Stress Induction

Some things that I need to do to get through in the next week and a half before leaving for India:

• focus, focus, focus. Start one thing and finish it before bouncing off the walls, around the room, onto the computer, and then starting something else. Nothing will get done if I can't manage to fooooooccccccussss.
• summon the patience of Job to wait in lines, including tomorrow's line to vote, the line at the pharmacy to pick up some medicines that I need (five people in line when I stopped tonight, and the same man at the pick-up counter for the entire ten minutes that I roamed the cosmetic section looking for an equivalent to my favorite MAC lipstick, and then I bailed and went home - see what I mean?) and any random moments that involve the act of waiting, including stop lights, email coming up, letting the phone ring, making a cup of tea while standing still in the kitchen while the leaves steep instead of running off to fit in a quick something else, and sitting through commercials.
• cut the cord that is connecting me to that extra pair of sandals and three pair of pants instead of two and the jean jacket that I might just need, even though it's in the 80s and humid as all get out in southern India. At present, all non-essential items are piled on top of the semi-packed suitcase, waiting (at least something in this house is waiting) for me to gather the gumption to put them back in the closet and go without.
• see above, regarding the Ace bandage, two types of sunblock, Benedryl in tablet and cream form, gauze squares, tape for the squares, one of those instant cold packs, and facial wipes. I never use this stuff at home, but what if I need it and I can't get it in India? Number of times that I've used an Ace bandage to date: zero. Yet, the advice regarding first aid kits is to take all of this stuff and more.
• choose a knitting project and stick to my decision. So far, I have piled up in the maybe stack: Socks that Rock yarn in Walking on the Wild Tide and a size 1 circular for Magic Looping socks; Silk Garden in three different colorways, originally destined for the Noro scarf from the Brooklyn Tweed blog (mindless, easy knitting with color changes to keep me happy while I'm waiting between patients) but now possibly going to be used for Turn a Square hats for the colleagues in my yoga therapy training who took me up on the offer to knit them a hat; a skein of Misti Alpaca hand painted sock yarn, full of bright pinks and red and greens but I haven't found the right size needle or project to use it for; a skein of Malabrigo in blues and greens to make a hat; and a half-finished Peddler's Shawl in Brooks Farm Solo Silk, a yarn that is lovely to work with but since I'm done with the garter stitch part and am ready to work the lace edging, it may not be the right project for the kind of knitting I'm envisioning doing while I'm waiting. Oh, and a skein of Rovings Polworth wool-silk in a beautiful soft brown. I love this yarn and made a Swallowtail Shawl out of my last skein, but having just zoomed through the Noro Taiyo yarn and also having allowed myself to get totally off-track by starting Juliet in the leftovers of the Cascade Eco Wool, I'm not sure (see above, yet again) that I have the patience for lace-weight right now. And my beloved Bryspun circular is in the city at the hospital where I volunteered this summer, and driving in and parking would be far more costly than just buying a new one, and yet, I can't even decide to do that. EEk. See what I mean about focus?
• last ditch solution: eat chocolate, ice cream, and other comforting foods while watching Dancing with the Stars, Stylista, Survivor and The Amazing Race (this Sunday's view of India? not nearly as scary as the last time, when everyone was crushed together on the train and getting somewhat mauled), because clearly the knitting is not going to offer much solace at the moment, and hope that the clothes that I do pack will still fit when I arrive in India.
• oh, yes, and please don't forget to vote tomorrow, no matter how long the lines and no matter how little patience you have. I promise that I will, even if I have to arm myself with two projects and a book to get myself to stand still long enough to get into the precinct and cast my vote.