Some people are relentlessly prepared to face the world. Other folks are just as prepared, but with fewer things to help them be so. Where do you fall on this spectrum? Maybe, no matter what you bring, you never feel “ready” but that’s also okay!
There is one flaw in each of the following. We used our phones to take the photos! So, also, presumably, while not pictured in many of these photos, most folks here are still bringing their phones with them. But, considering that in 2022 that is relatively standard, we’re here to look at the other bits and pieces, quirks and parts that we carry with us when we go out into the world. I’ll also note that my summer going-out situation certainly looks different than my winter one (which includes more lotion, more gloves), but from a look around, I can tell that most of my colleagues’ arrangements look like they’re for summer. So, consider this a summer going-out situation.
What surprises you? What’s the same as what you carry? What do you bring with you when you go out into the world?
xoxo,
Nicole
I am simply here to say that Carmen’s response is iconic.
i now want “It Might Be Ghost Gum” as a short story. some sort of paranormal queer romance ideally but i’d be thrilled with ANY genre, really.
Cosign.
I need to know where Darcy got a TEAL KN95!!!
I know it can be…not the best place to buy from, but I get colored KN95s from Amazon. In order to ensure the masks aren’t counterfeit, look for KN95s stamped with GB2626-2019; masks that are *just* stamped with KN95 are probably not legit, according to the NYT.
Satisfying read!
Mainly made me jealous that eczema stops me from wearing lip balm/gloss/stick. So many fun ones up in here!
Also loved the teal mask 😷
When I saw this line on the homepage, I assumed it would be Heather:
“I bring my favorite pen everywhere so I never have to use any other pen besides this pen.”
Surprise, it’s Riese! 😅
Love seeing all these masks, and love that we’re a community who loves lip balm.
i heart the ghost gum
Carmen this is the most powerful roundtable answer I have ever seen.
I am also someone who brings their own pen so they don’t have to write with other ones
Mine is a metallic gold gel pen though, I love it so much
I love writing in beautiful gel pen colors, I don’t know why it took me so long to swivel away from just the usual black and red ballpoints
Love Laneia just teasing the Didion there! This was great, and I agree with everyone about Carmen, what a closer.
Carmen OMG please teach us your clean purse ways!!!
love this! i always-always have a mechanical pencil, a black ink pen, a double-sided sharpie (fine tip and regular), chapstick, my phone, and my mask in my pockets and my keys clipped to my beltloop. if i’m going somewhere that isn’t work i add a fanny pack that adds wallet, vax card, spare masks, liquid IV, headphones for my phone, headphones for my computer, a multitool, cough drops, an external battery for my phone, and whatever other things i toss in on the way out the door.
my water bottle also goes with me everywhere, clipped to my beltloops with a carabiner so that every passerby knows i’m queer
I love all the different words y’all use for what I call hair ties. I’ve never heard “hair stretchies” before!
I love how you have it down to a science. Looks to me like a group of items that have been perfected over the years. If I am not mistaken, you are in an academic environment (Syracuse?) so it makes a lot of sense. When I was in grad school I had to carry every thing I might need during the day in my backpack because I was working in a lab all day. No time to go home and get something that I might have forgotten….I carried a lot more with me then than I do now…..
my carabiner for my keys broke last month and GOD I miss it how am I to flag without the jingle-jangle from my beltloop???
Kinda of a minimalist:
Flat credit card sized pocket knife / tool
Burts Bees Chapstick
Credit Card & ID
Keys to my Pickup (Ford-F150)
Smart Phone (Google Pixel 5)
Burt’s Bees again!! It was wild to me how many folks choose this chapstick, but it’s the best one, isn’t it?
I love Burt’s Bees product especially the lip balm. I have a couple of neices that love their products as well so it makes easy christmas and birthday gifts! They make a number of gift sets of their products which is a big hit!!
I love that you put your items on green groundcover. It is a very appropriate background for Burt’s Bees :)
Re: the ground cover, thank you! I love using it for backgrounds for photos.
I’m gonna say I’m a Nicole with a Carmen moon
if I had more energy I would agitate for more phone case with slots for a few cards representation
Ooooh! I love this 😂
I’m with Valerie – I try to avoid bags of any kind, I’m fully just a pockets queer (I literally have a tattoo about how much I love pockets…)
But also my pockets are very particularly organized. Otherwise I freak out and think things are missing. It is ALWAYS:
Back left – phone
Back right – wallet
Front left – mask (unless I’m wearing it)
Front right – Burt’s Bees chapstick
Front right belt loop – keys
Shirt collar – sunglasses
On my head/in my ears/around my neck – headphones (depending on which pair and whether I am wearing them or not)
I have to know more about this tattoo!
It’s a quote from a play called Age of Arousal by Canadian playwright Linda Griffiths which goes “Oh the wonder of pockets, my hands, being confined, felt freed.”
If you’re anything like me, you don’t need more context, the quote alone will hit you right in your fucking soul.
I sometimes carry a bag with slim rfid wallet, car keys, lip stuff, but the most consistent and used item I carry is a titanium spork or 2. It saves me from using and tossing plastic and I lend them out frequently to friends for the same reason.
Valerie Anne, I am so impressed that you have the potential for D&D related emergencies in your life!
I love this.
For walking around my neighborhood I carry my keys, phone, lip balm, mask, hand sanitizer and a plastic bag (like you get from the corner store) folded neatly into a little square in case I see litter to pick up. It usually fits in my pockets, unless I’m wearing a sundress.
For excursions involving getting in a car or on public transit, I include my wallet and a little first aid kit with bandaids, tissues and hard candy – peppermint or ginger – to settle my stomach. And my water bottle. And gf energy bars. And that goes in a tote bag or one of my purses that don’t really look like a purse.
truly love a good “what’s in your bag” post!!
(Riese I also cannot go anywhere without my favorite pen [and often 1-2 others lmao])