I did something really stupid yesterday.

Part of the plan for last night, along with packing and cleaning the apartment, was to do one more load of laundry so all my work clothes would be clean for my trip. So I get home, strip off my khakis and chuck them in the wash.

Mental note for the future: Remove wallet before washing pants.

Oh man, I ruined EVERYTHING. I'm just glad my plane tickets weren't in there. What wasn't destroyed in the washer was demagnetized by the trip through the dryer. I didn't even discover my little mistake until I fished the soggy mess out of the pocket when I was folding the dry clothes.

My driver's license is intact -- hard plastic, and no magnetic strip -- and my birth certificate was laminated, so no damage there. Whew. However:

The following items were made of paper: Alberta Health Care card. A half-dozen business cards. Two five dollar bills. Bits of phone numbers.

The following were demagnetized: Visa. MasterCard. ATM card. Four video rental cards. Library card. Air Miles card. Two grocery club cards and one gas station club card.

In addition, my SIN card was in such poor shape to begin with that it now feels more like leather than plastic. The wallet itself shrunk and burst at the seams. Sigh.

Of course this all happens one day before I head off to Toronto for ten days. I'm leaving work early so I can get a new ATM card and wallet on my way home. And finish all the cleaning and packing I didn't complete last night.

I hope this isn't a bad omen for my trip. I'm nervous enough as it is.

'Nervous?' you ask? Yup. I'm heading off to a city I haven't been to in a dozen years, where I don't know a single soul, to do a job that hasn't been adequately explained to me for a bunch of people I've never met.

Damn straight I'm nervous.

I should be able to continue updating while I'm there, so watch for trip updates. They may be a bit off-schedule -- like I really have a decent schedule here at the best of times -- but I'll do my best.

God speed to all of you.

Lots of luck. Heh heh heh.

Yesterday was so short.

So how was Toronto?

Take me home, big fella