I almost forgot to unplug the lamps

I'm leaving tonight - very shortly - to get my brother from the airport and then we are driving to the farm in Indiana (his wife's parent's farm - yes, it is a real farm). Then tomorrow we are going "home" to Ann Arbor, MI. I'm going to be gone for a week or a little more (I may not be able to post as much). This is stressful for me of course. Traveling to Ann Arbor isn't as stressful as traveling for work - but after about 3 days I just feel like I want to go home. Plus, we are seeing family, including my father's extended family and my mother - need I say more?

I keep saying my anxiety level is high and it is. Funny though that I almost forgot to unplug the lamps. I'm weird, didn't you know? When I travel for more than a couple of days, I unplug lamps. Not all the lamps - just most of them. (The toaster is never plugged in except during use). Actually, I might unplug them all this time. I rarely talk about this, though I have a few times here, but it's an OCD thing - obsessive compulsive disorder. I've had this since I was 7. It's pretty much there all the time - it's an anxiety thing, but it's more or less not really a problem. According to every doctor I've discussed it with - it basically doesn't impair my ability to live. This is subject to debate I think - but I can talk myself out of it. It kind of ebbs and flows with my level of anxiety and stress, and it's true, it has never been very severe. It was much more severe when I was a kid and living with my parents in the mess that was my childhood. Pretty much you would never know if I didn't tell you. It only manifests itself in a couple of pretty specific ways now.

Anyway, shockingly, I almost forgot to unplug them. I also almost forgot to pack a coat. Duh. (Actually I rarely wear one in Michigan - I wear those vest things for some reason).

Also - my trunk is completely full. I have a 2006 Passat - have you seen the trunk on this thing? It's huge. A couple of people said to me - wow - you could fit a couple of bodies in there. That's not quite what I had in mind. Anyway - it's full. What the hell am I taking? (Presents - but still).

Okay, gotta go. Wish me luck in surviving this holiday - I will need it.