I actually just cleaned out my bag.
Wallet
Makeup
Tampon
Tylenol Cold (Non-Drowsy)
Tape Measure
Ticket stubs from LOTR, Spiderman and AOTC
Keys
Altoids
General Supplies
- Wallet with attached keys.
- 2 pens.
- Jade green Post-It pad.
- Gum.
- Fresh workout clothes for today.
- Lunch (yogurt, Granny Smith apple).
Girly Stuff
- LipFinity lipstick and violet lip balm for removing it.
- 3 hair fasteners.
Emergency Equipment
- Folding paper fan with giraffes on it (I spend a lot of time on public transportation, so I never go anywhere without this).
- 2 packs of Kleenex, one plain and one zebra print.
- A little iridescent bag with a safety pin, nail clippers, nail file, mirror, a few Band-Aids, a perfume sample, 2 Wash-n-Dris, aspirin, Ibuprofen, and Sudafed in it.
Reference
- 2 train schedules and 2 bus schedules for the trains and buses I take most often.
- My “to read” book list for reference when I stop by the library (with 98 books that I want to read listed right now – yikes!).
- A list of good warm-up exercises that my husband gave me.
Work
- A manuscript we’re working on for submission to an academic journal.
- A batch of questionnaires, data from which I need to analyze.
Entertaining Reading Material for the Train
- A copy of the New Yorker.
- A copy of The American Spectator.
- A printout of today’s article from the Tomorrow’s Professor listserv.
- Articles printed out from the Internet this morning (3 from Medscape, one from the Village Voice, one from Working for Change, and one chapter from a book for attorneys and expert witnesses on psychometrics).
Well, now, let’s see. First off, it’s a very nice Samsonite leather attaché case (Valkyrie calls it a “man-bag”), which at present contains:
[list]
[li]“Teach Yourself Japanese”[/li][li]notebook for notes from same[/li][li]Langenscheidt E<>J dictionary[/li][li]Watson-Guptill sketchbook[/li][li]Copy of Clausewitz’ On War[/li][li]Notebook with notes from “Teach Yourself Latin American Spanish”[/li][li]Russian edition of The Golden Calf - comic novel featuring beloved Russian hero Ostap Bender[/li][li]current and back issues of Socialist Worker[/li][li]latest issue of Games Magazine[/li][li]smaller wire-bound sketchpad, almost filled[/li][li]two pocket-sized notebooks[/li][li]#2 sketch pencil[/li][li]two Rollerball pens[/li][li]stack of homemade business cards advertising myself as a translator[/li][li]Franklin Covey planner[/li][li]stack of 1/4-size handouts advertising the ISO’s summer conference[/li][li]my checkbook[/li]
…guess that’s about it.
Obviously, I should include a copy of “UBB Coding for Dummies” in there sometime soon. :rolleyes:
Today, mine contains:
Wallet
Monthly train pass
Bus tickets
Checkbook
Pen
Various keys on 2 rings
Cellphone
Work IDs on a clip
Handspring Visor Neo
Barbara Tuchman’s A Distant Mirror (about 14th century Europe, specifically France)
Rio Volt CD/MP3 player with headphones (been ripping my CDs to MP3s, I can fit several CDs worth of music onto one CD-RW and listen to music during my long commute)
spare AA and AAA batteries for the Rio player and Visor
4 pens.
2 pencils.
1 checkbook for an account that no longer exists (I haven’t gotten around to tossing it yet).
1 wallet.
1 set of spare keys. (My standard keys are on a peg by the door.)
3 samples of Formica laminate.
1 notepad stolen from the on-site hotel at Hershey Park.
2 chapsticks (strawberry and mint).
Various scraps of paper with phone numbers on them.
1 packet of breathmints.
Paper with Gunslinger’s sizes and measurements written on it in case I decide to buy or make him clothing.
2 knives.
Does a laptop case count? Since I just got back from a business trip to Las Vegas, I have:
HP OmniBook PC
Palm Vx
Business Cards
Empire Falls, by Richard Russo
Hotel bill
Post it notepad
Dentyne Ice
Discs with Powerpoint presentations
Other people’s business cards
A winning (yes!) $50 ticket Colorado Avalanche over San Jose Sharks game 7
Pens
Receipts
Does a brief case count?
-Two yellow legal pads
-About 20 business cards (mine)
-Checkbook (today’s payday)
-Folder containing bills to be paid
-A little, solar-powered calculator
-Copy of GQ (oh, shut up)
-A page from the Food Section of the Washington Post (I think I wanted a recipe, but nothing on the page looks very interesting)
-A folder containing my speaking points for a presentation I gave yesterday at a conference
-A CD with my PowerPoint presentation for the conference on it
-A pen and pencil set
-A laser pointer
you know your a mom when the contents of your backpack change from books etc to:
-3 diapers
-small thing of wipes
-gum
-plastic bag from ralphs
-disposable breast pads
-a cloth diaper
-changing pad
-small blanket
-2 pens
-lip balm
-knife
-handful of change
-stamps
-tums
I think we have a tie between tigergirl for the “penis-shaped straw” and leechbabe for the “friend’s pants” (with a special mention for Miss Bianca for organizing the contents of her bag into separate categories). 
Lessee here…
Wallet, keys, and folding knife are in pockets.
Backpack contains:
-Hooded sweatjacket
-Fleece vest
-Baseball cap
-20 oz. bottle of water
-Sunglasses
-Bag of Ricola cough drops
-Couple of napkins
-Paperback book, “The Snow Queen” by Joan D. Vinge
-Electric bill
-Boarding pass from recent flight
-Ballpoint pen
-Packet of Rolaids
I’m ready for anything!
Frist Aid Bag:
gauze pads
tape
vial of peroxide
pill box (asprin, tums, imodium)
band aids
eye drops
floss
empty plastic baggie (acts as a trash bag if no trash can is to be found)
Makeup Bag:
Stila stick concealer
cheesey looking Clinique GWP mirror
mini perfume vials (Mahora, Pleasures and Casmir)
lipstick/gloss of the day
Blistex Silk and Shine
Locctaine hand cream
Just Floating Around:
iPAQ
phone
wallet
keys
foldable headphones (so I can listen to mp3’s while out and about, it’s better than screaming children or loud annoying people)
gum
mini tin of Penguin mints
mini rubber chicken (for good luck)
pen/pencil/stylus all in one thingy
Really, it doesn’t take up that much room. The iPAQ is the biggest thing I carry with me.
Portable shovel
Small bag of lime
Flat sap
Bone saw
Breath Mints
And what’s that at the bottom there? Oh, it’s a clump of hair with a bit of scalp still attached. Ahh, much better. I thought I’d lost that.
In the bookbag…
Newton Messagepad 120
bottle of Motrin
laser pointer
compact umbrella
a couple of outdated bus schedules
CD: Dark Side of the Moon
unopened direct deposit pay stub
empty Media Play bag (what’s that doin’ in there?)
2 issues of New Scientist magazine
plastic mail wrapper from one of aforementioned magazines
super-secret thingy I can’t tell you about (yet)
half-eaten bagel (now tossed)
a few band-aids
Which bag? Eh, I’ll just go with the one that’s closer to me.
Wallet
Novel (Father Elijah)
Tampons
Knoxville News-Sentinel classifieds - apartments and jobs
2 hairbrushes
Eye drops
Contact lens case
Makeup - foundation and powder only
Dental Floss
Toothbrush
Toothpaste (Tom’s of Maine)
Adaptor for the work laptop to hook into the network when I’m on the road
2 hair clips
Round styrofoam ball given out at work - it’s the world in blue and green with the company logo on it
Listerin Pocket Pak (2)
5 AA batteries (??)
3 Powerbars
1 pair of earrings
1 glove
Aspirin
Wallet - contains cash, train pass, work ID, etc.
Various pens and pencils (about 20 total)
In my defence I’d like to state the pants are clean, I would never carry around someones dirty clothing in my bag. 
I just cleaned my purse out. I took out two old library cards, and other assorted junk.
I am reduced to:
Cash
checkbook
doctor’s excuse note
card my doctor gave me with my test results
miscellaneous cards (debit, driver’s license, AAA, etc)
I also took out and counted almost twenty dollars worth of loose change. That is my movie money for tomorrow night.
Robin
Thanks for the special mention, featherlou! Maybe you can tell that I’m a little obsessive-compulsive, and in that spirit, I need to say that under “Entertaining Reading for the Train,” I meant to write The American Prospect, not *The American Spectator, if there even is such a magazine. Dar.
Hey Kayeby, are you doing Cybersociety at Melb. in the HPS (History and Philosophy of Science) dept by any chance?
OK, MY bag has:
Diary
Manilla folders X 2
Notebooks X 3
Gas Bill
A flyer for a demo at the Maribyrnong Detention Centre.
Tampons
Perfume
Matches
Leaky pens
ANOTHER FLYER for a ‘Rock Against Racism’ concert.
Stapler
Loose staples
Highlighter pens
Book of articles for Science, Life and Mind
Chewie
lots and lots of loose crap including tobacco that has fallen out of the ciggies.
bows to the audience and accepts her place on the podium with leechy and Miss Bianca
I dare anyone out there to admit that they have replicated genitals in their bag