While I often wax lyrical about how to hold nebulous emotional space for fellow spiritual beings, this week is entirely practical as I was once an avid traveler who got rather good at figuring out what to take with me and how. My business ventures have taken me from suit-wearing board room extra extra high heeled marathon airport sprints (seems like a three headed oxymoron, but as I attest below the paywall, ‘twer how it were) to the middling time zone of India, which is always 30 minutes akimbo from everyone else (possibly for sport), to beaches, to conferences assisting my eight year old Guru who cackled through life in a wheelchair with the support of tube feedings, barbiturates, and a bevy of nursing and proxy nursing professionals.
I have found a bag that works for all of it.
This is not a sponsored post, so do not fret that I’ll be receiving any kickbacks. Indeed this post is in response to a direct request on the subject.
Sometime circa 2010, I traveled in very high heels as I am 5’4” on a good day and was traveling with three rather wise and also significantly tall men. They ranged 6’2” to 6’6,” and after our inaugural trip where I looked most like a perky sidekick, I relented and purchased the most absolutely asinine 6” travel heels possible, along with untailored suit pants that kindly disguised just how ridiculously high they were. Thankfully, my feet are proportionally gigantic in relation to my height. I spent the bulk of my teen years figure skating and have unparalleled ankle strength, and so I did not topple to my death and actually became quite adept at covert stilt walking.
To add to my circus act, most of my burdens included a projector that dwarfed my toaster (complete with a bulb which cost more than my car), a company-issued laptop named Goliath (which outweighed most newborn humans), a full sized iPad, various printed pamphlets, and my luxury personal item - a toothbrush. In service of protecting Goliath and The Bulb, my rollaboard suitcase was strategically packed with the projector in the center, surrounded by insulating pamphlets and bubble wrap (and occasionally empty partially crushed water bottles). My shoulder bag became a counterweight - holding 20 pounds of electronics - and completed my tightrope look whenever I had to amble up or down stairs.
One day, in the midst of a frenzied travel season where I could never quite decide what time it was really, on a connection ‘through’ O’hare the essential shoulder strap relented to the weight of Goliath and snapped, leaving me teetering with a rollaboard, a latte, and an untenable mass of electronic flotsam. By some miracle I lumbered into a small airport wormhole in which I found The Magic Bag. Magic in that it is big and small. Light and flexible. Woven of space age strappage. And has the invaluable ‘trolley sleeve’ so you can nestle it around the handle of a rolling suitcase.
I also think it cost me ten dollars.
It managed the contents of the defunct bag, which I quickly deposited in a trash bin, and made it all the way home.
It has come with me on nearly every trip since, but never as the primary bag.
It has been to beaches, farmers markets, yoga classes. It weighs nothing and packs easily, and more than once has sprung into action to be the primary under seat bag, accommodating my intended personal item plus a jacket or pillow or meal or possibly all of the above. The fancy versions that are slightly larger boast a waterproof pocket, which makes it sound vaguely seaworthy. I do bring a wet/dry bag on beach trips, but if my bag had this, I wouldn’t need to.
My particular bag is hard to find these days, unless you’re seeking to emblazon your logo onto one as a promotional item (and if you are, let me know because I’ll happily purchase one from you!). It has me seriously considering [virtual latte] schwag…
And now… for related incentives to become a paid subscriber so that you can dip below the paywall…
Things I Learned From Years of Sprinting Through Airports
(aka ‘hacks’)
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Virtual Latte to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.