planning…it’s what I do…

At a prompting from my (fellow over-planning) stepfather, I think I’ll give you just a taste of the various lists, spreadsheets and notes I’ve kept over the past few months, in preparation for the impending trip:

Excel…
I’m almost embarrassed to admit that I have at least 12 worksheets within my ‘2009 Abroad’ spreadsheet. What the hell do I have twelve sheets of, you ask?! From my packing list (act surprised…) to budget to a list of ‘don’t forgets’, I have carefully documented just about every penny I’ve spent pre-trip, so that I can easily have Excel calculate just how much of my budget is left. I’ve created an emergency contact sheet for my and Rob’s parents, complete with Summer’s info, just in case. I have weather comparisons (including the temps of Saratoga, for judgment purposes), I have check boxes, I have color-coding, the only thing I don’t seem to have is a diagram of exactly how I’ll lay out my things in the ONE suitcase I’ll get to take. I’m kind of a geek.

One of my various excused for (over-)using Excel is that I can easily play with the worksheets in my cubicle without actually appearing to be slacking off at work. To people walking by, it’s fairly obvious that I’m doing something in Excel, but folks just assume that its work related. It’s not.

Post-It’s…
I may single-handedly be keeping 3M afloat, since I’ve gone through pads and pads of Post-Its. I think of something, and compulsively write it down. Then I think of something else, so I add that. With all of the teeny tiny things I’ve thought of (or, as Rob might call it, created) for myself to do, I end up with like 12 sheets going at once. So then…I type stuff into one of my various Excel worksheets. It all comes full circle, my friends…

The binder…
Summer’s favorite part: not only do I keep crap electronically, I also have a full-on BINDER dedicated to this trip. Colorful labeled tabs, sheet protectors, even one of those 3-ring pencil pouches right out of 6th grade. I happily schlep the binder with my laptop to coffee shops, to work, and drag it into the house every night. It holds flight info, budget notes, lists of things to consider (ex: contacts in various countries; get Kal to the vet; take one laptop or two on the trip?) It even has two different maps of Europe, since I couldn’t tell you where the hell Austria or Budapest are...

The moral of the story is: I over-plan. However, in my own defense, I’d like to point out my attention to detail, and that DO people benefit from how anal I can be...just don’t ask me to plan anything for a LOOOOONG time after this.