The Gentleman Stationer recently published a 2023 Bag Dump: What Do I Carry To Work post---like a gentleman. I love these kind of posts just as much as anybody else: yes, I admit it, I'm nosy and love to glean insights of other people's lives via the little things they carry with them. Most of these bag posts prove that people generally just haul way too much stuff around! Twelve fountain pens, three pads of A4 paper, a traveling inkwell, and 300 post-it notes? What kind of insanely productive meetings do you expect to attend in a single day?

I'm a bit more humble when it comes to the contents of my own "daily bag", but since I like the format, this time, I'll let you glean this way instead of the other way around. In addition, I'd like to show off my trusty---and not quite rusty yet---fourteen year old bag I love as much as the first day we met. Yes dear bag, I've cheated on you the past few years with a specialized cycle bag, but that was only to more easily carry the laptop to work without breaking too much sweat on a thirty minute cycle trip. I promise we'll have some more quality time together very soon!

The bag in question is a dark green/brown Crumpler Messenger Bag:

It's the 2008 Wonder Weenie model, which is just a tad too small to comfortably hold a 15" laptop with sleeve if that's what you're looking for:

Granted, my MacBook is only 13", that case is just too big, and the Velcro combined with the clips still neatly close the bag without a problem, but given the size of a non-bendable object like a laptop, it gets a bit more difficult to comfortably wear across your shoulders while biking longer than fifteen minutes. At my previous job, I just left the work laptop on the desk and never carried my own. My current job is just too far to carry this one without my T-shirt getting uncomfortably wet, which I've heard isn't the best way to start a class---which is why, when my own laptop is required, I take out the bag that's mountable to the side of the bike instead.

So what else is inside that bag, what do I usually carry to work?

• An eyeglass case with cleaning cloth and eye drops that may or may not hold my glasses depending on the need of sunglasses;
• A Leuchtturm 1917 A5 unruled notebook;
• A Fountain Pen Revolution leather roll-up pen pouch;
• Usually a cheap USB-stick;
• Sometimes my Swiss army knife and a glue stick;
• I almost forgot: my smartphone tucked away in one of the inner side pockets;
• Some sort of container holding lunch, not pictured;
• In rare occasions: a few tea bags, yay!

That's a lot less than The Gentlemen Stationer. Perhaps I'm not a gentleman after all. Cheap notebooks, A4 paper, or post-it notes are usually in abundance everywhere I go, and only the notes worth taking for myself end up in my personal notebook/journal. The army knife is mostly there as a letter/package opener and for the scissors, which, together with the glue stick, act as on-the-go crafting tools.

Since my M1 MacBook, I never carry an adapter. What a relief! Oh wait, I'm totally lying, I do carry one: one of those small Satechi USB-C hubs to get access to an USB-A port and HDMI.

The Crumpler bag has just one big compartment where you can dump stuff into, and three smaller pockets on the sides, of which one is closable with Velcro. There's also a smaller compartment on the front with a very sturdy zipper. The shoulder strap is obviously adjustable and the pad that slides over it is very comfortable for those bigger hauls. The material of the bag is made of some sort of (semi-) waterproof nylon fabric that has yet to let me down. It does stain, though: the inside clearly has been through a lot. Another upside of the fabric: it's easily washable. I've got this bag more than ten years ago and it's still as reliable as ever: that's a pretty good indication of quality for me. Granted, the Velcro straps are in need of a bit of maintenance with all that cat hair gradually reducing the adhesive strengths, but that's not too difficult to look after once in a while.

The pen pouch my wife got me can hold up to six pens but becomes quite bulky rolled up. I usually don't carry more than four fountain pens with me and have never felt the need to take out more than two on a work day. Most of my serious journaling or fountain pen playtime happens after working hours anyway. For the extra-nosy: the pouch currently holds a (from left to right) Pilot Custom Heritage 912 WA, a Pilot Capless F, a Lamy 2000 F, and a Sailor Pro Gear MF:

I don't think it fits oversized pens like the Leonardo Momento Zero Grande. I've had this pouch for six years and the leather strap you use to seal it is starting to become a bit torn, but other than that, it's an affordable roll and I highly enjoy the format. I do think my next one should be a fabric-based one with a joyful pattern instead of a leather one.

Oh, and if there's a bit of train commuting involved, the book I'm currently reading also goes in there. Probably also a Nintendo DS Lite or Game Boy Advance, slipped in one of the side pockets.

I should probably also mention that the back flap of my notebook carries various national and international stamps, just in case that email needs to be printed and mailed pronto. You never know!