{ things would likely be easier if I got rid of a lot of paper. }

[delga]

The last time I did this meme my handbag was smaller and I was unemployed. That said, I still keep the same crap in there? The more things change etc.

01 My Handbag, Which I Love. I bought this on sale last month when my last bag was proving too small. Evidence: the lining was so wrecked I had two extra compartments. But, guys, I LOVE THIS BAG. It is huge without being too huge! It has two massive compartments and lots of wee pockets! I can sling my brolly between the handles (so, on the zipped compartments) and it doesn't fall out. Plus, it fits all my crap with room to spare. It's a fucking TARDIS. I love it.

02 Letters. I normally pick up the post on my way out of the house or on my way back, so they ned up in my handbag. But I reply to them during lunch/my commute so I like to have them to hand to refer back to. I send a lot of letters, and I keep a lot on me. Actually, anything I've received since November is in this bag. Normally I just flick past them when scrambling for a pen, but I like having them on my person. I like seeing handwriting idk.

03 My Current Book (Jeanette Winterson's Written on the Body). I nearly always have a book in my bag, mostly for unexpected commutes (when EBL has to go home early, for example) and of late some sit in there for months without being opened. I was reading this one a fortnight back when I went to Chesterfield and haven't touched it since, but it'll come in handy soon. I suspect this will soon be replaced by one of the poetry tomes I recently ordered - for a long time I carried Plath's Ariel, mostly forgotten about, but good to have at short notice.

04 Useful Scraps That I Just Now Found? A squished square notepaper leaf with The Flatmate's Australian address on it. To be fair, I have that in my gmail account, so it's not a big deal if I lose it. The white thing next to the book is a blank envelope containing £10 I didn't know I had. Yeah. Emergency funds! I do hide money in places so that it's there if I need it, but the one set back is that I forget it's there. So. Yes.

05 Hair Salon. Kidding. But since I got my hair cut it has needed a heck of a lot more care! What is this! Shorter hair shouldn't be so fucking high maintenance! Anyway, combs, hair grips, clips, and a resealable tube of metal grips that I tend to need at about 3pm when my hair goes beserk. No, really, 3pm every day. Mixed in there is also a travel bottle of cocoa butter body lotion and a little tub of mango-flavoured lip balm that I purchased from Next, of all places, when I was in Swansea. ESSENTIALS.

06 M&S Voucher / Wear&Tear Repair Kit. Hi, I can't count! The first #6 is the voucher I got from The Rents for my last birthday. I recently used it to buy two lovely new tops, including a blissfully cut tee that I am in lust with. I think that brown envelope is another emergency fund? I don't know. The second #6 is my repair kit: lipstick, E45 lip balm, eyeliner pencils, sewing kit, iPod box bound with hair ties and containing my iPod charger. That last one isn't part of my repair kit, natch, but it's as fitting a place as any other to mention it.

07 My Purse. The same one I had two years ago - the same one I've had since I turned 15. It is much worse for wear than the last time you saw it because it's old and full of paper. Receipts, to-do lists, cinema ticket stubs, train tickets, etc. etc. etc. I should empty it out but I'm worried about not being able to find the things I need when I need them most. For example: phone cards, poetry stubs (don't ask), library cards, and everything else I could possibly need in my purse that isn't a piece of paper.

08 My Phone. Things I also love: MY PHONE. I mostly use it to read Merlin fic at work, and keep up-to-date with email/twitter/eljay, but with my current tariff I have also rediscovered the joys of texting and long-distance phone calls.

09 Letter Paraphernalia. Some people have letter desks; I have my handbag. (I have just seen a LAP DESK which, omg need.) This pile contains: one ringbound notepad that is almost empty of paper; two Spectroscope letter writing pads, one of which is full of sheets of loose work notes that didn't even originate from that pad, and the other of which I use to write my letters; a handful of prepaid envelopes that I bought direct from Royal Mail; two collapsible sheets of 100 First Class stamps; my address book. I know people keep nearly all their stuff electronically these days but an actual physical address book is fucking important. I do not lose numbers because of phone mishaps! I lose them because I forget to write them down. I've had my address book for eight years but I can't bear to replace it because I have yet to find one that is the right size or isn't full of irritating formatting. Why the fuck do address book manufacturers feel it necessary to allocate space for telephone addresses and email addresses and home addresses in a six-line space? Fuck that. Let me write what I want where I want it! /tangent

10 Fiscal Matters. It's difficult to see here, but that's my chequebook (yes, some of us still use those), a leaflet I picked up from the community centre yesterday with cinema listings for the local screenings, and a handful of payslips that I haven't gotten around to filing yet. Useful to have because they have my payroll number which I have yet to memorise. Also: leave card! My boss is based at the sub office so I keep it on my person for her to sign as and when.

11 Electronics. Two headphones cases that I keep the extra earbuds in; memory stick; my zen player; my iPod nano in a not-so-fetching-but-entirely-practical purple rubber cover.

12 Writing paraphernalia. At the top is my zen charger that I also use for my phone. I carry that with me everywhere because it's so versatile. I can even use it to connect my camera to my laptop. I love it because it's so short and easy to carry around, but I do have a habit of misplacing it. And then: pens. Pens, pens, pens. Black and blue micro fine ink pens, a couple of biros, some purple gel writes and a HB pencil. This is less than what I used to carry. I took out a lot of the biros.

13 Travel Extras. A cute elephant purse that was given to me by wishes_of_stone for my last birthday. It is stuffed full of copper coins as well as an expired Newcastle metro ticket and a pair of large silver hoop earrings. The elephant is metal and sewn on; the trunk is sharp and I regularly cut myself on it, but I love it too much to get rid of it. The blue thing is my Young Person's Rail Card holder and also contains a shitload of used tickets that I should really get rid of already. In all likelihood there's also probably emergency funds in there, too, but possibly not because that's one place I remember to check when I need cash. Next to the elephant purse are my keys on a hefty, reliable metal keychain that used to read 'barcardi' on it. I think I got it at fresher's week? Anyway, my keys look Too Functional since I lost my last set in some bastard train station over the Christmas period. No longer do I have Splat the Cat or my duck named Tree. The amount of woe this brings me is hugely disproportional to what it should be but I'm still upset about losing that goddamn ring.

14 Earphones. New, white ones because the last lot broke earlier in the month. Unf, so comfortable! Noise cancelling! Shiny! <3

--

This post was brought to you by: M was trying to find a letter this morning and then decided to empty her bag. See below for more pointless photographs.

Comments

[the-muppet.livejournal.com]

It's a fucking TARDIS.

I would think it must be as it honestly doesn't look like all that stuff would fit in there =)

[delgaserasca.livejournal.com]

Haha, the photo doesn't do justice to how wide the bag is. But also: it looks like a lot of stuf when laid out like this but it really does all fit neatly into the bag with space to spare!

[fallapartagain.livejournal.com]

You use my favourite pens. ♥

(Also, that elephant is the cutest thing I've seen all day.)

[delgaserasca.livejournal.com]

They are sharp and scratchy and yet also smooth! LOVE THEM.

(Ikr; I love that thing.)

[sepiaxtoned.livejournal.com]

That think really is a tardis! Woah nelly. I didn't realise anyone could carry more crap that me... I just have about 20 highlighters languishing at the bottom of my bag. Woe!

[delgaserasca.livejournal.com]

To be fair, I'm sure if you laid out everything you have in your bag it would look like a lot, too. It's just that I exercise evil powers of organisation? lol.

[thesevoices.livejournal.com]

wow, that's alot of stuff. looks intresting tho.

[delgaserasca.livejournal.com]

It is a lot when laid out like that, but it fits, I swear!

[asemic.livejournal.com]

I am in love with your purse. I need one, but I haven't found one to suit my needs or personality. It's a big deal for me, obviously.

Your current book is one of my favorites. It is the one book that has influenced my writing and perspectives on the world. I love love love how even the most mundane details spark to life under Winterson's pen. Stunning amazing etc.

The elephant purse is darling. Your friend has great taste. :)

[delgaserasca.livejournal.com]

Bought from a market in Cyprus, yonkers ago. I need to replace it because it's falling apart but I can't find anything that suits me even remotely as well. THESE THINGS MATTER.

Winterson has written some of my very favourite books. I wrote on Weight as part of my undergrad dissertation. She has this tone that is so acutely focused, and yet so wonderfully ambiguous. It's something I wish I could mirror.

She does! (No, really, it's so cute. I love it to bits.)

[hibernate.livejournal.com]

I LOVE THIS MEME.

Your bag is adorable. :)

[delgaserasca.livejournal.com]

!!!! ME TOO. You should do it too; I'm nosy!

Haha, I love it. I mean. If it had been full price I would have turned my nose up at it and walked on by but at 25% retail value, fuck that, it's mine. Hilariously I stopped in at the community centre yesterday to speak to people I used to work with and one of the volunteers, a 70-something lady called Alma, was all over it. <3

[powerof3.livejournal.com]

I love this meme. I keep meaning to do it, and then I always forget. Woe.

Your bag is adorable. And everyone is right, it doesn't look like it should be able to hold all that stuff.

Pee. Ess. What kind of mobile do you use? It looks like a G-1, but I don't think that's what they're called over there.

[delgaserasca.livejournal.com]

Ahhhh, you should if you get the chance! I AM NOSY.

<3 Thank you, I know. Like I said: TARDIS bag.

Yeah, it's a G1 (so I guess HTC? Idk). It's perfect for my needs. My needs being: access to email/lj and Merlin fanfiction, heh.

[powerof3.livejournal.com]

Fine, you've convinced me. Maybe tonight after dinner. :)

Yeah, that's HTC. ♥ them so much. If only the Hero had a keyboard, I'd be all over that one. My CrackBlackberry fits my needs as best as any non-Android phone can. I may look into the Nexus One if we ever end up getting it. idk about the pricing, though. Google is pretty strict, so idk if we'll get any employee pricing. Still, if it's only $179? Sure, you betcha. :)

[delgaserasca.livejournal.com]

I'm lucky with the phone because I have it on a T-Mobile contract - so, £40/$60 p/m not including charges. Except, my cousin works for T-Mobile, so I get a 50% discount, and don't have to worry about a hefty contract. Otherwise there's no way I could have managed the phone. I mean, £40 p/m is doable on my salary, but I wouldn't have been able to justify it as a purchase.

[powerof3.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've got something similar through work. Mr. Po3 and commander_d will be swapping to that shortly. :)

And I totally know what you mean about regular cost v. discounted cost. Phones can be so expensive. :X

[melliyna.livejournal.com]

This meme is awesome! I would do it myself but I actually don't have a regular bag I always keep things in - I tend to alternate ridiculously (Also that elephant purse is lovely)

[delgaserasca.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I can't afford to alternate because there are too many things that I need to be able to find at short notice - specific sheets of paper, specific emergency funds etc.

[belantana.livejournal.com]

You're so organised.

But I love those pens too! Pity they are so goddamn ridiculously expensive and I am always a) losing them or b) using them up.

I love that you carry letters around! I will have to find some more postcards to send you one day.

[delgaserasca.livejournal.com]

Omg, what about that mess made you think organised?!

Yeah, I treat myself twice a year. Normally I just biros, but some things - letters, compliments slips at work, course notes - need something that runs smoothly. Tbh, my handwriting looks better in biro (it takes the pressure better than the sharper nibs) but I just love the ink.

I am a giant nerd? Lol. Postcards go on my wall (http://delgaserasca.livejournal.com/900154.html#cutid1). Which reminds me, I need to put up a year's worth of cards and take another photo, aie.

[belantana.livejournal.com]

Omg, what about that mess made you think organised?!

You have things like hairpins and thread and emergency money in your bag! I just continually run unprepared into minor crises and then have to do things like beg for hairpins desk-to-desk and look for change in phone boxes. (To restore a little dignity I have only done the latter once.)

મનીષા ! Is that your name? It's lovely.

[delgaserasca.livejournal.com]

Ahahaha. I feel like my handbag says a lot about me. Not necessarily that I am organised but -- okay, so the sewing kit is an evolved left-over from secondary school when I used to darn my tights. And I always need a lot of pens because I trust writing more than I trust typing but I am worried that I will run out of ink. This is also a school thing because I used to have double-blocked days of exams. The hair thing has gone insane since I got it cut. I used to just keep a comb and then I lost it so now there are three (???) and I need the grips at the same time every single day so I bought them on the way back from work and they never left the bag. So: I am a messy person who does things during my commute. I am an ex-lit student (book); I am a clutterbug (every single goddamn piece of paper in there that I could ostensibly throw away if my anxiety reflex would let me); etc. etc. etc.

That got long.

Yes, it is! In Gujarati.

[belantana.livejournal.com]

The depths of Handbag Analysis are indeed intersting! I suspect mine would say a lot about me too... that I am also a hoarder of paper but solely due to laziness, that I write/draw a lot, measure things, get sand everywhere and eat while walking. I have a purge every few months whenever I am going to be an Organised Person Starting Tomorrow and it's usually pretty gross.

Also the fact that I am telling you all this probably reveals that I have been working all day and the work is not Done but my concentration most certainly is. lol eljay procrastination.

[belantana.livejournal.com]

PS. Hold on to the lit student in you! Never let go!

[perverseparagon.livejournal.com]

LOL What a fantastic meme (wonders where the camera is)

I'm impressed by the sheer volume of stuff you manage to cram into that bag. And I love those pens! Aren't they great? I've only got one left which is an absolute crime, but I'm now feeling compelled to go buy more.

All in all; yay for this meme. Yes, I really am just that nosy :D

[delgaserasca.livejournal.com]

I love this meme - I love doing it, and I love seeing other people's responses. Other people's crap is interesting!

Haha, I should take a picture of the bag with everything in it so you can see its truly magical nature, lol.