Monday 4 June 2012

One day to go: packing and panicking

Time sure has flown and with the meeting starting tomorrow, it is time to make a final decision on the gadgets and kit to be packed. Have almost everything laid out on the bed and I am faced with the following sight:



Items not visible here but which need to be packed as well include a tripod, an extension-cord, plus the usual assortment of items women carry around in their handbags. Have decided to pack everything into a laptop backpack, with the exception of the big camera and lens; a separate holster bag will take care of that.

All that needs to be done now, is:

  • charge the laptop, cameras and cellphone
  • pack extra batteries, memory cards and memory sticks
  • clean the camera lenses
  • make sure to pack chargers in the morning after charging
Must admit that I have never carried this much kit around on me for a daytrip! Have travelled with all this kit, all over South Africa and abroad, but then it would be for a longer period, staying over, leaving my laptop and chargers in the room....with this event I have to carry everything from my car to the Gautrain, travel on the train, walk to the conference venue, use all the gadgets during the day at the conference, then do the reverse back to my car at the end of the day....four days running.

But I am pretty excited......this will be my first semi-similar attempt at what I believe could easily have been a career I would have enjoyed and excelled in: writing interesting pieces, combining this with photography, seeing new people, hearing novel viewpoints, visiting strange places.....yes, for the next four days I will lead the exciting life of the adventurous field reporter! And if things get a bit rough, controversy rears its head, or some Sandton dangers arise, well, what else to do than pursue some spiritual guidance by pondering:



                                         WHAT WOULD TINTIN DO?

No comments: