Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Repost - Women and our luggage



I need to know something: Why is my handbag so heavy? I come to work with my laptop in its bag that is full to capacity with my diary, files, notebooks etc. I carry a flask (with my herbal tea), a mug, a book or magazine or newspaper depending on the day and my handbag. That's already a lot of stuff to be carrying from the car into the office.

Then the handbag. It used to be trendy to carry cute little bags at some point, but as i have gotten older and become a working woman, i have progressed to serious bags. You know - bigger, leather classy items. I pack each bag with care and carry only the essentials. So why on earth is it so heavy, bulky and sometimes will not close? And i am not alone. I look around me and every lady's bag here is big and bulging.

I have decided to open my bag this morning and figure out why it looks nothing like it did in the picture in the magazine when i bought it- this one is all lumpy and struggling to zip shut. I am hoping that this exercise will reveal what i need to leave home to ensure a lightening of the load (its hell on my shoulder blades) and to let the poor bag revert to its original beauty.

Contents:
1. Cellphone (essential)

2. Wallet/Billfold (hmmm. This is quite bulky and not with money. An investigation reveals that i have some cash, passport pictures, bank cards and aha i have found the culprit. Business cards. Every time i meet anyone and get their card, i shove it into my wallet. So i am freeing the wallet of the business cards which will be promptly moved to my rolodex)

3. Vitamin box - essential. Contains the many vitamins i pop daily to keep my insides healthy.

4. Hand lotion - Victoria's Secret "Decadent Desire" - essential. Nothing like ashy hands. Can't stand that even with men so all admirers take note.

5. Perfume - Carolian Herrera "Chic" - essential. I carry whatever perfume i wear that day around for mid afternoon touch ups.

6. Makeup purse - essential. Even though i hardly wear make up, you never know when i might need to powder my nose or apply some lipgloss. U really never know.

7. Checkbook - essential. You never know when i might need to make a payment even though i have debit cards and cash. Still...you never know

8. Business card holder - essential. This contains MY cards for passng out. Case is nice and silver for maximum posing effect

9. Id Tag - essential. I need this. Better in my bag than around my neck messing with my ensemble.

10. 2 CDs - one blank and Dave Koz (the dance). Don't know why these are in here but i must need them for something or they wouldnt be in here.

11. Chewing gum - essential. Paranoid about less than fresh breath. So lots of minty gum is chewed through out the day.

12. Notebook - essential. For my to-do and to-buy lists. I love lists. I make lists all the time. Sometimes i even list the order of my thoughts. I am a list junkie.

13. Tail Comb - essential for those stray hairs that dont want to play with the rest of the family.

14. 3 pens and 2 pencils - essential. You bring out a pen, someone takes it. if i had only one, i would be penless. And the pencils - well they are disney pencils and are sooooo cute and i might need to write a clandestine message that will need to be erased.

15. Eyeshadow trio - Hmm...why isn't this in the makeup purse. Oh..because that purse is barely closing. Oh now i remember, i read somewhere that a quick makeup fix is to swipe some gold eyeshadow to brighten the eyes and make you look perky even though it might be 8pm. Yup - essential

16. Mints - essential. See notes on chewing gum

17. Handkerchief - essential.

18. Tissues - essential.

19. Feminine product - essential. You never know when D LADY decides to make an early arrival.

20. Some lint and stuff. - Dealing with that right now.

So why on earth is this bag sooooo heavy?

10 comments:

DiAmOnD hawk said...

ok....i dont know what the craziness is but IM FIRST!!!!

anyways girl...you carry too much stuff o

my friends always make fun of me and my little handbags...

cell...digital camera...checkbook...a little wallet for my cards and a pen and postit note.....sometimes makeup...finish

i dont like carrying too much stuff. it's the same way when i travel. now that i have a laptop...that's the only thing i take and my bible of course...

Daddy's Girl said...

diamond, I so envy your minimal load. I am soo much like Uzo, I carry everything just in case. I am notorious for it. But I can't seem to change... I mean, you just never know.
The other day I was going through airport screening and the woman there was checking my bag. She goes 'So what is in your bag?' I go, 'my personal effects'. She looks for herself and says 'All dis orisirisi and orisirisi'. I felt like slapping her... the truth bitter sha. LOL

soul said...

the contents of my bag:
laptop (small and flat) . packet of advil, 2 pencils 3 pens. lil police style note book. lunch which is usually a home made sandwich, a 500ml bottle of water and a wallet. my camera is tiny (fits in my wallet) so does my cellphone and card holder and house keys.

My rucksack has a specific laptop section... so its cool.
i don't use adult type hand bags, I've got a few over the shoulder ones I rotate each week, they are all the same brand just different colours.
only time my bag gets heavy is when i have to take a manual with me. and most of the time I just hold it in my hand

Funmi said...

Girl u carry way too much stuff then again all the items u listed are essentials.......

Contents of my bag: an umbrella,portable sewing kit, makeup bag, pen, pencil, extra lipgloss,bible, chewing gum,writing pads and my wallet.

Anonymous said...

lol...and i thought i ws bad..but i see u take the cake on this one. AHN AHN!!!..Is all that junk really necessary...well, i can undestand the makeup, the tuissue, the feminine products, the camera, the cell fone, and checkbook, the magazine/novel...ok, i guess u really do need all that!

Anonymous said...

You have managed to group things into 20 sets and you're still wondering why it's heavy? :D.

Noni Moss said...

Lolll - i totally relate to the whole big bag thing - my bags are forever breaking, snapping, tearing up on me. I carry big bags everywhere now. If i have to go to a club/party, i take two bags, a small one for the basics and the bigger one for the essentials ;-)

In my handbag right now, i've got:-

- Umbrella. I'm in London. I'd me insane not to.
- Bunch of letters that i keep meaning to deal with and havent got round too.
- Book to read on the tube/bus
- Ipod
- Wallet
- Coin Purse - no more space in my wallet which is bulging with receipts and random pieces of paper
- Little note book for my poems and ideas cos i need to jot it down or lose it.
- Big notebook for work
- Lipbalm - necessity
- Handcream - necessity
- 2 pens (totally feel you on the multiple pens issue, I ince got stuck on the tube with my sudoku paper and no pen. Some nice guy gave me his)
- Newspaper - metro - i hadn't finished my sudoku
- some dangly earrings i took off once and forgot
-some coins
-random pieces of paper
- deodrant that i forgot to put in my gym bag
- a bracelet/bangle that i took off once and forgot
- a ring (ditto)
- Hairclip
- eyeshadow (forgot about)
- Mini hairbrush (necessity
- Powder
- Tissue
- Wetwipes
- ID Card for work
- Two phones

:-D yeah i bet this comes out as LONG

Biodun said...

Girl that is a whole lot of stuff, lol, my bag is spilling over too n never can close I carry way too much stuff. I dont know wot is in my purse, really, I dont even bother checking it.

Uzo said...

I am really glad to know that there isnt something wrong with me. Since this post, i have managed to formulate a system where the amount of stuff i carry with me is related to the size of bag i carry. Is it working? Sometimes it does. Sometimes it doesnt. Oh well.....

Unknown said...

He he he. My bag is that bulky too. I've tried downsizing it several times and given up cos everything in it seems so handy and necesary that it would be foolhardy to remove it from the ensemble.

My handbag contains:
Umbrella,lip gloss, hand cream, wallet, address bllok, postit notepads, digital camera, mobile, CD containing some pictures I'm planning to print, paper bag, (never know when u'll need it, LU leaflets that I feel are essential, wallet, several biros, complimentary cards, eye pencil, glue stick, chewing gum.

*SIGH* Sometimes I wonder how all those ladies who carry tiny 'barely there' bags manage to do it. Everything in mine seems so absolutely necessary!!