Packing

Serious countdown figures now at just over 30 hours before my departure and I feel like I couldn’t be more organised. The one thing that was daunting me about my trip was the leg from LAX to Rosarito Beach, just south of the Mexico border where the Mexico International Film Festival I’m attending takes place. Everyone, and I mean everyone, has warned me about the dangers in the area. But now, thanks to the wonders of connectivity that facebook provides, I have ‘met’ a fellow filmmaker to travel with from LAX to the festival. That he is Latin will add a little to my safety I’m sure. And checking his credentials, he is an accomplished documentary maker so it will be an interesting road trip indeed.

I wish I could feel a little more organised about leaving home though. There’s something about having an ocean between you and your family that incites separation anxiety, and perhaps more so for a mother, and then some for a single mother who knows her kids only have the one point of contact, HER, when drama strikes. This year has been quite a test on the family front and I am leaving a volatile somewhat unravelled nest. Here’s hoping my positive maternal vibes can be just as effective from the other side of the world.

So, tonight my bags will be packed. Packing for two climates is a big pain; I’ll have temperature extremes from around a low of 8 degrees in San Francisco to a top of 36 in parts of Mexico. And then there’s the extremes of dress standards from ‘upscale fashionable’ for the awards ceremony I’m attending to the ‘downscale don’t-stand-out’ treks around Mexico. My bags will be bulging, that’s if my head hasn’t bulged to explosion point with all the wardrobe decisions I must make.