The Things I Carry

Well, Tuesday begins the massive amounts of driving again, mid-May being the light at the end of the tunnel. And as I prepare to embark on this project again, I've been thinking a lot about the physical artifacts that I end up trucking around. I have a huge shoulder bag that I carry from work station to work station, and sometimes I feel like a peddler. The life of an adjunct I suppose.

There's the aspect of an explorer preparing for an expedition in all this: Before leaving home I make sure I have everything I need for both jobs. (TC3 has massive construction going on so everything is in flux, and I don't have a filing cabinet at BCC.) I count five different computers that I use regularly -- six if you count my lappy at home. This has made igoogle a natural tool -- I still sigh with satisfaction every time I open a browser and log in to see the same settings and preferences everywhere I go. It's like I'm carrying something around without having to physically carry it. 

In the back of my mind I've been trying to categorize the things that are so essential I'm willing to add their weight to my trek. Most of my needs can be met by a networked computer, but here's where that fails:

1) Food. I guess I'm a little particular about what I like to eat & drink. Not to mention it's cheaper to BYO.

2) Administrative junk. My passwords, my identification cards, my parking passes. Can't wait for thumbprint or DNA recognition.

3) Non-computer entertainment.

4) Back-ups? I guess the cell phone, my paper calender, and my flash drive fall into this category. As well as the mess of papers I always seem to have. 

I'm glad I sat down and wrote this, because I wonder if I can offload some weight from category 4. On the other hand, the Boy Scout motto just appeared in my head, and maybe I'll stick with the redundancy and paper copies after all. Better to Be Prepared.