I deleted the original, this is a repost. For some reason, the in-line images from GMail didn't show up. Deal with it.
Last week, the nerds over at Lifehacker started doing a series of posts called "What's in our bags?"
in which some geeky tech dudes talk about what they carry in their
laptop bags. For reasons unknown, even to myself, I find the series
interesting. I've been thinking about doing a series of posts about
the things I use on a daily basis here in China, so this seems like a
good start.
Since coming to China, just over a year ago, I've led a
wallet-less, empty pocketed existence. I'm not sure if it was a
conscious thing or what, but I do realize it's part of a continuing
trend in my life. My Seinfeldification, if you will, is a series of
elements of my every day life that coincide with the happenings of
various episodes of Seinfeld. These aren't decisions that I've
consciously made, I've just watched enough (a shit ton of) Seinfeld to
be able to connect the two.
So here's my small men's carry all. Mine's not a purse and it's not European.
The Bag (Photo #'s 1,2)
It's some Mossimo brand messenger bag from Target that I bought
three or four years ago. I'm not sure what this says about me, but
brown is my favorite color; and that's basically the only reason I
bought it. The outside of the bag is still in pretty good condition,
but the inside has definitely seen better days. The internal lining is
ripped at the top, exposing an area between the fabric and the foam,
but I ended up taking advantage of the hole and using it as another
internal pocket. The bag is just big enough to carry my Macbook, but
just small enough to leave absolutely no room for other things if I
do. I rarely ever need to carry around my computer though, so it's not
really a problem. My biggest issue with the bag is that the only thing
that keeps it closed is a magnetic seal between the flap and the bag,
leaving me no room to over-stuff and a big bulge in the flap if I have
nothing in the bag.
The stuff:
1. Moleskine notebooks (Photo #3)
I've been using these
things almost religiously for the past two or three years and I prefer
the large ones with the squared paper (on the left). I used to only
carry one, but I bought the little red one and I feel like I have to
get some use out of it. The large one is for lists, drawings, and
writing; the small red one is almost only for teaching plans, stuff I
have to remember from class, and sometimes lists, drawings and
writing. The large one also doubles as my wallet, I carry money and my
Subway club card in the back pocket. I could go on (and on) about how
I use Moleskines here, but I'll save that for my next post.
2. Diana+ and her friends (Photo #4)
Sometimes it's a
snug fit, but I carry my Diana F+ with me almost everywhere I go.
Sometimes pinch hit with my Fujifilm instant camera, but I'm out of
film right now. Also my LCA+ is dead. If it weren't, I'd probably
carry it around with me more, seeing as how it's smaller and 35mm film
is easier to find and cheaper to develop. Man, I need to get that
thing fixed. Also pictured: film for taking pictures, a flash for
flashing, a leather case on the flash for protection, batteries for
power and the green circle is scotch tape. The tape is necessary
because Lomo makes really shitty film with no adhesive at the end of
the roll. I got to secure that crap somehow.
3. Pens and Chinese necessities (Photo #'s 5, 6)
I've got
pens and pencils to write on stuff. The pencils are Zebra brand
mechanical ones that I brought over from the USA and are my favorite
kind of pencil. Various pens and two sharpies, one silver and one
black in memory of my friend Ryan who would marry the Oakland Raiders
if it was legal (Ryan isn't dead, he's just never online anymore). The
green package contains wet wipes, an absolute essential in China.
Recently I've started carrying face masks, I'm not sure why. I'll
occasionally wear one if it's smoggy when I run in the morning, and I
think I just bought more than I needed. Also, I gotta watch out for
the swine flu. I also carry a canvas shopping bag, I think most people
know by now that you have to pay for plastic bags in Chinese stores (a
rule that I totally support). It rolls up pretty tightly and fits
easily the back pocket of the bag.
4. Technological stuffs (Photo #7)
My ipod touch, which I'll do a post on in the near future and my new phone which hasn't fallen in the toilet.
5. Cards and survival thingy (Photo #8)
I've got one of
those clear business card/plastic case wallets, it contains: my
driver's license (I really don't need it, but I keep it on me out of
habit), Metro card (Metro is a German supermarket chain), various
Shenyang area business cards for getting around the city in the taxi,
and a lens cloth for my camera and ipod screen. The little baggy on
the left is a mixture of stuff that came in a survival kit I received
as a gift about five years ago. I'm not sure what all is in it (I know
it contains one Tootsie Roll), I've actually never opened it, but it
could come in handy someday, when I need to survive.
6. Keys (Photo #9)
My bag has an internal key ring and I
have two sets of keys. On the left are my real keys, well, one key (to
my apartment). The ring also holds a tiny knife, a really tiny 8gb SSK
USB drive, and a recently purchased combo nail clipper/bottle opener
(it's a Lexus!). On the right are my bike keys. The bike that I never
ride has three locks, requiring three separate keys. I bought a used
bike for 50rmb about 10 months ago and I have used those keys to open
said locks precisely three times.
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