This was a pretty stark departure from my previous packing. Typically I think more along the lines of what will I want to wear, what might I want to look like? This was more like yeah, if you were at home you might wear the same thing for three days. You don't need three separate outfits. Just come up with something that you could wear no matter what you do that you would feel like you looked good enough in and that's it. You got it.
I decided to shave my armpits. Which I have not done for a very long time. They were so irritated by the experience that I couldn't wear deodorant. Well it's going to be cool anyway. Who needs deodorant? I feel like that somehow became optional during the pandemic when I didn't wear it for years and then was like well maybe if I stink people will stay further away from me so that's a good thing. I have started wearing it again this last year, but whatever, you know. I found a chaparral ointment that's basically olive oil and beeswax that I could use to remove makeup. I wanted everything to be kind of multitasking. So it can remove makeup but it doesn't have anything in it that you have to wash off so if I got a cut or scrape or a bug bite or had extra dry skin or something I could use it for that as well. I wouldn't have to wash it off. And it's in a pretty small container. I have an algae extract that I use for my face and body moisturizer or remineralization really. It's in too big of a bottle but I found a little sample size. Dropper bottle and repurposed that. I have a facial moisturizer that's made with coconut oil, avocado oil, and tallow that I actually buy from someone in Eugene. It's got red clover in it so it's actually also a hormonal balancer. I had a little tiny toothpaste sample and a little tiny makeup sample and a little tiny concealer sample and a regular size toothbrush. I had two disposable fountain pens that also went in that quart size Ziploc bag because they contain liquid. My quart size bag was not even really half full. Excellent!
I decided on one pair of shoes that I could wear. Normally I almost always take an extra pair of shoes, but these shoes have proven to be pretty solid. They are also from eBay. Thrifted. Now this even with the extra thick hoodie was only about half full backpack. However, I had to take food. Part of the dieting is having some control over what you're eating. And I've been doing a modified version of the fasting mimicking diet. By modified I mean I'm not paying for the prolon kit which is just too much money for me, what I'm doing instead is as close as possible trying to get the appropriate number of calories and proportions of macros. And when I went to Fort Worth I did the fasting mimicking diet while i was there or my modified version, and I found that a lot easier than having to acquire food to be honest. But I figured there was going to be food in Portland I was going to want to eat. So I needed food that I wouldn't be dependent on what I could find but I didn't really know how much food i needed because I didn't know what I would find. So I took baru nuts and golden berries dried and wahoo jerky and orkney beremeal oatcakes. Oh and clorella and wheatgrass tablets-- which I consider food not supplements. And then some other supplements that I won't go all into. And after I did that it was mostly a full backpack. There was still extra room but not a lot.
I'm pretty pleased with this configuration. I did not need as many nuts and berries as I took. I took three fish jerkies and I ate two of them. I took two packets of seven each of the oat cakes and I ate, I think, a couple more than the one package-- so that was about right. I could have gotten by with less of the nuts and berries but if I hadn't found any food I wanted to eat I think I would have needed them so I think I still would have adjusted them down a little. I want a lighter backpack. This is one that I've had for a very long time and I like the size and shape of it. But as I was hefting it on to my shoulder again and again I could feel elbow strain.
