What Are You Carrying? Spooktober Edition!⁠ (10/2022)

[MaiaH]

Welcome Foolish Mortals!

After a long, long break, our 'What Are You Carrying?' game has made a triumphant return just in time for the spooky season (Thanks G42 for the suggestion)! Share your answers to the questions below:⁠
⁠
1. What bag/accessories are you carrying (items + colors, pics always welcome)?⁠
2. What are you reading?⁠
3. What are you playing or watching (movies, theatre, video games, etc.)?⁠
4. What are you listening to?⁠
5. What are you cooking/baking/drinking?⁠
6. What are you making/creating/doing?⁠
7. Where have you gone lately? -or- What travel destinations are on the horizon for you?⁠
⁠
Bonus question:⁠
⁠
Are you dressing up for Halloween and if so, what are you dressing up as?

[Chicagoan]

Okay! I'll go first.

1. I've flipped back to carrying a Side Kick (Black Ballistic/Island Ballistic, with the Gatekeeper Shoulder Strap!) for the month of October, until I need the extra room to carry a warm hat and gloves again (hopefully a lot later than sooner). Wearing a smaller bag feels the same to me as the freedom that comes with not having to wear a jacket once it’s warm enough outside. After that, it's right back to the Co-Pilot.

2. I’m a lifelong fan of James Bond, and for my most recent birthday my wife gifted me the entire collection of Ian Fleming novels. I just started on the first of them (“Casino Royale”) while sitting by the fire on a camping trip last weekend. It’s good, and I’m pleased the Daniel Craig movie kept as true as it could to the source material while still making itself relevant to the time in which the reboot was made.

3. The last good thing I watched with my wife was the second "Downton Abbey" movie, which was surprisingly very funny, and a lot of fun to watch. The Downton movies are like going to a reunion you're actually excited to attend, and it's always comforting to see so many familiar faces share the same screen together again.

4. Fall is my favorite season largely due to the fact that it provides the perfect backdrop to some of my favorite film soundtracks: The Cider House Rules (Rachel Portman), Little Women (Thomas Newman), and Legends of the Fall (James Horner). And yes, I was listening to “Cider House” looooong before the state of Michigan appropriated the music for their tourism industry.

5. My eating and drinking choices aren’t very seasonal so much as they are consistent: at the most, I’ll order my mocha iced in the summer and hot in the winter, but both preparations are just lies I tell myself to keep from remembering that it’s just a fussy way of ordering chocolate milk for adults.

6. The colder it gets, the more time I spend planning next year’s trips. I can’t delve into too much detail because two of the four planned are surprise trips, but it will be a nice combination of old favorites and new experiences.

7. At the end of the week I’m driving up to the driftless region of Southwestern Wisconsin to stay in a historic midcentury motel and tour the home and studio of famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright. I’m hoping for fall colors, but the backdrop up there is just as scenic when it’s green. Even when the leaves all fall and it’s all brown, it’s still a lot prettier than my home in the Chicago suburbs, because, well, hills. Any topography that isn’t flat is by default scenic when you’re a suburbanite.
⁠
Bonus question:⁠ I spent a good part of my younger life as an actor and - weird as this is to say - the idea of putting on a costume almost makes it feel like putting on a work uniform? I enjoy the fact I’ve settled well enough into adulthood to enjoy a GORP-core wardrobe and that’s, like any other day, what I’ll probably wear on Halloween. Will I be blasting “The Monster Mash?” Oh, hell yes. I can still be festive without being costumed. I'm not a monster! I just enjoy songs about them.

[PaulT00]

1. After a long period pre-pandemic of relying on my stalwart A30 (aubergine/wasabi), since starting to travel again this year I've been using my previously neglected Tri-Star (navy/solar). During the long months of lockdown, I slowly "upped my game" in terms of how I dress - I found that while I was working from home, if I just sat in my office in scruff order I got nothing done; so I started to "dress up" for work (in a small way) - instead of cargo pants and a polo shirt, I started wearing a nice pair of smart chinos and either a button-down Oxford or something like a merino rollneck... instead of ratty trainers, I would put on my suede jodhpur boots. Even invested in a couple of nice coats, and a nice tweed sports jacket! Being correctly dressed seems to keep me focused, but of course it also means that I need to pack differently - the Tri-Star is a better fit for "business casual" than the A30!

2. Currently I'm re-reading Charles Stross' The Apocalypse Codex, one of the volumes of his "Laundry Files" series which mix a kind of reluctant secret agent vibe with the Cthulhu Mythos, with a sci-fi twist. The series gets a bit grimdark (not to mention somewhat squishy ) in later instalments, so maybe not for the squeamish...

3. Star Trek: Lower Decks; Manifest; Grimm. Escapist nonsense, basically!

4. Latest thing is an album of electronica released earlier this year by a Polish musician who goes by Madis. The album is called Sail .

5. The weather in the UK has just flipped from summer to autumn, a week or so ago around the solstice. Accordingly, we've started eating stews! My partner does most of the cooking - as I type there are 2 large saucepans of Ragù Bolognese simmering gently on the stove, most of which will be portioned up and frozen down - ready to be thawed and introduced to some pasta, for easy dinners as the nights draw in.

6. Most of my creative juices are being soaked up by work at the moment. We have multiple projects in progress, I'm heavily involved with requirements and design. A couple of days ago I had a really weird dream about RESTful APIs... probably best not to dwell overmuch!

7. I'm slowly getting back into my work-related travel routine. Having spent much of the last couple of years not going anywhere, I was a bit nervous when I first visited London after pandemic restrictions were relaxed - my first couple of days in London were in May this year. There have been scattered followups - unfortunately, on my 4th visit back in August, for a work related CRM workshop, I managed to catch COVID (one of the omicron variants), bring it home, infect my partner while I was still asymptomatic, and knock us both out of commission for a couple of weeks. We're both functional again but still dealing with the after-effects. However, my $boss has decided that it would be really good if everyone starts coming into the office together every second Wednesday - the whole team are still doing hybrid working, mostly WfH with a couple of days in the office here and there, but we had our first "everybody in" day last week and it was overwhelming but enjoyable. Overwhelming because, prior to last week, the last time I was in a "fully populated" office was February 2020 - everyone found it exhausting but invigorating, we're all out of practice being around so many people at one time - no longer "Match Fit", as my friend J would put it. I managed to schedule in dinner with a couple of colleagues while I was there, too. So I'm now scheduled to be in the London office at least Wednesday and Thursday, every other week, until Christmas. Not sure what happens in 2023 but I suspect it will continue unless something happens to change the plan...

Bonus: no, I won't be dressing up for Halloween. I don't celebrate Halloween, being in the UK, despite occasionally strenuous efforts to popularise it as a holiday celebration - complete with "Trick or Treat"!

[StatsChick]

1. I carry all of my essentials in my aubergine side effect, and often that’s all I carry. When I want to bring along a little more, I toss the SE in my red blend medium cafe bag, along with my ipad, water bottle, and whatever else I need. I recently also acquired a burnt orange Aeronaut 30, but haven’t had the chance to travel anywhere with it yet.

2. I have to read a lot of journal articles for grad school, so when I read for fun I want something light— usually whatever I get free from Prime first reads.

3. My teenagers actually enjoy playing Mario Kart with me on occasion. When we lost internet during the hurricane this past weekend we watched “Dave” and “Fight Club” on DVD (both movies new to them), which we all enjoyed. Otherwise I’m watching “Rings of Power” and reruns of “Big Bang Theory”.

4. I generally listen to whatever my 16-year-old is playing, which (much to my delight) is currently usually Green Day!

5. It’s starting to get cooler, so I’ve been excited to be eating roasted winter squash, along with some soups and stews. And of course some good Oktoberfest dishes! And I always enjoy a good G&T!

6. I’m trying to finish grad school— I’m back in school in my 40s! So not a lot of time for other stuff, but I I try to get outside and walk a lot, or crochet while I’m watching TV.

7. I went to England for the first time last summer, which was fantastic (London, Cornwall, Wells, Bath). Planning that trip is what got me started researching luggage and watching packing videos, which led me to Tom Bihn. I love travel, and I hope that I’ll get to do a lot more after I’m done with school. In the meantime, I get to take a road trip to visit family for the holidays!

[G42]

Thanks for reviving the tradition MaiaH

I always thought it was cool to see what folks were carrying at the moment, how they change with the seasons, and I've gotten some very good book/food/music/etc recommendations!



1. What bag/accessories are you carrying (items + colors, pics always welcome)?⁠
Still carry the Nebulous/Fjord Cambiata that TB sent me for review - it just really works for my work schedule/carry right now. I did add a Solaris SE at the top o-rings after mocking that up for a photo and I'm using my top strap hack in addition to the backpack straps.

Also carry an oNordic Swift with Grass MCB FS for knitting class every Saturday, with plenty of YSS and TSS to carry projects. I also use two different mini OPs on key straps to hold the little stuff that's not in the built-in pockets.

2. What are you reading?⁠
Rereading 'The Names of Things' by Susan Brind Morrow, one of my favorite books of all time.

3. What are you playing or watching (movies, theatre, video games, etc.)?⁠
Nada... I mostly read, craft, walk...haven't owned a TV in years. I did get the Winspan board/card game last year and think it's great, but need to find folks to play it with in my new town.

4. What are you listening to?⁠
I heard a fragment of 'Chains of Love' by Erasure used as the 'bridge' (those little song snippets between segments on the broadcast/podcast) on APM's Marketplace Morning Report and so I've been listening to the Erasure greatest hits (don't judge people - sometimes you just need some happy techno boppy stuff)

5. What are you cooking/baking/drinking?⁠
It's been too hot to bake but I did make a citrus/herb 'shrub' for making into drinks

6. What are you making/creating/doing?⁠
Been having lots of fun actually learning to knit for real and learning to how to recognize & fix mistakes/unknit, etc. Unfortunately my love of playing with colours means that I seem to be acquiring yarn the way I acquire beads and bags...

7. Where have you gone lately? -or- What travel destinations are on the horizon for you?⁠
⁠Lots of California travel for work and some Mexico. Going to WA in a month and will stop by at TB of course!

Bonus question:⁠
⁠
Are you dressing up for Halloween and if so, what are you dressing up as?
I should be out hiking or whatever on the Olympic peninsula on my vacation, so no fancy dress for me

[latchford]

1. What bag/accessories are you carrying (items + colors, pics always welcome)?⁠
Night Walk Synik 22 with several accessories: a folded Fjord Small Shop Bag for purchases, an Acuity Handy Little Thing 1 in the bottom pocket to organise cables and chargers, an Acuity Side Effect attached to the top o-rings in the main compartment for my wallet and other essentials. The SE is used as a standalone purse when I don’t need a whole backpack.

2. What are you reading?⁠
Stephen Hawking - The Dreams That Stuff Is Made Of

3. What are you playing or watching (movies, theatre, video games, etc.)?⁠
Watching more TV than I usually do because the new seasons of Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing With The Stars are on at the same time. Never really had any interest in ballroom/Latin before as they’re a world away from my main genre (hip-hop) plus I always thought that community was stuffy and heteronormative. Happy to say that I’m completely wrong and thoroughly entertained by the previous seasons of both shows especially Strictly.

4. What are you listening to?⁠
Hip-hop is my usual jam but I’m currently going through the entire Steps discography. Absolutely chuffed that they made a comeback. Their latest single Hard 2 Forget is a banger and one of their best songs yet. Lizzo - About Damn Time is on repeat too.

5. What are you cooking/baking/drinking?⁠
Drinking lots of coffee as usual

6. What are you making/creating/doing?⁠
Planning for the answer in question 7 but I’m currently overwhelmed and rusty after not planning any international trips for three years. Taking notes as I learn along the way and also thinking of compiling them into a blog/website which was something I thought of doing before C19 came along.

7. Where have you gone lately? -or- What travel destinations are on the horizon for you?⁠
In 2023: JAPAN!!! FINALLY!!! ??

[MatthewR]

1. What bag/accessories are you carrying (items + colors, pics always welcome)?⁠
I've been mostly carrying my Burnt Orange Pilot these days. During the summer months I was switching it out with my Alphaviolet bummer every so often, but the winter months mean I tend to have to carry a bit more kit so I doubt I'll go back down in size, and might end up having to go up in size to something else given my current lifestyle.

2. What are you reading?⁠
Nothing currently. I've been neglecting my stack of Hugo prospectives this year, I'll have to get on that.

3. What are you playing or watching (movies, theatre, video games, etc.)?⁠
Video games, I just started Cyberpunk 2077. Shows, I'm watching Rings of Power and now Andor.
I went and saw a showing of Nosferatu with a live band performing the music a few weeks ago (can't believe it's already been 3 weeks since I saw it), and it was super dope. If the Invincible Czars are doing a showing near you, I'd definitely suggest it.

4. What are you listening to?⁠
A lot of albums I like have come out this year.
ALGORYTHM by Todrick Hall (Fave: "GAY EXCELLENCE")
Heterosexuality by Shamir (Fave: "Cisgender")
Pink and Orange by Livt (Fave: "Let It Go")
Special by Lizzo (Fave: "I Love You Bitch")
Asphalt Meadows by Death Cab for Cutie (Fave: "Foxglove Through the Clearcut")

ETA: I can't believe I forgot about Orville Peck's Bronco, that also came out this year. The album is pretty much just non-stop bangers, but "Let Me Drown" is just so powerful. I was disappointed that he didn't play it in concert but I imagine it would be really exhausing playing that song so I get it.

Lately I've also been listening to Daði Freyr's Welcome EP (Fave: "Clear My Head") because I'm going to see him on Friday.

5. What are you cooking/baking/drinking?⁠
Fresh Hop season is upon us, so I've been drinking a lot of Fresh Hop beers. Nothing really all that interesting in eats lately, mostly just a lot of pho.

6. What are you making/creating/doing?⁠
I'm learning to play the banjo. I'm still really learning chords.

7. Where have you gone lately? -or- What travel destinations are on the horizon for you?⁠
I don't have any prospective travel coming up really, but I did go car camping out at Money Creek out near Skykomish a couple months ago and it was very nice.
⁠
Bonus question:⁠
⁠
Are you dressing up for Halloween and if so, what are you dressing up as?
I'm probably going to make it easy on myself and just dress as The Dude from The Big Lebowski. Not exactly creative, but it does align with my interests.

[ittoujuu]

1. What bag/accessories are you carrying (items + colors, pics always welcome)?⁠
With summer giving way to autumn, I just switched out my black halcyon Paramour (which I'd been using for office carry since I first received it) for the ursa/dawn Synapse 25, which should easily hold a layer and then some (I wish SoCal gave more occasions for cozy sweatshirts). I also just returned from a weeklong trip visiting friends in Washington, for which I one-bagged it with my trusty brown cordura Goruck GR2 40L.

2. What are you reading?⁠
Rick Steves' "Travel as a Political Act". Started it in the airport, in fact! I've always enjoyed Rick Steves' travel writing, and he's one of the first that made international travel feel more accessible even to the logistically challenged (as I sometimes feel when I look at train schedules and my eyes start to glaze over).

3. What are you playing or watching (movies, theatre, video games, etc.)?⁠
In games, I started back on Final Fantasy XIV with the recent update, after having not touched it much since spring. I've also got Live A Live in my Switch, ready to experience a nicely handled remake of an SNES RPG that never got an NA release in its original heyday. For shows, I'm around halfway through the second season of Twin Peaks, which I had somehow never managed to see until now.

4. What are you listening to?⁠
Recently, I've been listening to a variety of Bach's organ concertos. With the onset of October, I've started filtering the soundtracks to the Castlevania games into my rotation while working.

5. What are you cooking/baking/drinking?⁠
While I was on my trip, I found a couple packs of Necco Wafers, a favorite of mine in college. I only ever seem to find them when I travel; haven't seen them in CA stores for ages. Also, while in Washington, I ate a buttload of salmon - no regrets; would do it again!

6. What are you making/creating/doing?⁠
Since around two months ago, I've been slowly putting together a mechanical keyboard from parts I ordered (circuit board, case, switches, keycaps, etc). Surprising no one, I'm as particular about what I want in a keyboard as I am about backpacks.

7. Where have you gone lately? -or- What travel destinations are on the horizon for you?⁠
I was in the Seattle metro area just last week. It had been a long while since I'd last been in Washington, and being there again, I loved all the greenery around and the cooler temperatures compared to where I was coming from. I had wanted to stop by the TB shop, but the one day I was in Seattle proper (and not just driving through it on the freeway to somewhere else) was Saturday, so it wouldn't have been open anyway. Next time, perhaps!

In 2023, I want to finally start traveling internationally again (instead of just diverting the travel budget into...bags/travel stuff). I've thought about a Vienna-Salzburg-Munich adventure, but I also really want to get out to spend some time in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland, which seems like a bolt right to my aesthetic heart. Those are probably separate trips, though.

Are you dressing up for Halloween and if so, what are you dressing up as?
I usually don't; not a huge Halloween celebrator. Though, for years I've entertained the idea of getting a monk's robe and just wearing it to the office on the 31st. It's simple, my head's already shaved, and I have a walking stick at hand. The trouble is, I never really think about throwing it all together until October is already upon us.

[Jlange]

1. What bag/accessories are you carrying (items + colors, pics always welcome)?⁠
My Mars Red S25 is my every day bag so far this school year. I stick my SK in the front bottom pocket, and we get along quite well. I also stick a Q-kit and a couple of cubelets in the side pockets, and I'm happy as a pig in mud.
2. What are you reading?⁠
I just finished "What I Was Doing When You Were Breading" and am on to "How to Be Perfect."
3. What are you playing or watching (movies, theatre, video games, etc.)?⁠
I saw "The Woman King" over the weekend.
4. What are you listening to?⁠
Audiobooks, Harry Styles, Knitting podcasts.
5. What are you cooking/baking/drinking?⁠
I made a homemade pizza in my cast iron skillet yesterday- highly recommended.
6. What are you making/creating/doing?⁠
I'm fiddling with the Stephen West shawl MKAL- cast on is today, but I will probably wait until the weekend to commit.
7. Where have you gone lately? -or- What travel destinations are on the horizon for you?⁠
No plans at this time. *sigh*

[capncat]

1. What bag/accessories are you carrying (items + colors, pics always welcome)?⁠
my trusty BH/UV S25 when I have to do work things away from home + a snappy black leather Knomo London tote (one of my most satisfying secondhand finds in a while!) with a bunch of tb pouches to keep it halfway in order

2. What are you reading?⁠
entirely too much about the national motor freight classification and LTL freight classes. it’s exactly as thrilling as it sounds.

3. What are you playing or watching (movies, theatre, video games, etc.)?⁠
finally watching it’s always sunny in Philadelphia (to everyone who said they thought I’d enjoy it, I concede that you were right!) also Joe pera talks with you is always a most soothing watch and a frequent part of my evening wind-down

4. What are you listening to?⁠
I’ve had chilly gonzales on repeat for I don’t even know how long at this point

5. What are you cooking/baking/drinking?⁠
not enough of any of these, but there is much soup in my future now that it’s cooling off!

6. What are you making/creating/doing?⁠
trouble, a ruckus, and Too Much

7. Where have you gone lately? -or- What travel destinations are on the horizon for you?⁠
planning a day trip to one of our fave spots sometime in the near future (Mississippi palisades state park in illinois; hopefully we’ll luck into a day when it’s not crammed with half of suburban chicago), assorted domestic business travel over the next few weeks, aaaand I just finished planning a solo trip to Spain — specifically Málaga & Seville — for my 40th birthday in the spring!
⁠
Bonus question:⁠
Are you dressing up for Halloween and if so, what are you dressing up as?
nope! I’m sort of a wet blanket when it comes to holidays.

[G42]

6. What are you making/creating/doing?⁠
trouble, a ruckus, and Too Much

that's classic

[twosandalz]

These threads are always fun!


1. What bag/accessories are you carrying (items + colors, pics always welcome)?⁠
Tonight I just switched from a little backpack PLO to my mars red SK. With the usual accessories, a small GW with green zipper and a small OP. I have a small coin pouch that says "Ice cream money" on it. People often laugh when they notice it

2. What are you reading?
Forums
⁠
3. What are you playing or watching (movies, theatre, video games, etc.)?⁠
Gardening Youtube. Couldn't garden much this summer so I got my fix during my lunch breaks with youtube

4. What are you listening to?⁠
Blissful silence

5. What are you cooking/baking/drinking?⁠
Turkey everything. I just pulled the the last turkey from last December's stock-up out of the deep freezer and roasted it

6. What are you making/creating/doing?⁠
Making progress knitting my second sweater

7. Where have you gone lately? -or- What travel destinations are on the horizon for you?⁠
I went to a couple of malls this weekend for the first time in years. It was an event and an experience.
Further afield, I plan to visit friends in Texas this winter.

Are you dressing up for Halloween and if so, what are you dressing up as?
Nope. I've gotten a bit bored with halloween lately

[twosandalz]

I heard a fragment of 'Chains of Love' by Erasure used as the 'bridge' (those little song snippets between segments on the broadcast/podcast) on APM's Marketplace Morning Report and so I've been listening to the Erasure greatest hits (don't judge people - sometimes you just need some happy techno boppy stuff)

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I worked off-season in a sleepy clothing shop whose manager had the Erasure cassette that had tape with Chains of Love on it. We played it most days. He classified it as afternoon music as a way to pace slow and tedious days. We'd mark the days by which manager from the other stores on the street dropped in to chat. Everyone had their own tedium to break up. I haven't thought about that job in forever.

[G42]

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I worked off-season in a sleepy clothing shop whose manager had the Erasure cassette that had tape with Chains of Love on it. We played it most days. He classified it as afternoon music as a way to pace slow and tedious days. We'd mark the days by which manager from the other stores on the street dropped in to chat. Everyone had their own tedium to break up. I haven't thought about that job in forever.

YES

Memory is a funny thing, eh?