a second set of shampoo, conditioner, hair gel, shaving cream, toothpaste, etc. and defiantly arranged them on the corner of my parents' very pink "main bathroom" counter. I first felt the sense of triumph when I purchased a FOUR OUNCE container of Right Guard Gel deodorant. Then it was the economy-sized tube of Tarter Fighting Colgate.

I came to this intelligent conclusion at 4 a.m. when trying to shove a travel sized bottle containing approximately two ounces of mouthwash into a zip lock bag that had already showed signs of serious resistance. Then it just tore. I think the Neutrogena Instant Lip Ready tube (.5 fluid oz of something made in France and then sold at Duane Reade) was the culprit. I considered whether this concoction for chapped lips ("dermatologist Recommended") was worth all the trouble after all, with Global Warming we hadn't seen any snow in Toronto, and my lips only seem to get chapped in the winter.

Only a month before, I had laser eye surgery, so I was carrying several variations of non-preserved/preserved eye drops, but clearly they had to go, too. None came near the 3 oz limit, but I chucked them for a few of the single-use containers. They could slide into that zip lock with the tiny toothpaste tube, and the miniature hair gel container I fashioned out of a used pill bottle. On the return I needn't have worried about the torn zip loc bag. Unlike the surly buffoons who barked repeatedly and with great boredom at us poor, stupid air travelers at LaGuardia, the staff at Pearson International in Toronto was pleasant. They met you about 20 metres (Canadian spelling, and metric, since I was in Toronto after all) before you even got near the magnometer offering free sturdy looking zip loc bags for anyone who needed one. They couldn't have been more gracious.