The Bag Dilemma

Prior to leaving for Chicago this week, I spent two days packing for three people - me, Princess, and Pixie. (Hubster is on his own with this chore.) We've taken enough family trips that I've gotten pretty good at getting the three of us stuffed into one suitcase. I know exactly how many sets of underpants, socks, shorts, jeans, etc., to bring. What I don't know, what I can never figure out, is what purse to bring.

Well, purse isn't exactly the right word for it. I don't like to carry makeup with me, and I usually prefer to keep my wallet safely zipped in a pants pocket, so I don't do the girly girl thing and carry a purse. What I do like to carry is: a drawing pad; a mechanical pencil; an art eraser; a set of drawing pens; maybe some drafting tools; also a composition notebook and ballpoint pen for writing down any story ideas I get. If I'm thinking clearly, I'll also toss in a travel-sized bottle of hand sanitizer, my cell phone, and coupons for whatever bookstore I'm headed out to that day. So it's more of an art/writing bag, and I've got bags of various sizes set up with exactly this sort of kit. I've got a tiny one with the world's smallest drawing pad and notebook for quick trips out, a larger bag with Jack Skellington on it for when I want to look truly goth, and a sturdy red bag with water bottle pockets that's handy for a long day's adventure.

Unfortunately, these bags all work best for when I'm running around my home town. When I'm about to get on an airplane for a long trip, not so much. The problem is, these bags will only hold what I've already listed, but they will not hold my beloved netbook. My little Asus EEE is too big for even the largest of those three bags. I do have a messenger bag big enough to hold the Asus and all the other stuff, but that bag is too big to lug around on a sight seeing trip and it's covered in pins and metallic goo-gaws so it's no good for airport security.

What I'd like to get is one more bag, something in between the size of the red art bag and the big messenger bag, something I wouldn't cover in pins and something that would still hold a water bottle in case the kids and I get thirsty when we spend a day sightseeing. I haven't found that bag yet. This bag is the closest I've come so far, but as you can see, no pockets for water bottles.

I suppose I could go with a backpack; I do have a couple of those. But the backpacks I have are too big and heavy for toting around all day and I always worry about somebody sneaking up behind me and stealing something out of the bag when I'm not paying attention (paranoid, I know). So, I'll keep looking. For Chicago, I am taking a backpack, but I'm stuffing my sturdy red bag into it along with the netbook. That way I can leave the backpack and netbook in the hotel and travel carefree with the smaller bag during the day.

If you know of a bag that would solve my problem, send me a link so I can check it out! I really do need to solve this whole bag dilemma.

Fiction Friday - Good Bye, Shojo Beat

If you're an avid reader of manga, you probably already knew Shojo Beat magazine was pulling up stakes and ceasing publication. Being a somewhat avid reader of manga (because at $10 a pop, I can't afford to buy all the manga I want), I got a big surprise in the mail last month.

At first, I couldn't figure it out. It was the beginning of the month, and I was expecting to get my issue of Shojo Beat. But when the mail man handed it to me, there was this big picture of Naruto on the cover. Naruto, if you don't know, is a Shonen Jump character. Shonen Jump is an action adventure manga, with lots of stories about mega-super battles and sword fighting and kids who spend their entire lives searching for the perfect card to win Yu-Gi-Oh. Shojo Beat is a romance manga magazine, with complicated stories about relationships, and young women trying to find themselves in the big world, and it has nifty articles on Japanese culture and cooking and there are craft projects you can do, and some of the best manga in the world runs in Shojo Beat, a new chapter of the story appearing every month!

At least that's what happened before Shojo Beat decided to roll over and play dead.

So there I was, looking at Naruto, wondering if maybe it was a cross-over thingie to get Shojo Beat readers interested in Shonen Jump, or maybe it was an ad and I was looking at the back of the magazine. Then I flipped it over and saw the letter.

Dear subscriber, we regret to inform you that Shojo Beat will no longer be published. Please accept this issue of Shonen Jump in its place...

NOOOOOOOOOOO!!

You could hear my howls of displeasure for miles. I swear, I was so upset. Shojo Beat was the only girlie thing I truly enjoyed in my life. I loved the stories. Normally, I can't stand romance, but Japanese manga romance, shojo, is very different from what you'll find in the romance section of your local bookstore. Shojo stories take time to develop relationships and plots. The hero and heroine don't fall head over heels in love with each other right off the bat. They don't sleep with each other within the first few chapters. Hell, in the course of the story, they probably won't sleep with each other at all (though I have seen a few exceptions, and keep in mind I haven't read the entire genre). There are side stories and sub-plots that have nothing to do with the main story, but are still engaging to read. There's drama that's believable. Heroines who aren't model perfect, heroes who are gawky and sweet. Alpha males and beauty queens don't normally cut it in shojo. The stories are too good for that.

But Shojo Beat is gone now. My monthly fix for girlie girl romance that doesn't turn my stomach now goes unfulfilled. Oh sure, the stories will still be published in digest format, on a quarterly basis. In December, January, and February, I'll be able to pick up the latest volumes of Sand Chronicles, Vampire Knight, and Honey and Clover. And I'll enjoy reading them too. But there won't be any more recipes for grapefruit rice pilaf, no articles on Japanese paper crafts. No more fashion finds or J-Pop music reviews. As for that gift of Shonen Jump? No thanks. It's just not the same, really.

I'm devastated, I tell ya. I want my Shojo Beat back. Please?