*cheesy grin*

I only have a handful of goals this year concerning Pennsic War. The first is moving out of the Duplex before war starts, but that isn't exactly a Pennsic-related goal. At least, I don't think it is, but the other goals certainly are.

90% of Scadians I know have the same problem when it comes to preparing for war: Leaving the house looking like a warhead was dropped on it. In the whirlwind of preperations and "making good time" on the drive to Pennsylvania, a monumental mess is usually left in one's wake. So, Pennsic Goal #1 is leaving behind a (reasonably) clean house when we depart for our vacation.

Another issue most folks I know have with going to war is constantly having to make "town runs". This translates as "Oh-good-grief-I-forgot-X-item-and-I-can't-live-without-it!" panic trips to Wal-Mart or Home Depot once you make it to the campsite. Its a minimum 30-minute drive one way to get to either of those stores, and its a pain in the butt to leave the campsite and then get back in again. First you have to go up Metal Mountain to find your vehicle. Then you have to go through site checkpoints (these are to ensure people coming into the campsite have actually paid to be there) to go off site. Then there's the drive itself, and the time and money spent at the store. After the return drive, you have to go back through the checkpoints again and then its a trip back up Metal Mountain to drop off your vehicle at parking after you drop off items and passengers at your camp.

A MAJOR hassle and a gargantuan waste of time. Therefore, Pennsic Goal #2 is only having to make one store run during all of War Week.

Now for a more personal problem. In the last few years, I have become a procrastinator extraordinaire. Even with a well-formulated plan of attack, things fall through the cracks or are left half-finished due to the "I'll do it later," attitude. I have no idea how I fell into this trap, but I hate it and I don't want to be in it anymore. So, Pennsic Goal #3 is actually a two-part goal. Goal #3A is to have all our gear that is being used by the camp-at-large cleaned, repaired and ready to be packed no less than 4 days prior to the start of Pennsic.

Goal #3B is to have mine and John's personal gear cleaned, repaired, and packed in my car the night before we leave for War Week. (The actual date of our departure is still up in the air due to the sporadicness of working in retail, so I'll figure out the specifics later.)

Those are the only goals I have at this particular point in time. If I come up with any more than that, I'll update the list in another entry.

Wish me luck. This is gonna be tough. :P