Getting Packed / The Details

How do you pack for five weeks?

I'm working on the answer to that question as we speak, but its not coming easy. I'm finding it to be an awkward time frame - in between a vacation and a temporary move.

Some details on my next five weeks: I'll be flying out of O'hare tomorrow for Newcastle, UK; connecting through Amsterdam (unfortunately only a 1 hour layover). Newcastle is on the north east end of England, pretty close to Scotland, and has a reputation of being a party town. I'll be staying at a Marriot in Durham with my team and working in Peterlee (both smaller towns outside of Newcastle) in a dump truck factory. The basic objective of the project is to improve the profitability of this particular division.

Anyway, tomorrow will be my first ever international flight. I've heard they're a little bit better than the cramped domestic flights I'm used too. I'm looking forward to catching up on some writing and sleep while enjoying the miracle that is human flight - (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoGYx35ypus - sums up some of my philosophies in a much more humorous fashion than I ever could).

I'm curious about how many people will be at the airport wearing flu masks, and how intense the security check is going to be for swine flu. It seems to me like this is a largely media-manufactured crisis, so I'm not too concerned...although I did stumble across this article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/30/AR2009043002174.html Apparently there was a documented case of the swine flu in Newcastle.

I'm excited to get going tomorrow and hopefully I can get everything done beforehand that needs to be taken care of! That being said, I'm looking to pick up a book or two for my flights and any downtime in the hotel - if anyone has a recommendation, I'd appreciate it! - leaving a comment here or sending me an email would be ideal.

Bon Voyage!