Stuff

I was reading another blog and got this idea. She asked what we women keep in our purses. I have a friend that I have joked with about the difference between men and women and our ability to carry various necessary items. I do believe that men are at a disadvantage. I sent him a picture of a model carrying a "man bag" but he told me he did not think he could "pull off the look". Perhaps in the age of laptop computers, men are going to gain some ground in this disparity, as my friend pointed out when he noted that "you can fit a lot of Happy Meal toys in a laptop bag".

I left my purse at work one day and really felt it's loss. It is like an extension of myself. I carry important items that would otherwise tumble around and get lost. But my shoulder is also used to it's weight and I am used to grabbing it when I head out the door. However, since I now have this laptop and big bag to take with me daily, I realized that it is easy for me to overlook my purse since the laptop bag is taking it's place on my shoulder.

So, I am going to let you in on the secret world of my purse. These are my "essentials". I need to have them with me every day. I may not always use them but they are in a way like having jumper cables in the trunk... you never know when you are going to need them. So, you must be prepared:

--wallet which includes my checkbook and various forms of plastic identification, stamp cards for free meals or hair cuts, insurance cards and car insurance.
--car keys when I am out but when I am home, my car keys have to hang on their hook or I will not know what to do!
--lip balm, several tubes
--an assortment of pens and pencils
--a small notebook
--my family calendar
--a pack of gum (if my kids have not found it)
--loose change is always floating free on the bottom
--paper clips too
--shopping lists
--reciepts
--bills I need to pay or mail
--stamps
--a couple extra envelopes

It's weird. When I read the other blog, I realized that the contents of my purse are not that unusual. The basics are usually the same. It just struck me funny that these items are things I carry with me every where, into every store, gas station, building and often bathrooms I go into even though I generally don't need any of those things in any of those locations.

Who knows, I may be in some isolated locale and be in need of a stamp, a paper clip and a quarter. In that case, I am ready. Like a female MacGuiver.