No More Hot Boxing, originally uploaded by LeeLeFever_TwinF.

I've had it. We will go broke paying for rooms with air conditioning from now on. Despite what the travel agent told us, our room for the next 2 nights is more like a hot box, with bunk beds and a fan that apparently used to oscillate, but now hangs down with the pull of gravity, as if its neck has been snapped. Hot air being blown around is still hot air anyway.

The heat of the day is fine with me, I can deal with sweat and stickiness and sunscreen and smell, but at the end of a long hot day, I need a shower and I need relief from the swelter. No more do I want to feel the sweat trickle down my neck and onto my pillow as I try to sleep, no more do I want to wake up with clothes dirtier than when I went to sleep. It's over.

AC is now the magic word when looking for lodging at the next stop. I already have a plan for taking vengance on the "Where? What? How? Whitsundays" travel brokers in Airlie Beach, Queensland, Australia for promising AC when none existed. In case you missed that, it was the "Where? What? How? Whitsundays" Travel Brokers in Airlie Beach that misled us. The next broker will swear on their first born that AC does indeed exist when planning a multi-day trip.

Of course, from here, on one of the Whitsunday Islands (at Long Island Resort), we are going north, towards the equator, towards Asia, towards more humidity and more need for AC. Luckily AC will be cheaper there.

I know some of you will call me lame or weak or tell me to get over it. I hear ya... I admit to being spoiled, but dammit I'm not a 21 year old backpacker anymore. At 32, I have needs and the means to support those needs and from now on, the need to sleep sweat-free will be served. Mark my word.

Planning a trip like this is an amazing experience, both for the building excitement and fun and for the amount of loose ends that must be tied up.  It reminds me of the Beck lyric from the song Jack Ass:

Loose ends tying a noose in the back of my mind  It's not quite a noose, but the list is quickly growing and shrinking every day.  Think about paying taxes... We're leaving on December 11th, long before our tax statements come in.  We're leaving before our year even comes to a close.  Dealing with taxes is a big deal for us and yesterday we spend most of the day sorting through receipts and the Common Craft revenues and expenses in preparation for a meeting with our accountant.

What we plan to do is have a big envelope ready and have Mark put any mail that looks tax-related in it and have it sent to the accountant before texes are due. 

Common Craft is a whole other pain.  It just occurred to me last week that I have a number of annual renewals and payments I usually make in the Spring.  Business License renewal, Excise tax, Seattle City Business Tax, etc. I had to call the offices and get special forms for renewing and paying early.

This is all in the name of more peace of mind.  The more we can do now, the less we'll have to worry about next year and that is a good thing.