, that sounds odd, but nicely so! Thomas and Tori: “the children”.)).
One frustration is that ZipCar and FlexCar haven’t finished merging their businesses. I’m a FlexCar member in Seattle, while ZipCar operates in Boston and Brookline. They announced that they were merging late last year. I had hoped that even if their systems weren’t fully combined, it would at least be possible for me to get a temporary ZipCar membership, so that I wouldn’t have to shell out for a month-long rental. ((Remember that most US credit card companies only cover the CDW for domestic rentals up to 15 days; at $12+ a day, those charges can really mount up.)) But no. It seems that they’re converting their systems city by city, and Seattle isn’t due to be “done” for a few months. Shucks.
As is usual these days, “packing” means throwing a few clothes into a case, and then assembling all of the cables, docking cradles, and power adapters for the electronics. Camera, iPhone, Kindle, MacBook. My PSP… no, I’ll go without it. ((Can I really do without “World Snooker Challenge 2005”? Tough call.)) A full-size USB headset (for Skype). A spare hard disk in a USB enclosure (which means another cable and adapter). I keep resolving to buy only gadgets that can recharge through USB, but I’m not there yet.
No paper books, though. 🙂
And I mustn’t forget my hat, and perhaps some gloves. [/me hunts around for a pair] Hell, maybe even boots. By the time I touch down at Logan, it’ll be about 20°F…