What Are You Carrying? Daylight Savings Edition (03/23)

[MaiaH]

Can you believe it's already March? It's time for another game of What Are You Carrying!

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?⁠
⁠
And for your bonus round question:
⁠
What is the most special gift you have received?

[PaulT00]

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

Still mostly using my Night Walk / NW Sky Pilot for overnight stays. I have a possible 2-night stay happening next week, which may be a challenge - the Pilot is quite tightly packed for a one-nighter, so I'm wondering about a different bag if the 2-nights away happen. Right now I'm wondering whether I should go for a combination, I'm considering using my Night Flight (20 litres, "miniature Aeronaut" design, Aubergine/Steel) to hold clothing and such, with A.N.Other bag still to be decided to carry the personal and work laptops, spectacles, AirPods, chargers etc. One doesn't necessarily want to carry everything back and forth to the office on the "middle" day if there's a sensible alternative, but I'm not sure which bag would be the best solution. Current favourite might be a Large Cafe Bag, probably the one in grey cordura, although I could use a more formal leather briefcase/satchel (heresy!) or might even get away with a Daylight Briefcase (mine's in Plum) if both laptops will fit, maybe using it with a suitable shoulder strap. Will have to experiment over the weekend.

2. What are you reading?⁠

Code, mostly. And project management documentation, specs, user stories, test plans... don't seem to have much time for recreational reading at the moment.

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

We ran out of episodes of Manifest on the terrestrial broadcast (because it only went to the end of season 3) but have just picked up the beginning of season 4 on Netflix.

4. What are you listening to?⁠

At the moment I don't seem to be listening to very much - everything is becoming just background, maybe because I'm heavily preoccupied with work and other fun and games. Reorganising the work/life balance is on the to-do list, but stuff keeps pushing in above it.

5. What are you cooking/baking/drinking?⁠

I'm not cooking very much at the moment - my partner is doing almost all the proper cooking these days; I do a mean bacon sandwich, apparently I have the knack of keeping the bacon juicy while crisping the edges! Although I sometimes take on sous-chef duties (I'm better at timing pasta, for instance, or chopping herbs, or putting together a mise-en-place, or laying the table...); I'm very grateful that real food almost magically just happens most days and all I have to do is appear at an appropriate moment, eat, then load the dishwasher! We've been trying out lots of new recipes over the last month: there was a delicious chicken, leek and sweet potato soup; a very simple griddled tuna steak with an avocado/coriander/tomato/chilli/lime salsa; a ridiculously quick vegetable chow mein (chopped carrots, broccoli, peppers, oyster mushrooms all stir-fried in a few minutes then combined with some oyster sauce, splash of rice vinegar and throw in some pre-cooked "wok ready" noodles from a packet...). A couple of weeks ago there was a delicious seafood soup (chunks of cod and prawns, in a blended soup with lots of coriander and spinach in it making for a seriously bright green liquid!) and "Chilli bean bowls with roasted cumin carrots"... I'm hoping for a return, soon, of the steak, mushroom and ale pie (slow-cooked filling includes a medley of mushrooms along with carrots, shallots, beef and most of a bottle of Doom Bar Amber Ale). Brunch this morning was a mackerel pâte with horseradish, served with some crusty bread, yesterday we breakfasted on eggs Florentine (with a premade pseudo-Hollandaise sauce). This evening's dinner will be a take on "jambalaya" which includes rice, prawns, peppers, chorizo, tomatoes - served with plenty of tabasco. Nom!

As far as liquid refreshment is concerned, I'm mostly sticking to tea, with diversions into gin&tonic in the evening.

6. What are you making/creating/doing?⁠

Work has taken over again, we released "version 4.5" to production last week with several chunky enhancements; another release related to currency hedging enhancements went out yesterday. A "4.5.1" hotfix will be going out on Tuesday to correct a couple of minor defects in 4.5, we're aiming to get "version 5.0" ready for UAT week after next for release to production towards the end of March containing some heftier functional refinements to 4.5; and the developers who aren't working on 5.0 are trundling on further new functionality enhancements for a final "5.1" release at the end of April. And then the project finishes with effect from 1st May, except we still have to manage the warranty period on 5.1 and the transition to "BAU" - Business As Usual - along with agreeing with the stakeholders what to do with the remaining hunks of requirements which didn't make it into the deliverable releases but are still (lower priority) requirements for the operational systems and will have to be scheduled in as minor development tasks and prioritised along with all the other stuff in the support backlog. The mental load associated with keeping on top of that lot probably explains why I haven't been reading much, watching much, or listening to much - all processing resources and storage are currently fully utilised with other stuff!

7. Where have you gone lately? -or- What travel destinations are on the horizon for you?⁠
⁠⁠
London for 2 days last week, London possibly 3 days next week - we have a couple of new starters and apparently my name is in the frame to get them off the ground in terms of orientation and initial introduction to the systems they'll be supporting. Week commencing 13th I'm going to be in Bristol most of the day on Thursday - I have an appointment with the optician, but I'm hoping to collect a new jacket from the tailor and also have a first fitting for another... if things have progressed to that stage.

Later in the year, I may find myself in Luxembourg again - $employers' parent company are in the planning stages for a migration to SAP4HANA, and the systems I support integrate with the current accounting system, so we have to update our systems to continue working. $parent_co are in Luxembourg, so I anticipate some fun and games and a bit of air travel!

What is the most special gift you have received?

I think the most special gift in the widest sense is probably our youngest Golden Retriever girl, Tresor. Gift in the sense that, while money changed hands, it wasn't from me; but also, and more importantly, in the sense that she was quite unexpected, and has been an astonishingly wonderful gift to our lives bringing so much joy. After we lost a previous pooch, Tressa, in late 2016 - liver cancer - we both felt off-balance and there was a huge gap. We discussed getting another dog, but it went nowhere - we needed time to grieve and recover. And then, around the middle of 2017, my partner looked at the Kennel Club website one evening - for the first time in months - (search term: golden retriever pups) and most unexpectedly discovered that there was a new litter of pups from the same family as Tressa. We made contact, went down to Cornwall to see them... and fell in love with the most gorgeous little bundle of soft golden fur. Whom we brought home in August that year and named Tresor, the Cornish language word for "treasure". She fitted in seamlessly with the other dogs, like she had been there forever... but decided almost immediately that I was going to be her human - I didn't get the choice! - and has spent the last 5-and-a-half years basically following me around, radiating joy and happiness and love.

[G42]

PaulT00 I love reading your updates! May I say that your food menu sounds fabulous and now I'm hungry. I vote for the NFTD & Pilot/other as a combo/comparison for your next trip, since the NFTD is making a return this year.

May we please have more Tresor photos when you come up for air from that terribly complex project?

[Jlange]

1. What bag/accessories are you carrying?⁠

Red Guide Edition Synapse 25 and my Side Effect (black halcyon/moab interior) are my everyday buddies, I mean, bags. I love how the SE fits in the front bottom pocket of the Synapse. It's simplified my life so much to be able to have a grab and go errand bag go neatly inside my everyday school carry.

2. What are you reading?⁠

Kid's essays and projects....How to Sell a Haunted House......The Matrix..... News about how Arkansas politics directly threaten me as an educator. *sigh*

3. What are you playing or watching (movies, theatre, video games, etc.)?⁠/ 4. What are you listening to?⁠

Right now, a knitting podcast: The Fat Squirrel Speaks.

5. What are you cooking/baking/drinking?⁠ / 6. What are you making/creating/doing?⁠

I just pulled an apple pie out of the oven....my mom's pie crust recipe + America's Test Kitchen combination of two types of apples. *chef's kiss*

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

I'm visiting a dear friend from college over spring break later this month. It's a three day trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico- with a side jaunt to Taos and Santa Fe too! I'm sooooooooooo excited. I bought a Aeronaut 30 for the trip. I'm hoping I can do a test pack this weekend and do a one bag/nearly one bag for the trip- (obviously, I'll need knitting).
⁠
And for your bonus round question:
⁠
What is the most special gift you have received?

@Janinie Hempy's baby Grogu is up there on the list. <3

[G42]

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

I've cycled through a whole host of bags this month. Used my Black halcyon/NWSky halcyon Smart Alec for a short one-bag overnight work trip as a change of pace and reminded myself how much I love that bag, so it'll move to the top of the rotation next week.

Currently I'm spending some days at someone else's place for a bit, helping with a medical issue, so it's a Nebulous Cambiata with organizers for work stuff, a Wasabi oLSB for some groceries, and a halcyon (of course) Parental Unit & accessories as a knitting bag for when it's raining & as a hospital bag. I've tried the Parental before and it never really worked well for me, but I'm giving it another shot. Spent an overnight in the ER with someone and it made a useful cross body catchall for stuff for me and stuff for them. In that particular instance, having all the separate sections really worked well for what I was carrying, my 13" Mac Air fit in the main section, and I could have it cross body in front of me on my lap to work out of, sitting in one of those gloriously uncomfortable hospital chairs.



2. What are you reading?⁠

'One Extra Corpse' by Barbara Hambly (one of my long-time favorite Fantasy & Historical Mystery authors) a historical mystery set in old Hollywood. Not 100% sold on this series yet (this is book 2), but that's partly because she repurposed some of the themes (& names!) from an old stand alone fantasy/supernatural novel (Bride of the Rat God) that I love, so it's weirdly disorienting (if anyone loves Pekinese dogs, they're fun supporting characters).

I read a lot of economics stuff and really enjoy Matt Levine's 'Money Stuff' newsletter which is now served up via Bloomberg Opinion (you can get the email without a subscription though). Some of it is over my head but he has a very fun writing style ((and as someone who enjoys run on sentences and nested parenthetical digressions, his footnotes (which he's known for) are often very funny)) and is great at explaining some of the complex things in a digestible format.

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

Normally don't watch anything, but saw some old episodes of 'Magic for Humans' on Netflix which were fun.

4. What are you listening to?⁠

Listening to several old albums by The Fixx, on repeat.
I also really like American Public Media's Marketplace Morning Report, Marketplace, and their podcast Make Me Smart (all have an economics/finance/money bent). I listen to them all as podcasts since I don't really have a commute/radio time anymore.

5. What are you cooking/baking/drinking?⁠

Current level of life chaos/priorities prohibits the time investment to make anything interesting, so it's a lot of quick salads and such.

6. What are you making/creating/doing?⁠

Knitting a cowl in two colours using a slipstitch method.

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

California Central Valley for work trips a lot. I'm hoping to get back east to New England this summer for a family visit.
⁠
And for your bonus round question:
⁠
What is the most special gift you have received?

Hmmmm. The highest level is the love/support/friendship/understanding of friends & family. At a more basic & recent level, the gift of time that I earned & saved & gave to myself to take a sabbatical two years ago in order to visit friends, family, and bunch o' national parks... and on a physical object level, all the hand-made items that friends & family have made specifically for me, including quilts, a doll, glass art, etc.

[Tonya]

I love these so much! Thanks MaiaH for starting these each month / season. It's so helpful and fun to read others responses, but this is only the second time that I've played because my life is so boring haha! Nothing new to report, however I'll play along again.

What bag/accessories are you carrying (items + colors, pics always welcome)?⁠
I just shared my EDC in this post, but I also just returned from a week long trip using the RB36 along with a PCSB and several other TB items. Of course, I keep a good handful of Monster Trucks, Trucks, and Shop Bags in my real truck for grocery hauls. I still have no idea how to post inline photos, so I'll attach these at the bottom.

What are you reading?⁠
Always something! Giggled at PaulT00 answer because I do a lot of this in my day job, but I just started reading Charlie Homberg's Heir of Uncertain Magic, the second book in her Whimbrel House series. The only issue is that she can't write as fast as I can read.

What are you playing or watching (movies, theatre, video games, etc.)?⁠
I'm not a gamer or a tv watcher, so I watch wildlife. Just spotted my first Osprey of the season! They're only here when breeding, but we'll have them all summer long and will see them nonstop when kayaking the river. I grew up near the coast so I never grow tired of them. We've also recently discovered a bobcat den across the creek from our property. It's kitten season, so I'm keeping an eye out!

What are you listening to?⁠
Lately it's been the sound of my husband running the tractor. It's planting and farming season - the work begins! While working my day job, it's a lot of jazz, worship music, indie folk... anything that is mellow so it doesn't raise my heart rate and add more stress to my day lol.

What are you cooking/baking/drinking?⁠
Polishing off last years garden goodies (cleaning out the freezer and canned goods) to make room for this year's crops. Always a wonderfully delicious chore! Almost always drinking deep cabs, dark roast coffees, stout beers, aged scotches or my husband's homemade cherry brandy with plenty of water in between.

What are you making/creating/doing?⁠
I have a very creative day job for a US-based artist paint company, but in my free time I'm also a painter/artist. I've been doing a lot of mixed media lately which is outside my norm, but I'm loving it. Also, we're constantly working our acreage in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, so the (creative & not-so-creative) work never ends. I just built a rock wall to house a herb garden so it can be closer to my front door. I'm tired of trekking down to the field every time I need chives.

Where have you gone lately? -or- What travel destinations are on the horizon for you?⁠
Just returned from the East Coast Gaming Conference in Raleigh NC. Headed to the southern outer banks (Atlantic coast, NC) next week and taking the entire family. Plus, lots of camping trips and small trips to see family planned for later this year. I'm also looking forward to a weekend getaway in August with my husband to see Shakey Graves in concert. It's our second Shakey concert. He always puts on a good show.

Oops almost forgot bonus round question:
What is the most special gift you have received?
I may get teased for this but whatever lol... I'm a Christian and, above all, I'm grateful every single day for the gift of mercy, grace, and salvation. I'm also super grateful for my husband of nearly 30 years and our children along with our wonderful son-in-law. I've had a very good life, not an easy life, but a dang good one with more to come. One really can't do better than that!