The Unbearable Banishment: what's in the bag!?

Friday, February 13, 2009

what's in the bag!?

I got tagged by *E* Deconstructed and this looks like a fun one so I’ll play along.

You’re supposed to post a pic of the bag you use on a daily basis, list how much it costs and then reveal the contents. While it's true that, for the most part, men do not carry bags around, in New York City bags are a way of life for everyone because we use public transportation. It’s not unusual to see a man schlepping a bag around town. Please spare me your witless cross-dressing-do-your-shoes-match-your-bag comments.



I bought this bag, literally, about 15 years ago and have no idea what it cost. It’s made by Timberland. It has pockets and zippers. It's functional. What else is there to say?



My Lenovo ThinkPad and slip-in carrying case (Lenovo bought the ThinkPad franchise from IBM. This laptop is less than a year old and it has given me nothing but problems almost since the day I bought it. LENOVO SUCKS. DO NOT BUY LENOVO PRODUCTS.), my iPod, camera, wallet, LG cell phone (mobile is a more accurate and descriptive term), an extra cell (mobile) battery, a lapel pin from the Metropolitan Museum of Art and an umbrella.




My portfolio of work samples, a Playbill from the show I saw last night (The American Plan. Fantastic. Post TK.), the book I’m reading (Almost No Memory by Lydia Davis), a New Jersey Transit North Jersey Coast Line train table, my cell phone jammer, the manual for my camera, some paper mittens that 7-year old daughter made for me and my filofax (so old school, I know.)

Not pictured: a lot of boring paperwork, the New York Times and my ben-wah balls. Ha. Just kidding about the latter. I’m testing to see if you read to the end of the post. Feel free to post your own bag.

16 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yes I read to the end. Like your lapel pin too :-)

February 13, 2009 at 7:32 AM  
Blogger Sid said...

what is a cell phone jammer?

February 13, 2009 at 7:53 AM  
Blogger The Unbearable Banishment said...

nurse: A Met lapel pin with your name on it is waiting for you in NYC.

sid: It's a device I carry with me that disrupts cell phone serivce. I activate it when some asshole on my train is shouting into his/her cell phone.

February 13, 2009 at 8:07 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

what is a filofax? Does it have something to do with faxs?

February 13, 2009 at 9:51 AM  
Blogger The Unbearable Banishment said...

pop: A filofax, my young friend, is what we used as an organizer before electronic organizers were invented. It's got a calendar, address book, note pad, etc. I still like the feeling of scratching a pen on paper.

February 13, 2009 at 10:01 AM  
Blogger Jason Quinones said...

even though you told us that blue thing was your MOMA pin i'm still going to pretend it's your little blue hand mirror.

it's weird how we new yorkers burden ourselves with all the crap we feel we have to carry around with us on a daily basis. i tend to walk out the door sometimes thinking "do i seriously need all this? i'm taking a 30 minute trip into manhattan not going on safari!"

i went into work sans bag today taking only my cell and wallet.

but even this is risky as there is that occasional assclown who will,as you stated earlier, shout into their phone. or there'll be someone YELLING me and everyone on board the train that we're going to hell if we don't accept jesus christ as our lord and savior. which is exactly what i want to hear first thing in the morning. thanks for reminding me.

February 13, 2009 at 11:03 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I rode the bus every day for about 11 years in the Pacific Northwest. 85% chance of getting wet on any given day, so yeah, bags are a necessity there, plus issues of theft prevention (e.g., getting the cell pinched) and function. They also make a great weapon too to scare off mass transit psychos, and I've been known to swing mine like a flail, from time to time.

And I'm writing all this on one cheap-ass hunk of junk Lenovo ThinkPad which I will gleefully toss off the interstate once I get my technology upgrade next fall.

SA.

February 13, 2009 at 11:18 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You were supposed to give those mittens to Nurse H ages ago. Daughter better not find out they are still in your bag! Hee-hee.

February 13, 2009 at 1:39 PM  
Blogger ~E said...

I knew you'd come thru. I figured out of the guys I knew, you'd be one of those who wont just dig out their pockets and take a pic of loose change.

P.S. I want a cellphone jammer for my birthday!

February 13, 2009 at 2:53 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

OMG! I can't believe you didn't give me those mittens. My hands have been freezing all winter long. Thank oldest daughter for me.

I hate to carry a bag...but I do out of necessity and in it is a lot of stuff I don't even need. Go figure.

February 13, 2009 at 4:14 PM  
Blogger The Unbearable Banishment said...

Jason: Don’t you feel a void if you don’t have your bag with you? I do.

SA: We should start an “I hate Lenovo” support group. Is that domain name taken?

Mrs. Wife: Well, there’s a hazard in reading my blog. You discover my negligance.

E: Cell phone jammers only cost a measly $38. Hours of fun! Just don’t get caught.

Nurse H: I had them with me on the last two occasions we hung out. I forgot!

February 13, 2009 at 9:57 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Does the stuff look that neatly organized in your bag too? Because that just scares me.

February 13, 2009 at 10:20 PM  
Blogger The Unbearable Banishment said...

annie: Of course not! I laid it out all nice and neat so you could see everything.

February 13, 2009 at 10:31 PM  
Blogger bob said...

Lydia Davis. Good on you.

Wallet in the bag? That makes me nervous.

Met lapel button (not really a pin, is it?): are you waiting for the next blue day and going to reuse it?

February 14, 2009 at 6:57 AM  
Blogger The Unbearable Banishment said...

bob: Now that I tink about it, wallet in bag seems redundant. Met lapel metal fold-over button? That's too wordy.

February 14, 2009 at 7:48 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm not tagging you, but you should check out the interview project I've got running. Bloggers interviewing other bloggers. Hopefully a fun way to find new blogs and get some new readers for your own. If you're keen come over and check it out.

February 15, 2009 at 7:55 PM  

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