Trip Preparation - 7 Days Left

This is going to be short, just a quick update on how things are going.

Illness Update

The medication I am taking has caused some bad side effects. I’ll spare the details, but I think I may have it under control. I am following up on Monday with the ENT specialist to check everything out, and then I am going to get my Hepatitis B booster this week assuming I am safe to do so. My illness hopefully is coming to an end, because I’m about to hop on a plane.

Saying Good-Bye

I had a little get-together last night to say good-bye. Unfortunately due to my illness I wasn’t really able to partake, but I did open up several of the beers I’d brewed as well as rare beers of various kinds I’d collected and cellared over the years. I think everyone had a good time, and I got to see pretty much everyone before I left. Absolutely wanted to make sure I left with no regrets and had a chance to see everybody, some who hadn’t really seen me much since my return from Colorado at the beginning of the year.

Baggage Update

Bags have been packed initially, but I am going to have to figure some things out. My carry-on #2 is about 1.7 pounds over weight, and my checked baggage is 8 pounds over weight. I can probably chance it with the carry-on bag, but the checked bag I’m definitely going to have to trim down. I’m thinking I’ll have to ditch my cowboy boots and long socks, and a few pairs of jeans, plus some of the nice-to-haves to make it fit. Not the end of the world, but regretful since I was hoping I could get the boots on the trip.

Updated #2

I ditched 2 undershirts, 1 long-sleeve shirt, 1 golf shirt, 2 pairs of jeans, some of my toiletries, all the boot-length socks, and my cowboy boots. I’ll now be wearing the XR Mission shoes so I only had to pack one pair in the suitcase. This got me from 58 pounds to 48.7 pounds for my checked bag. I’ll have to buy some toiletries when I get to Prague, but otherwise it should be fine. When I repacked I also worked on balancing the weight in the bag a little better as well, which may have had an effect when weighing using the hand-held luggage scale. I won’t be cutting any weight on my carry-on for the trip to Prague, but may do so before I board the bus.

To-Do List
  • Get my Hepatitis B vaccine booster (30 day out dose, now late because of illness)
  • Configure my ER3L on my home office connection to do L2TP over IPSEC VPN and add all my devices.
  • Finish the blog post series on setting up a Macbook Pro for OpSec-focused developers.
  • Finalize my will and trust paperwork with my attorney (and update the beneficiaries on my insurance)
  • Fix the leak in the roof near the chimney
  • Prepare a travel packet of information, ship one copy out-of-state to my parents, and give the other copy to my long-time housemate
  • Get out of jury duty
  • Pack my bags and weigh them.
    • Checked bag cannot exceed 50 pounds (23 KG) [22.1KG]
    • Carry-On bags cannot exceed 23 pounds (10 KG) [10.9KG but otherwise good]

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