Sweden a go-go

Well folks, I'm shortly going to be off traveling again. Oh, the fancy schmancy jet setting life that I lead! Not really, of course, it's just coincidence that I've had two trips in three weeks.

As usual, I'm woefully unprepared for the fact that I'm taking a transatlantic flight tomorrow. Although, somewhat surprisingly, I'm not as shockingly unprepared as I normally am. Y'see, I'm ahead of the game in that I've already done all my laundry. Which is a big thing for me, as I can't tell you the number of times that I have done the 5am frantic laundry load thing on the day that I am leaving on a trip. Complete with ironing various clothes dry and/or packing them damp. And I've already planned out the outfits I'll be wearing to each event, though haven't quite figured out the "screw the conference, I'm going off sightseeing" clothes. Because I fully intend not to attend any of the boring sessions, but just the parties.

I don't know yet what suitcase I am taking, because I don't know which one my clothes will fit into. Probably it'll end up being the one that I have to check because it is too big to be cabin baggage, but if I can somehow squeeze everything into my small suitcase, then I'll have the dilemma of whether I can limit all fluids to 3oz sizes or less, AND cram them into a quart-sized ziploc bag, or whether to just say "to hell with it" and check the damn thing. I think I can stay within the latest liquid rules, though it will involve relying on the hotel hair conditioner, or buying some in Sweden. Which could mean that I end up being a frizzy haired nightmare for the duration of the conference, but hey, it's a small price to pay for not waiting around for baggage.

I also finally got the word that my employer is going to pay for me to attend this thing. Well, they'll pay for the flight, hotel and conference fee but no expenses, but that's OK by me, because I know that I can probably live extremely cheaply when I'm there by stealing breakfast items from the hotel to have for lunch and wolfing down hors d'oevres by the pound at the evening receptions. Oh, and walking everywhere. Haha, and I always thought that business trips involved lots of lovely expensive meals, but sadly, between various employers I have learned the art of minimal expenditure business travel. Of course, it took the throwing of a medium-sized tantrum on my part, and me informing them in no uncertain words that they needn't expect me to attend any more effing conferences for them, for them to actually sit up and take notice, but they finally got their act together and came through with approval for the money. So, that'll be a bit of extra cash for the IVF fee, seeing as I already paid for the flight and conference fee so getting that back will be a bonus.

Anyway, my Blackberry may or may not work while I'm over the other side of the pond, so I might post some updates. The nice lady at Cingular said it will be fully functional, but then she said that last time I went to Europe and it was completely dead the entire time. The wonders of modern technology!

In embryo news, I decided that I couldn't just sign the "single client depositor" form for the embryo storage place. I just can't. I can't sign my approval to the destruction of my embryo when I know that there are different rules for other people. So, we'll see what happens with the little guy. I expect that I shall be arguing with them for some time to come.