due to attention span issues, the following post will contain bullet pointed items.

- got my new Crumpler bag. it rules even if it's too big.
- liked Indy 4; probably would agree with your criticism though. still, liked it.
- getting to Erie is long, and my ability to take the Long Road Trip is inconsistent these days
- Bravo! italian restaurant in Cranberry township PA is really good
- I think I have about had it with Quality Inns; once I turn in these points I will try another chain
- George's restaurant in Erie is a great breakfast place, recommended
- got to go to presque isle, unexpected treat!
- also Waldameer! the wacky shack! a classic!
- got home safe
- doctor says i don't have asthma
- of the 15 or so people who have posted on my psych class boards, we have 11 future nurses

And of course, congratulations to p_sunshine and simplesimon on their wonderful wedding and the beautiful church and brilliant reception and excellent food. Reuben puffs? Brilliant!!

Photos at some point later.

It's been a while (5 years, about) since I made a spreadsheet to assist my bag shopping. So when I got the urge to buy a colorful summer tote, a brief survey of the market told me that there was too much information just to make a decision. I needed to bust out the spreadsheet.

Now, I know science now tells us that too many choices are bad for your mental acuity. (OK I just learned that might be true yesterday.) But I enjoy it, like so many things that are bad for you.

So, without further ado, bag enthusiasts, please go forth and check out my current front-runners in the competition to be my 2008 summer bag. Sadly, I fear this particular bag survey will be a little gendered as I don't know many dudes who carry totes, for whatever reason. And of course if you have a suggestion that's not on my list, please mention it.

I had a pretty good weekend, despite the fact that I have been in a bit of a funk lately. I know the various reasons for this: me being lazy, feelings of inadequacy at work. It all comes down to that.

So friday I was totally selfish and showed up late to dinner with an excuse of manicure going over its alotted time. I feel so much better, however, now that the claws have been removed. I was starting to get a little Howard Hughes-ey there. Dinner, by the way, was a lovely event with people I get to see far too little of. I can't remember if I've been to a Cuban restaurant before but everything we had was very yummy. (Specifically we went to Cuba de Ayer in Burtonsville.)

When we got home, we played WoW.

Saturday I did a bunch of driving. First to drum lesson (new assignment: White Wedding!!!) then out to Leesburg to exchange my christmas present. So I finally after months of desiring have a fancy new watch. It's the basic Seiko Coutura and it was marked down to like half price because of some minor cosmetic blemish or other. Bah! It works great. No, it's not a perpetual motion one but come to find out they don't even make those in ladies' anymore because ladies apparently won't wear a watch that big. "Friggin' ladies", I believe, were my exact words to the salesperson.

I got back in time from the wilds of outletty Virginia to play some WoW, and then attend a showing of Juno at the greenbelt theater. Yes, it was as good as everyone said. Periodically it walked up to the "Too Twee" line and poked its nose over, but then sauntered back away to less annoying ground. Lots of belly laughs, however, and lots of J.K. Simmons. Sweet. After this we hit the diner.

When we got home, we played WoW.

Sunday I got up and managed to convince my butt to put in some laundry. I got ready and was just in time for my Buddhist anger management class. It was a much bigger crowd this time but the same adorable soft-spoken teacher taught the first part of the thing. By about halfway through, I was despairing as to whether there was any hope for me to let go, but by the end I had managed some helpful thoughts for eliminating bad mental habits. There was a helpful image early on about how going through life angry, rejecting all the things that happen that you cannot control is like driving with the emergency brake on. You have that moment where you ask yourself, "why is driving so hard?" before you release the brake. That is exactly what being angry is like, only we forget sometimes that we actually do have our hand on the brake lever. Next session is anxiety, in April, and BOY HOWDY do I look forward to that.

When I got home, we played even more WoW( digression about WoW )

Earlier this week I made the transition from my Timbuk 2 bag to my new and very beloved and fresh and happy Sherpani Vida. I sort of not really documented how everything fits in here and here and display how it looks on here and despair for its gross marketing here. So far you could consider its only downside to be the total ineffectuality of the drawstring, except that it has a flap and is no less secure than my T2 bag so I don't care. The lining inside is light and makes things easy to find, it makes all my heavy crap sit better on my shoulders, and it has 4 little external pockets for my 4 essentials: phone, ipod, camera, wallet. And the magnets make it so it doesn't stick to all other fabrics like velcro.

Remember when I used to do frozen meal reviews? Well here's another one:



Amy's Bowls Pesto Tortellini was actually quite tasty and probably no good for you. It didn't look colorless and unappealing before cooking, and it looks just about like it should after. There was no dearth of filling to the tortellini. I guess it would be hard to mess up tortellini and pesto sauce, but you can't be sure with the frozen foods industry. For 430 calories and 3 bucks, it's not a bad buy even for the health conscious and it filled me right up. It even had a reasonable amount of fiber. Another upshot of this review: now that I know there is such a thing as the heateatreview and that it has already covered the ground I care about, maybe I won't bother with this again!

And here is your obligatory cat picture:



WHO IS PRECIOUS AND FLIRTY MEOW MEOW

yes, i ended up choosing the timbuk2 bag, and i'm so happy. apologies to all of you who thought you convinced me to go with black, as you can see i emailed them right after i made my order and changed it to brown. now i'm going to go put things in pockets and pull them back out and decide where i want everything to go. i will also point out that i made my custom order on 8/1 and today is 8/5 and there was in fact a weekend in between. i may also sleep with the bag. i love it.

( SEE the bag )

so, sometimes i am kind of anal about shopping. and i like to compare, although i don't always do this. and i am also fond of tables. so here is my table about bag comparison shopping. it's an exercise in online shopping, since i know that one cannot find all these bags in one place and fondle them, put your crap in them, see how they feel. if you know about a bag that you think is missing from this list, let me know! god i love bags. and yes, it is hella slow at work tonight. as you can see, $=0-40, $$=40-60, and $$$=60+. bags i left off this list: Dickies' Basic Messenger Bag because cool as it is, I've seen them in person and they are nothing to write home about. They may be your only choice in plaid, however. I also left off anything by JanSport. If I wanted a crappy k-mart bag that would fall apart, well... yeah.

BAG	PRICE	SIZE	COLOR	CLOSURE	WEBSITE	NOTES
Crumpler Roll-o-Notes Messenger Bag*	$$$ (75-100)	M 14w/10h/5d	wide variety	flap clips down main pocket no zip	website is snarky but has plenty of pics including x-ray inside	after staring at it enough, i'm not so fond of the aesthetics and the website is too "ooh we are so cool", but hey - third leg stabilizer! and clearly made for a laptop. which i don't have.
Clive "Traffic" Sling Bag	$$ (55-60)	S 11h/13w/4d	black, navy, or camo	velcro	website has no inside pics but isn't as broken as some others!	seems a little puffy looking but otherwise a frontrunner as aestehtics go. the website doesn't list it, but they also make a bag called "go" that i like.
Land's End Canvas Courier	$ (30)	L 17w/13h/6.5d	12 colors!	flap clips down main pocket no zip	website suitably helpful, although they should offer a color change picture if they want to keep up with ll bean.	obviously it will hold all my junk, but will it keep its shape? i already have a canvas bean briefcase. pfeh.
Bucket Boss Messenger Bag	$ (40)	L 18w/10.5h/8d	black w/red panel only	velcro and clips	website acceptable. would like a bigger version of picture.	hugest bag on the list. probably will be its undoing, not to mention i already bought a bag from this company that disappointed me. (sorry rob!!) it does have 3,435 cool straps and loops though.
Eagle Creek Sling Bag	$ (40)	S 13w/9h/2.5d	black, sage, chino, steel	magnets!!!	site does not actually sell the product directly. only a few selected retailers have it. their new bags are ugly.	smallest bag on the list. i have seen this bag in person and it's nice, but will it fit all my junk? trade paperbacks?
Chrome Sling Bag	$$$ (80)	M 14.5w/13.5h/5w	black only	says velcro, but i don't see it	i can't actually find a web site for this company	i am most attracted to this bag. might be too big though. looks like it would hold its shape and not be bulgy.
L.L. Bean Heatwave Messenger Bag	$$ (50)	L 16w/13h/7d	5 colors, but all have goofy white stripe	they don't even tell you. lame.	nice close up, no inside shot, but i know llbean and i know they have a good online purchase mechanism.	screw you llbean and your stupid white stripey thing. and your stupidly long URL.
Timbuk2 PeeWee Messenger	$$$ (60-75)	M 15w/10h/5.5d	build your own!!!	clippy thing	I LOVE THIS WEBSITE. bag builder!! it appeals to the kid in me. note the "how to wear" picture!	did i mention, build your own? and the logo is graphically unobtrusive? and you can choose the color of that too? and for you lefties, they offer a left-hand version for free? whoah.

* - Crumpler also makes rockin' camera bags that might make better purses than purses do.

i was sure tonight would involve almost no work, since last night was so work-heavy. i was hoping to chill out and get through my email, muse on LJ, meditate and the like; of course that's not happening because we've had three outages and there's supposed to be a huge network naming convention overhaul. i'm kind of cranky for no good reason whatsoever; i feel upset that it seems like the invitees to friday's gathering are uninterested, and one of the main people i was looking forward to seeing (and who is definately a "life of the party" kind of guy) is going to bail after midnight because of a "foam party" at nation. i was surly with him. i suppose it's better than his just not showing up at all... it's silly, really, that i feel cranky because i had such a tremendously nice day. fortunately, i can now say that i'll leave here in about 2 hours, and go check on the temperature of my apartment since i didn't make it back there today. i'm worried about my cat. tomorrow night, i have to somehow get to gaithersburg by 7pm for the SPCA orientation and then possibly go out to the club briefly on my way to work. so, i have to choose an outfit that fits volunteering at the animal shelter AND dancing AND work. what's a girl to do?

does anyone have any suggestions on the perfect purse/satchel to carry around my palm, phone, wallet, and various other little things? i know that i have had this discussion with at least rob_donoghue before. my land's end briefcase is too big, my fossil purse is too small. help!

anything non-frivolous i have to say is being buried by work right now. suffice to say that i think things are going well. i need to go page some people about some nortel misery now, though.