Work bag

I thought I might record my work bag for the past few years, for posterity. Also, if I’m honest I have no idea what to blog on a Saturday afternoon – and I’ve done a similar post in the past. My contribution to the EDC genre.

Because I usually take public transport to get to work, over the years my preference for a work bag has shifted and I like a good back pack. Is it “professional”? I have no idea. Using a back pack means I have my hands free, to hold an umbrella or to keep my balance while standing on a bus/train. I also have a small sling – mainly to hold my phone and SmartRider (public transport ticket) – because it’s too annoying to try to get to my back pack for them, while on the go.

Because I’m right handed, I would normally have worn the small sling over my left shoulder, to be able to reach into the bag with my right hand. But since getting my pacemaker, which sits just below my left shoulder, I’m a bit leery of wearing any straps over the spot where the pacemaker sits. So the sling now goes over my right shoulder and I use my left hand to reach into it. It hasn’t been too much of an adjustment. If you were to bump into me on my way to work and looked at me closely, you’d notice that I don’t wear my left backpack strap properly over my left shoulder – it sort of droops lower down my arm, to avoid the pacemaker spot. No one has told me I shouldn’t wear a bag strap over the pacemaker, but I think I prefer to avoid it. In any case, even if it wasn’t a problem from a medical perspective, the pacemaker sits just under my skin and you can sort of see it; you can definitely feel it if you touch the spot, and I don’t think it would be very comfortable to have a bag strap rubbing against it for too long. (Anyway. Too Much Information.)

I don’t really lug too much stuff around. Since 2020, I take my work laptop home every night. Feels like it’s tempting fate to leave it at work – what if I’m forced to work from home and don’t have my laptop with me? The colourful decal on my laptop is not work issue. I like it because a) it’s brightens the MBP up and b) I’m clumsy and usually end up scratching the poor MBP; the decal prevents the horrendous scratches (or makes them less obvious, anyway).

Things missing from the bag/photo: umbrella, face mask, shopping bag.