Messenger Bag

earlier today i bought a small-sized messenger bag (see photo: yes that's an eagle patch. it's awesome, i know).

i already own a large(r) messenger bag (sans patch), which i use to carry my laptop around in, and as a carry on bag when i travel.

the reason for the new bag is that lately i've found i've been walking around with way too much stuff in my pockets (notepad, pen, phone, ipod, camera, glasses, sunglasses, etc.), and to be honest, it's not very comfortable.

now i suppose i could just try to cut down on the number of things in my pockets, but most of the stuff i carry i tend to use on a (semi) regular basis.

in the past i've tried to use the large(r) bag for the carrying of said items, but it has so far proved ineffective in that i end up walking around with a (more than) half empty bag that is usually more nuisance then nuisance preventing (like when i try to take it to the movies or a concert and there's no where to comfortably put it other than on my lap).

so, basically, i was left with 2 options:

1. buy a man purse aka a murse -- the problem here is that i'm pretty sure i'm not fashion forward enough to pull that look off (also, i didn't want to have to worry about a multiple murse scenario wherein i start buying murses to go with the different kinds of outfits i am wearing. e.g. an evening murse for dressier occasions vs my every day murse for the casual man).

or

2. buy the smaller sized (11" x 9.5" x 3.5" for anyone wondering) messenger bag -- which, as you already know, is the option i went with.

but this is not really a story about my new messenger bag...no, this is a story about the store where the bag was purchased (and the other people shopping there at the time). for, you see, today when i went to buy my new messenger bag i did so at the army surplus store.

for those of you who have never been, the army surplus store is a wonderful place to shop (good selection, great prices, and some of the most interesting people you're liable to come across on any given day of your life).

basically, for every one person who is shopping at the store for a small sized messenger bag to hold his geek equipment in, there's (at least) one person who is shopping at the store for survival gear for when armageddon arrives.

today i was lucky enough to encounter 2 such people.

the first, an elderly gentleman, was busy stocking up on supplies (hunting knives, rope, water purification tablets, a gas mask, a geiger counter, and a machete). but he was kind enough to take a few minutes out of his day to explain to me that the key to post apocalyptic survival (if your lucky enough to survive the initial blasts and fallout) is an ample supply of potable water and the ability to defend any "sons-of-bitches" trying to "thieve" said supply.

he recommended always having at least one large duffel bag full of weapons in your home for the latter and at least one small duffel bag full of weapons safely stashed somewhere outside of your house in case you are either a) not home when the apocalypse comes or b)forced into a situation where you must retake your house from any post-apocalyptic squatters who have taken up residence while you were hunkered down somewhere else waiting for the fallout to pass.

the second, a younger man but just as squirrelly looking, was on a quest to find the fatigues that the special forces soldiers wore in transformers 2. yes, he had photos. unfortunately, for him, they did not have any fatigues in the store that were an exact match. fortunately, for me, i did get to hear his reasoning behind the quest for these fatigues and i quote, "no, they have to be an exact match, only then will people know i am serious enough to kill a robot."

i considered offering my opinion, that he seemed serious enough to kill a robot exactly how he was dressed right then (jeans, black boots, and a camo top), but in the end i decided that it was probably for the best to just keep my mouth shut. generally speaking, i find people who want others to know they are serious enough to kill robots are people best left alone.

and so, having paid for my bag, i left. my pockets now considerably less full, but my intentions to return to the store again in the near future (even if i don't need to buy anything) greatly increased.