What Are You Carrying? Holiday Season Edition (12/2022)

[MaiaH]

Happy first day of December!

Seattle just had its first snowfall of the Winter, and things have been busier than ever at the factory as we prepare for the upcoming year.

However, action-packed days won't stop us from playing our favorite game: What Are You Carrying?

So let the game commence!

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:⁠
⁠
What's the most interesting thing you can see out your office or kitchen window?

[threeteez]

1. What bag/accessories are you carrying?⁠
I just changed from a Plum/Olive cordura Imago to a Black/Cardinal ballistic Imago to be more festive in my work EDC bag. I put a black Everyday Cubelet in it with my Azure small DOP wallet, keys and cell phone, aubergine Q Kit for toiletries, small UV OP for a phone charger, and a medium Solar OP for masks.
2. What are you reading?⁠
Michael Connelly's latest Renee Ballard/Harry Bosch novel, Desert Star.
3. What are you playing or watching (movies, theatre, video games, etc.)?⁠
Planning to start the second season of Slow Horses which streams today.
4. What are you listening to?⁠
The local station that plays holiday songs or NPR classical radio in the car
5. What are you cooking/baking/drinking?⁠
I'll make cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning and a two layer fudge for my son.
6. What are you making/creating/doing?⁠
Wrapping gifts will have to suffice for this category, but I have two kits to try new crafts at some point. One is sashiko embroidery and the other is bargello with yarn.
7. Where have you gone lately? -or- What travel destinations are on the horizon for you?⁠
No recent travel, but there's a family wedding in CT next year. Haven't done a train excursion in many years, but may do the train instead of driving or flying from VA to CT.
⁠
Bonus question:⁠
⁠
What's the most interesting thing you can see out your office or kitchen window?
My office space was temporarily in a conference room overlooking the hospital cafe patio and trees, but we just moved back to our renovated space yesterday so I'm back to a windowless office. I have woods behind my house so occasionally see deer along the tree line.

[Chicagoan]

1. What bag/accessories are you carrying (items + colors, pics always welcome)?⁠

A Coyote/Sangria Cambiata, which is my new, crow-flavored, favorite bag for EDC. Yum.

2. What are you reading?⁠

Forum posts! Haven't had much time for a book lately, so I keep up with the forums in between projects at work.

3. What are you playing or watching (movies, theatre, video games, etc.)?⁠

We got my mother-in-law tickets to see the touring production of "The Lion King," and as much as it was a gift for her, it's one for me as well, because it will be my first time ever seeing that show!

4. What are you listening to?⁠

Kenny G's holiday album, in rotation with Vince Guaraldi's score from "A Charlie Brown Christmas." 'Tis the season for holiday jazz.

5. What are you cooking/baking/drinking?⁠

My most recent grocery store impulse buy was some Gingerbread-flavored Starbucks coffee. I'm at the age where my slowing metabolism forces me to make a game of finding the most tastiest black coffee (farewell, creamer, farewell, sugar, hello, hot bean water what make me go fast).

6. What are you making/creating/doing?⁠

Holiday debt! Usually rectified with an end-of-year, holiday bonus.

7. Where have you gone lately? -or- What travel destinations are on the horizon for you?⁠

Next trip on the calendar is a return stay at Frank Lloyd Wright's Seth Peterson Cottage, which is interesting for two reasons: it's his smallest house, and it sits inside a state park.
⁠
Bonus question:⁠
⁠
What's the most interesting thing you can see out your office or kitchen window?

Way too many people who mistake my business' parking lot for the auto parts store nextdoor - we have to be the U-turn capital of Villa Park, IL.

[Jlange]

1. What bag/accessories are you carrying (items + colors, pics always welcome)?⁠
I'm shoving my side effect in the bottom of my Smart Alec while my Synapse 25 is getting repaired. (I miss him- and it's definitely a "he" in my head. I have no idea why.) Monster truck for groceries. HLT for knitting supplies.
Random stuff: There's at least two cubelettes and a q-kit organizing the do-dads floating about in my SA. I'm using an A5 ghost whale for a bullet journal cozy. I'm also using a super-mini ghost whale as a coin catcher, and Nik's Wallet for everything else. Assorted other ghost whales are about for mostly pen organization.

2. What are you reading?⁠
John Steinbeck's Travels with Charlie.

3. What are you playing or watching (movies, theatre, video games, etc.)?⁠
I'm looking forward to "Glass Onion."

4. What are you listening to?⁠
Book Riot podcast. obsessed

5. What are you cooking/baking/drinking?⁠
I'm excited to do my marathon cookie baking session this weekend. ^_^

6. What are you making/creating/doing?⁠
I just turned in two of the longest papers I've ever written in grad school, so I am destressing with water colors.

7. Where have you gone lately? -or- What travel destinations are on the horizon for you?⁠
Just work x2. And Starbucks. Too much Starbucks....
⁠
Bonus question:⁠
⁠
What's the most interesting thing you can see out your office or kitchen window?
My city finally finished painting the water tower. That's my view from my classroom.

[G42]

1. What bag/accessories are you carrying (items + colors, pics always welcome)?
I finally had a week of no travel (so no bump cap) and switched up to my Synik 22 in Navy Parapack/Cloud for a bit.
Now I'm packed to fly cross country to stay with family for a few weeks over the holidays. Techonaut 45 in Navy/UV jammed packed with work stuff including laptop, gifts, and normal personal detritus.
Cambiata in Nebulous/Fjord will be the personal item, holding a Second Aid, personal laptop, E/T Cubelet, and various knitting pouches, Cubelets, knitting stuff sacks to carry all the knitting paraphernalia, etc. etc. I'm amazed how much I've jammed in there. I'm taking advantage of the backpack strap open pocket to tuck a couple OPs in there with masks, etc. secured by looping a long key strap around the yank handle. I have the Mini OpTech shoulder strap (the grippy side makes it easier to carry while wearing the T45) attached with the converter clips plus my hand grab strap simultaneously.
The more I use this bag the more I like it and find new tricks.
⁠
2. What are you reading?
Time for my annual reading of 'Hogfather' by Terry Pratchett.

3. What are you playing or watching (movies, theatre, video games, etc.)?⁠
My parents are into British murder mysteries... Plus the World Cup.

4. What are you listening to?⁠
A mix of blues and jazz

5. What are you cooking/baking/drinking?⁠
Whatever is fastest, which means I'm buying/assembling rather than cooking lately.

6. What are you making/creating/doing?⁠
See 'knitting' (obsessive about new hobbies) and lots of earrings for gifts

7. Where have you gone lately? -or- What travel destinations are on the horizon for you?⁠
Home home to New England
⁠
Bonus question:⁠
⁠
What's the most interesting thing you can see out your office or kitchen window?
Office: the Santa Monica mountains
Apartment: ferociously territorial Anna's Hummingbirds in a very urban setting

[MatthewR]

1. What bag/accessories are you carrying (items + colors, pics always welcome)?
I've been switching between my trusty Burnt Orange Pilot and my GE Synik 30 in Mars Red lately.
⁠
2. What are you reading?
I'm just starting Unmasking Autism: Discovering the New Faces of Neurodiversity by Devon Price. I've heard really good things about it from neurodiverse folks in my circle, so I'm excited to read it.

3. What are you playing or watching (movies, theatre, video games, etc.)?⁠
I've been playing several video games lately. Dwarf Fortress just got a new release with an updated UI and I've been enjoying that. I have been playing Pentiment, which is really charming. I finally hooked up my VR setup at my new place, so I've been doing a playthrough of Tetris Effect to destress. Oh, and I started a playthrough of Dragon Age: Inquisition after watching Dragon Age: Absolution on Netflix over the weekend.

4. What are you listening to?⁠
I've been listening to Skatune Network's A Very Skatune Christmas, which is mostly ska covers of Christmas songs, as well as Vince Guaraldi's A Charlie Brown Christmas.

5. What are you cooking/baking/drinking?⁠
I haven't been doing much of the cooking lately, but I have been baking a lot of bread.
My drinking has been more diverse than usual lately. Dark beers, highballs, and spiked mulled cider make up the bulk.

6. What are you making/creating/doing?⁠
I haven't given much time to making/creating lately (see the video games, drinking, and breadmaking above).

7. Where have you gone lately? -or- What travel destinations are on the horizon for you?⁠
Not much travel on my horizon right now.
⁠
Bonus question:⁠
⁠
What's the most interesting thing you can see out your office or kitchen window?
Hmm, well, my back is to our window; my view over my screen is usually @MikeV.

Outside my kitchen window my partner has set up a bunch of birdfeeders on our back patio so an assortment of birds. Most common are black-capped chickadees, house finches, Bewick's wrens, Anna's hummingbirds, and the occassional Steller's jay.

[darknova306]

1. What bag/accessories are you carrying (items + colors, pics always welcome)?⁠
I've using my Black/Island Luminary 15 for a long time now as my work EDC bag. It's got a S19 Freudian Slip that lets me have vertical organization. This is still my favorite bag ever.

2. What are you reading?⁠
How to Think Like A Roman Emperor by Donald Robertson. I'm in the middle of a big Stoicism kick these past couple years.

3. What are you playing or watching (movies, theatre, video games, etc.)?⁠
I've got my girlfriend into watching Key & Peele, now that it's on Netflix. What a different world we lived in back when they were first airing that show.

4. What are you listening to?⁠
Mostly interview-style podcasts like The Daily Stoic Podcast and The Jordan Harbinger Show

5. What are you cooking/baking/drinking?⁠
I've been experimenting with different teas lately as I try to reduce my coffee intake to help my stomach issues. I'm also trying to learn some Turkish dishes to cook for my girlfriend, and that's actually been going pretty well!

6. What are you making/creating/doing?⁠
I don't know. I haven't really done any creating in a long time.

7. Where have you gone lately? -or- What travel destinations are on the horizon for you?⁠
I'll be going to Turkey to visit my girlfriend's family at the end of the month. The big question will be which bag to use as my one-bag for the trip. Hmmm...
⁠
Bonus question:⁠
⁠
What's the most interesting thing you can see out your office or kitchen window?
My kitchen looks out at the forest I live in, and my "office" windows face the most beautiful of the Finger Lakes.