Over the last few weeks we’ve been giving you a little glimpse into who we surly robots of Big Shiny Robot! are by giving you a peek into our bags. To be honest I generally only carry my personal bag around on the weekends as I have a separate bag for work – but that one is boring as shit. So, here’s a little peak into who I, Arse-bot, am by taking a look into my bag.
We will start with the bag itself. It’s a brown pin-striped Ogio laptop messenger bag that I have been toting around for about four years now. I actually received it as a gift from an ex-girlfriend – so, you know, that worked out well! Aside from the main pocket that’s padded for laptop protection, it’s loaded down with pockets to carry around things everyone generally needs: cell phone, wallet, headphones, cables, pens, etc. It’s durable, comfortable, and suits all of my needs.
Sitting on top of the bag are a must for me, some Fossil polarized sunglasses. Aside from me looking totally bad ass in them, they serve a necessity for me. I have always been super-sensitive to light, having to wear sunglasses on overcast days when most are fine without. I found out a few years back that my pupils are actually about “20-30%” larger than average, so you will rarely see me outdoors without rocking some polarized sunglasses.
Sitting to the right of the bag is another necessity, especially as of late: just your basic bottle of water. I have gone through all sorts of reusable bottles only to lose them over and over again, so I just usually pack around the same bottle for a week or so – refilling it over and over again – before recycling it and grabbing a new one.
Towards the bottom right of the photo above are the electronics I pack around with me. Sitting there is a Gateway 17 in. laptop with a 320 GB HDD, 4 GB Memory, built-in webcam, DVD reader/burner, HDMI out, and a few USB slots – pretty much everything standard you’d find in a laptop today. My whole life I have been an Apple guy, but when my five year old 12 in. MacBook tanked about a year and a half ago I picked up this Gateway. At first it pained me to switch to a Windows machine, but the price was right, and frankly it has worked out great. I’m sure my next computer will be an Apple but for now I’m completely satisfied with my Gateway.
Sitting on top of the laptop is my third arm, my 32 GB iPhone 4. I jumped on the iPhone bandwagon with the iPhone 3G and was so pleased I upgraded to the iPhone 4 when it was released. I’m not an Apple Sheep in that I just think it’s the end-all smart phone option, but I really like the iOS operating system and have had no problems with either of my iPhones, but here’s to hoping they come up with a better notification system with iOS 5! I carry around my entire music selection on it which takes up about half of my memory (compressed) along with a large photo library of pictures I snapped with it, and of course tons of apps. Along with the iPhone are the must-haves that go along with it. First up is of course the USB cable for it. My car stereo accepts a USB device so I am able to plug in and listen to my music library as I’m commuting around the Salt Lake valley while also charging it. Also by the iPhone are my Skull Candy Asym Black headphones. I know Skull Candy aren’t the best headphones out there on the market, but they are cheap and offer decent sound as I refuse to invest in an expensive pair of headphones knowing that I will eventually lose them. I like these because they fit flush with my ear without puncturing my eardrum. Finally, to the right of the iPhone is my BlueAnt bluetooth headset. Don’t worry, I’m not one of those douchebags who’s bluetooth is constanty in ear walking around pretending to have important hands-free conversations. My bluetooth is exclusively used in my car as I drive around; since I drive a manual transmission car, this little bugger is a must so I don’t wreck my car trying to drive, shift, and talk on the phone at the same time.
In front of my bag to the left are a few more items I always have on hand. I usually am carrying around whatever book I’m currently reading, right now it is “The 4 Hour Body” by Timothy Ferriss. I’ve never been one for “self-help” or “diet” books, but I have been sticking to the plan in this book for two weeks now and I have lost 15 pounds. There’s all sorts of other interesting information in the book, so I continue to tote it around. On top of the book is a Moleskine notebook and pen. I have probably gone through a dozen of these over the last five years or so – each served a different purpose. This particular one that I am carrying around now is for taking notes as I read “The 4 Hour Body”. So, right now it is full of the diet plan I am currently following, some personal notes about it, and my coveted “cheat day” food log – a log of food I crave throughout the week that I intend to devour on my weekly day off from my diet. Finally, also sitting on top of the book is my “Lady Luck” Zippo lighter. Believe it or not this little lighter is actually quite a bit of a lucky charm for me – especially on random trips to Wendover, NV. It also serves the practical purpose of having a lighter handy for the occasional cigar I’ll indulge in – and yes, I know, “You should light cigars with a wood match or a torch lighter!” Well, fuck you, I use this.
And that, faithful readers, is what’s in my bag! The things I don’t leave home without, even if it is a bit mundane. Coming soon to this collection will most likely be a portable gaming device, but until I drop some cash for the Nintendo 3DS or something, my iPhone will continue to fill that void.
You’ve seen what’s in Arse-bot’s bag, now check out what Proletariatron and Zombietron pack around with them from day to day!