At security, the adrenaline pumps as I worry endlessly that I might miss my flight. When I finally get to the security lines, I immediately grab about 4 bins. Sometimes to be annoyingly irritating to people in back of me and the security watching the x-ray machine. But sometimes, because I really have that much stuff. I put my shoes and jacket in one. Then my bag in another. Perhaps with my scarf and sunglasses. Then in the next one, my laptop. Then finally another bin for my laptop bag. Sometimes an extra bin for the clear plastic bag with my liquids in containers which are 3.5 oz or less. So my bins ride through the x-ray machine as the people behind me tap their foot impatiently.

After the screening, I put everything back together. Jacket on, sunglasses on head, things back in my pockets, bags strapped all over myself. I look ridiculous I know, but I stumble my way to my gate. And that’s the relief I have when I arrive is nice.

(There was one time I left a laptop at the security checkpoint. To this day, I don’t know how they ever figured out to announce my name over the loudspeaker. Probably because I had facebook open on the laptop, but still!)

After traveling fairly regularly during grad school and my short weekend trips, I would have thought I mastered the art of check-in. But apparently there’s more according upgradetravelbetter.com