According to the Catholic Church, envy is one of the 7 deadly sins. If you are envious, you will suffer a spiritual death and are doomed to eternal condemnation and ruin.
Shit, pommes frites.
It´s a good thing I am not Catholic, because I have a strong desire to master the skill of how to pack light, and I envy everyone that does.
I remember the New Yorkerin who attended a wedding with me and how I picked her up at the Oslo S train station. She travelled from New York-Amsterdam-Oslo-Sweden, and she spent several days on each location.
My trunk was full as usual, and I was nervous to see if I had room for all her stuff too. Out of the train stepped an elegant woman, with a tiny bag over her shoulder. A TINY BAG!
Hmmm, maybe she has locked her suitcase in one of the storage rooms at the station and she wants me to help her carry it, I thought. Or rather; I hoped.
Facial cleansing wipes, mascara, a red lipstick, two curled-up dresses (she hadn´t decided which one to wear at the wedding), high-heeled shoes, a couple of singlets and underwear – what more could she possibly need besides what she already wore? I shrink when I think about how I struggled with my heavy suitcase at the arrival of our hotel.
The last time my dad drove me to the airport, it took 10 minutes from he left, until I called him and asked him to turn around. Checking in, I found that I had 10 kg overweight. In my cabin baggage.
And another 10 kg overweight in my checked baggage.
This time I was soooo prepared! I have done my research, I have talked to professionals and I was determined to follow the advice of Travel Fashion Girl (http://travelfashiongirl.com) How difficult can it be?
Well, let me tell you:
IT CAN BE EXTREMELY DIFFICULT!!!!
It is very important to me that my holiday clothes are comfortable to wear. At the same time, I don´t want to look like a thug all the time. But it is a HOLIDAY after all! At first, I thought I could bring both the pink and the silver crocks, as they hardly weigh anything at all. Strong, external voices have convinced me to buy a pair of bling-bling Fitflops instead and I have removed both pairs of crocs from my baggage. Applause, please.
How about dresses, skirts, blouses, pants, shorts, tops, swimwear, shoes, bags, jewellery, jackets, caps/hats, gym clothes, kettlebells, bowling balls, socks and underwear, toiletries, Hjerte (my pink teddybear) and her wardrobe, Haiald (my blue inflatable shark) MAC, camera, headphones, books, guitar, scooter, djembedrum, my comfortable armchair… Not to mention money, passport and tickets?
I understand how some of you may think that I can leave Hjerte and Haiald behind, but those who suggest this have no idea how much they contribute to making new friends of all ages.
We are going to Portugal, and we might bump into Ronaldo.
If YOU were the team captain and was carried out crying from the football finale just 25 minutes after it started, don´t you think you would be cheered up by this crew? A Norwegian newspaper report:
“Ronaldo despaired, while a moth landed just beneath his eye, from which a tear rolled down his face.”
Hjerte (a.k.a. rugby-mascot and tough girl) sat on the sideline and yelled: “WASH IT OFF, CRIS – JUST WASH IT OFF!!!”
To no use. Ronaldo was out.
If Ronaldo had seen the coach I used to see, he would have had to answer this question: “How many people do you think would be willing to trade their problem, for yours”?
Translated: Maybe there are worse things than to miss the EURO 2016?
But maybe Ronaldo cannot imagine such a thing.
If he can´t, then I doubt that he is packing his own suitcase before travelling.