Instead, I am afraid that now in addition to a bag for drugs, trail mix and beef jerky, we will need another bag just for electronics.
We weren’t going to take a laptop, but yesterday Michael went to St Maarten to buy an Asus Eee PC netbook. It is very cool. Teeny tiny, with 150GB hardrive and 1.6GB ram…a nearly normal keyboard (for something so small) and a very clear screen. So last night I installed Office, configured Outlook for his two email accounts, and installed Palm desktop software. Today, Blackberry desktop and then I figured out how to transfer photos. The only reason we are taking it to Africa is so that I can post photos on this blog. I was going to have to take pictures with the Blackberry just to be able to email them but now I can transfer images from the camera to the netbook and then transfer them from the netbook to the Blackberry and then attach them to emails and send…viola! Easy Peasy. I tested it and it works. (Of course then I had to install image expert software so I can resize them first so I’m not trying to email massive, high detail photos to the blog.)
Some of you may wonder why I wouldn’t just email them using the now installed Outlook on the netbook….ah, because Blackberry international email service is only $19.99/month from anywhere. Can’t beat that.
Anyway, back to the whole electronics-dedicated luggage issue….Consider that we are now packing:
The fancy ass big Nikon camera, the little pocket camera Michael just bought for me (because I have to be able to take pictures of HIM with the gorillas) and the video camera…along with all of their USB and power cords/chargers. Then the Blackberry plus same. AND the ipod and the Bose Headset. And don’t forget my Kindle and its cords. Plus, of course, the voltage/plug converters. Thank heavens I’m not lugging a hairdryer!
Sigh. I remember when vacation packing consisted of throwing together a bathing suit, suntan lotion (and precious little of that back then), a small camera (running on regular batteries and we did need to carry a bunch of those little canisters of actual film) plus a book to read.
Oh well, two weeks from right now I will be asleep (hopefully) on a transatlantic flight between JFK and Brussels…cords and all.
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