Superficial Joy

Once again my luggage did not arrive with me at my destination. This time it was on the way to Tel Aviv and it was finally delivered 2 days later--pretty good compared to some of my other luggage encounters (I have an intimate and rocky relationship with luggage; I've written about some of those experiences here ).  This song is appropriate here... For the record, I did not have any bags lost in 2021 (WOOT WOOT!) which, like all other happenings in 2021, can be attributed to Covid. I did, however, have lost luggage on the way to Nepal and the way back from Zanzibar in 2020. This trip is one of the few on which I had a carryon. Despite the fact that I am a terrible  packer; despite the fact that my luggage has been lost about a dozen times; despite the fact that numerous people have told me how helpful it is to always have a change of clothes in a carryon when they travel; despite all of this I will more or less never take a carryon if I can check it for no extra charge. My sol...

I am going berserk about suitcases! Yes, S.U.I.T.C.A.S.E.S. There are several issues going on here. 1. The Shipping "allowance". When I signed the contract with the school, I looked at the shipping allowance and misread it. See how it says AED 1000? I thought it said USD  1000. Whoops. So instead of $1000 US, I get about roughly $272 US. Not great. Luckily I stopped kicking myself for not noticing this before I signed, but now I'm trying to figure out how to get my stuff over there. Particularly I am worried about my protein shake supplement there; it comes in 1.5 lb tubs and I have enough to last through Christmas. Do I ship it? Do I check it? If so, do I put it in a suitcase? Will customs let it through? Arg!! 2. How many bags do I check? The school pays for 2. I am flying American and I have so far called twice to confirm the cost of checking a 3rd bag and heard two different answers: $150 and $200. Depending on how much it really costs, I will check ...