whoosh! whoosh! whee!
I'm up; I've made coffee, buffed my nails, and started prepping for the day. "Prepping for the day," right now, means: resetting the clock on the stove and the one in the living room; checking to see that everything I may need is in my bag; charging my phone and MP3 player; triple-checking that I have cough drops (three types), an energy bar, and such (I should pick up a small reusable water bottle to carry -- any recommendations?); and dithering.
I do carry at least an extra pound or two of "stuff" whenever I'm leaving the house for for than a short local jaunt. Of course, there are the typical daily items -- eye liner, lip color, travel toothbrush, extra pens, some of Soren's meds, adhesive bandages -- but when I'm going into (relatively) unfamiliar territory, the items add up. Will I need my Leatherman? Probably not. Will I feel like a complete dork if I do need it, and don't have it? Yes. How many pens do I need? Emergency sewing kit? Superglue? What about a shawl? And, hey, Jane just gave me one of those space emergency blankets -- it's only three ounces, so I should stick that in my bag, too.
(Various companies used to make cheap miniature office supply kits, that came in plastic cases: tape, scissors, tiny stapler, paper clips, pen, etc. I wish I could find one of those again. Right now I'm carrying the equivalent in small pieces in a pencil case, but there was something about the cuteness of the sets ... even though my individual pieces are higher quality, I liked the sets.)
And they can add up in weight and bulk. Oooh, how about an extra Sharpie, with a thicker nib? Maybe two: red and black? I have the Leatherman, so I don't need the little box cutter, do I... but it's not that heavy. Spare earbuds? And on and on, until my bag weighs ten pounds with all the items i have just in case.
Need to pare down to a basic set, that's what I should do.
Yeah, right.
And what's in your bag?
I do carry at least an extra pound or two of "stuff" whenever I'm leaving the house for for than a short local jaunt. Of course, there are the typical daily items -- eye liner, lip color, travel toothbrush, extra pens, some of Soren's meds, adhesive bandages -- but when I'm going into (relatively) unfamiliar territory, the items add up. Will I need my Leatherman? Probably not. Will I feel like a complete dork if I do need it, and don't have it? Yes. How many pens do I need? Emergency sewing kit? Superglue? What about a shawl? And, hey, Jane just gave me one of those space emergency blankets -- it's only three ounces, so I should stick that in my bag, too.
(Various companies used to make cheap miniature office supply kits, that came in plastic cases: tape, scissors, tiny stapler, paper clips, pen, etc. I wish I could find one of those again. Right now I'm carrying the equivalent in small pieces in a pencil case, but there was something about the cuteness of the sets ... even though my individual pieces are higher quality, I liked the sets.)
And they can add up in weight and bulk. Oooh, how about an extra Sharpie, with a thicker nib? Maybe two: red and black? I have the Leatherman, so I don't need the little box cutter, do I... but it's not that heavy. Spare earbuds? And on and on, until my bag weighs ten pounds with all the items i have just in case.
Need to pare down to a basic set, that's what I should do.
Yeah, right.
And what's in your bag?