Let The Cat Out Of The Bag

I have a handle on the situation.
I have a handle on my space and contents.
My vacant hollow.
Or the items of which I house a dozen odds and ends.
I always know what I possess or what may be un-there or missing.
To study my physiognomy, one might think not much or lacking.
But closer on inspection, I am near divine and worthy of great travels.
A true companion of love and comfort, recognition, the familiar.
I have been held in such a clutch and such a love storm by my mistress and her values.
She takes me aboard a thousand footsteps, always holding on and never once ignoring.
Mostly I am there to steady, to balance her or witness.
She sometimes shuffles through my soul in search of needy things,
like painted sticks and looking glasses of which I keep most dear.
She searches inward and there she looks inside my sacred space.
Full of painted stick and looking glasses,
I am my lady's handbag.
- I Have A Handle On The Situation, a poem by David Roby
(bag pics: all mine)

Aside from my blog and other blogging communities, I also hang around the Purse Forum quite often . There a lot of sub-forums there on practically every designer bag in existence. On each sub-forum is a 'What's in your bag?' thread. Being a purse addict/fanatic/enthusiast/freak, I've posted pics of nearly every single bag I own. But being a (somewhat) private person, I've only shown one bag's innards just one time.

I used to be crazy for those vinyl backpacks from Sari-Sari Store in my teens. I remember at one time having 2 of the same vinyl backpacks. As I got older (or probably a bit more modest), I've learned to value my privacy.

I used to be sooooooo crazy for logos. Thanks to my middle-age exigency, I'm now partial to non-monogrammed bags. Don't get me wrong, I still love them, It's just that I hate those stares I get from people who seem to want to ask whether I'm carrying the real deal. I do not own a single fake honey, never have, never will.

So when I was tagged for this meme by December stunner (and birthday girl) Melai, I was more than happy to riposte.

Say hello to my everyday bag, my '06 Black Balenciaga City Peek-a-booThe auricularFrom the top:
Fino leather checkbook holder, Lacoste long wallet (had it for 9 years), Nokia 9210 (dinosaur-age, my bother calls this a deadly weapon as it is so old and huge), Ipod Nano in Tokidoki ISkin (on outside pocket), Ipod shuffle (Joel's, outside pocket as well), Canon Ixus, Coin purse (I've had it since high school, can't even remember where I bought it), black satin purseket from bag-a-holic

Inside the purseket:Rosary and scapular (both from my paternal grandmother), Louis Vuitton Damier Cles which holds 2 SD cards (for my camera) and my car's spare key, The Sak address book, Givenchy card holder, paracetamol tablets (for my perpetual headeaches), house keys, mints, post-it flags, calculator, oil-control film, metered dose inhalers (for me & my sons' asthma), MAC blot powder, Nars blush in Orgasm, Shu Uemura eyelash curler, Shu Uemura magnifying mirror, Smashbox Tint in Smashing Heat, MAC lipstick in Cherish, Shu Uemura blush brush, Shu Uemura compact face brush, Tweezerman tweezers.

Shoot, there goes modesty and privacy right down the drain.

In the spirit of torch-passing memes, I pass this on to Canuck Chick, Josey, Mae, Ghee, and Beng. Tell me ladies, what's inside your bags? :)

Happy Birthday Manilenya!!!!