One week.

I kind of want kudos for being as productive as I am with a sinus headache this bad. I'll wait for your applause.

*waits*

Okay good.

I had plans today. It's my only day to do everything before a busy workweek and I leave on Saturday. Then I woke up and my head was pounding, and it hasn't really gone away, so my plans for the gym evaporated. I've said before that I train for SDCC, and I really do. It's a lot of time on your feet, sometimes in very real heat, sometimes up hills, when you're tired and carrying a lot of stuff, so I do see how long I can do on the treadmill and won't get tired. Also, I'm going back to LA and there is a pressure to look better than I feel like I do, but. I work out to feel confident enough to go toe to toe with a hot chick, you know?

But I did laundry. I went through everything I have left in my overnight bag that tends not to get emptied all the way after trips and checked how I'm doing on travel sizes and toiletries, so I made a list of what I needed and made a trip to Target. I'm sure there'll be another one on Thursday as I freak out at forgetting something, but I'm prepared as of now. I have a final checklist of all the things I have to make sure to have.

And then there's packing.

Here's how I do things: I make a list of what I want to wear on each day, because I'm That Person. I roll fold everything for space. I have things laid out by day just so I can make sure I have it all, and I try to keep things in some kind of order because I've found that it's a lot easier for me that way. When I have to get up at 4 am to go somewhere and haven't had coffee, I'm not smart enough to be able to pick out an outfit. In fact, I swear to god, I will roll a pair of underwear up in the shirt because there have been many, many instances of me forgetting that and I have learned. Then in the morning I can just grab and go and get ready.

I've got two pairs of jeans, including the pair I'll wear to the airport, because a good part of my trip will probably involve sitting on the ground a lot and things can get dirty fast. (Packing tip: put jeans and heavy things at the actual bottom of the suitcase, next to the wheels, because it won't tip over that way.) There's a sweatshirt for cold nights in line (anyone who says it doesn't get cold in California lies), and a bathing suit because my hotel has a pool. I constantly lose socks so I just straight up bought an extra 6-pack to throw in there. (I like the colored ones because it's easier to pair them up and easier to tell what's dirty and what's not on day nine of a ten-day trip.) I bring extra black and white tank tops, usually for the "oops this shirt is more sheer than I thought" issues because a lot of companies confuse "burnout tank" with "making you pay $12 for something that makes you accidentally flash your boobs." Besides, things get dirty or the weather's not what you think and it pays to bring something extra.

There'll be more to go in there. I'll need a couple different pairs of shoes, more socks, sunscreen, a hat, hair stuff, things like that. My backpack is going to have all the important stuff. And the thing is, I'll have everything in my suitcase tonight and then on Friday before I go I'll end up repacking everything because I always do. I am nothing if not thorough.

Also I need to keep a little bit of space for any swag I bring back. Never forget the swag.