For those who travel.
(Pay respects and copy forward – link back.)
Backpack, shoulder bag, purse. “Man-bag.” That daily carry bag, the briefcase, from the days of yore. Here’s the game:
Empty out your daily carry, be it backpack, purse, briefcase. Post a photo of the daily gear bag and all that gear. Gather the contents and describe what all is in there. What’s essential, what’s for good luck, what’s just there.
The bag itself is an older model (something) from Timbuk2, the company arguably famous for bike messenger bags. How I got introduced to the company? Bike messenger, had one of the bags, old school, and he could, literally, live out of that bag. As I’ve aged, shoulder bags are less of an option and backpack more of a necessity. Took several tries, but I finally found what I thought was about the perfect size. Large enough – notebook computer compartment – for a laptop, a shirt and book. And look what else
(image lost in translation)
There’s a laminated business card with a “God Bless Texas” sticker on it, hanging off one side as a luggage tag. The other side has a tattered American Airlines tag with my old address still legible through the teeth and claw marks, thanks to a friend’s (then) kitten. There’s a carabiner with a bottle holder also attached. The grab handle on the pack still has, as of now, a Virgin Atlantic tag from last summer.
Inside, there’s a zipper pouch that I pack with essentials, a travel-size toothbrush, lip balm, an iPod/iPhone USB cable and spare camera USB cable. Feng Shui coins for luck as well as two chips, one from Balley’s and one from the Bass Pro Shop Casino in Las Vegas. Spare hair tie, a small St. Christopher, and silver spoon fishing lure that’s now an earring. Then there’s my bag of dope: plastic bags inside plastic bags, antihistamines, aspirins, vitamins, pink tablets for digestive issues, antacids, and so forth. Usually drugs bought along the way I just save some in case of emergency. Never can tell what will work, or will be needed when – something to stop me up and something to unplug me, probably have one or two in there.
Key ring, a wallet, zippered pouch key ring with one key on it: the folk’s place in Dallas.
Matches from Las Vegas and Little City, Austin.
Reading glasses – now two sets, one in case and one floating free.
Chapstick for the outside pocket. Couple of spare hair ties for that outside pocket, too. A Cross mechanical pencil, a pink sharpie and a Mont Blanc ballpoint. Then there’s a small half-filled Moleskin notebook. Travel wallet with all kinds of crap, a spare credit card, frequent flyer cards for several places, odd notes, a few extra business cards, all there. I tend to keep spare envelopes in that full-sized wallet, used for collecting receipts and old baggage claim stubs.
There’s an iPod pocket in the pack, and that’s where I keep some more “frequent flyer” cards as well as a few stamps and as of now, a couple of the SouthWest Airlines “drink coupons.” The plan, have some attractive person sit next to me, ply that girl with drinks, and it never happens like that.
Last Xmas, my dear, sweet, much-put-out-with-her-son mother? She gave me a small deck of playing cards with a lucky $20 folded into the cards. I’m carrying that, too.
Finally, there’s an old, slightly beat and bent file folder, Miscellaneous scraps of paper, including an Xmas card from my uncle. Been meaning to write back.
And then, of course, an Apple laptop. But I’m writing on it, why it isn’t in the picture.
