The Things I Carry

As I was preparing to go home from work last night, after a fairly long day, I was joking with one of my coworkers that I needed to start carrying a purse or a man-bag. In the morning, as I prepare to drive into the office, I sometimes think I need to have a checklist so I can make sure I've got everything. Because I thought it might be a little insightful, I thought I would take a few minutes this morning and list out "The Things I Carry".

Other than the occassional incident where I accidently put on two pairs of underwear*, the clothing is pretty routine. From the bottom up - shoes, socks, pants, underwear, a t-shirt, a shirt, a belt, and a jacket of some sort (depending on the day it might be my tan Weatherproof, a Columbia fleece, or a Calvin Klein sport coat).

Then, I start to fill my pockets. Wallet. Car Keys, Change, Flash Drive, Pocket Knife, Watch (depending on the day it's a wrist-watch or a pocket watch), Pen, Employee Badge, Blackberry 1 (personal), Blackberry 2 (work), Bluetooth headset, Reading Glasses, Sun Glasses, Eye Drops, Mints.

Then, my briefcase, laptop, Kindle, notebook, and assorted things in the briefcase that only very rarely actually come out. USB cables (3 different kinds), Blackberry charger, Blood Glucose test kit, incidental mail or paperwork for the day, iPhone 3G**, headphones, extra medications, Rosary, nail kit (file and clipper in a little leather case), extra pocket knife (because you never know when you're going to need one), contact lens case, travel bottle of contact lens cleaner, extra pens (2). heavy duty envelope with blank checks, regular envelopes, stamps, and address labels.

Then, finally, I will grab my commute coffee and any CD that I am planning on listening to during the commute.

*Some years ago, when I was in a particularly frantic mood, I had gotten to work and midway through the morning went to the bathroom - only to discover that, for reasons only know to the universe, I was wearing two pairs of underwear - a pair of boxers over a pair of boxer briefs.

**Wait, I have three smart phones? Uh, yes, I do. The "main phone" is my personal Blackberry Curve 8900. My company does not allow us to receive company email on personal devices and my group supports a mobile application, so I also have my company issued Blackberry Torch. I usually just toss it in a jacket pocket, or my briefcase, for the morning trip. I have the iPhone 3G because, like a pocket knife, you never know when you are going to need another cell phone. Additionally, having owned both the Blackberry and the iPhone, I have differentiated them in this way - the Blackberry is rock-solid tool (with both phones on AT&T my Blackberry drops a call maybe one in a hundred. The iPhone, mythology aside, gets physically hot and routinely drops calls with heavy phone use. The iPhone excels in non-phone or email related tasks - it's a music player, it's a great little camera, it's got the coolest toys and apps. So, until they have the chimera-like iBlackBerry, I have one of each. Next, I want to get a Droid - uh, I'll have to make up a reason to have four cell phones, so stay tuned.