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Author Topic: Impatient. Toronto...  (Read 18796 times)

Rob C

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Impatient. Toronto...
« on: June 24, 2012, 04:36:50 am »

Apart from the photography itself, isn't there a subliminal message being expressed here?

I refer to the baggage that those two people are carrying. I've noticed over the years that, where once people would walk around with the very minimum of personal luggage about their person, even a walk to a café for a coffee or whatever seems to entail the carrying of a backpack.

This is particularly noticeable here in summer, where folks wear a miniumum of clothing (often not advisedly) yet always appear to be laden like beasts of burden. Why is it deemed necessary to carry all this luggage like an Atlas?

I find that it is infecting my own life: was a time I had a wallet in my jeans - never was pickpocketed(?) - and that was pretty much all that I had to contend with in my outdoor life. Then, I realised that I was carrying a cellphone, too, which required a little leather pouch (so tight you couldn't extract the damned instrument in time if called) attached to my belt, itself an accessory I didn't normally require. This arrangement gave way to a small Walkman-type case into which went the wallet, cellphone, glasses, Biro and car keys. This, of course, itself required to be carried, and the solution was to extend the strap to its fullest and wear the device bandolier-fashion.

So far, so good. However, it became hot and uncomfortable and, worse, because I'd take it off and suspend it over the back of the chair when going to have a drink or a meal, I became no stranger to the experience of forgetting it wherever I was, because small change for coffee etc. resides in my jeans and not the bag.

The solution - partial - to this dilemma has been to shorten the strap and wear the thing around my waist like a belt, bag perched provocatively on the side of my hip à la Colt! You'd think that would be all that's needed, but you'd be mistaken. The problem, you see, is that when I drive, I have to shift the bag so that it sits across my guts over the safety belt. So far, so good. Trouble is, I normally park on a slip road that is alongside the by-pass road that's made driving in Puerto Pollensa so much more simple.  

Unfortunately, this parking area, close to the restaurant where I choose to dine, is right next to a school playground. Getting out of the car when I park it, I have to pull the bag back over to the side, and its adjustment slider inevitably fouls the buckle on the belt that hold my jeans in place with the result that it unclips the catch, resulting in my having to lift my T-shirt to see where I am, followed by an undignified scramble to re-engage the pants belt as well as the bag belt. I'm awaiting the official (or vigilante) hand on the shoulder when all this struggle becomes misunderstood.

And all I want is lunch.

Life is tough, not only in Toronto.

Rob C

P.S. Reading this post I have just realised that there's a solution: swap around the orientation of the Walkman belt and then the slider will be safely behind me, posing no further threat to the jeans belt! Thank you, LuLa!
« Last Edit: June 24, 2012, 04:47:14 am by Rob C »
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Jim Pascoe

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Re: Impatient. Toronto...
« Reply #1 on: June 24, 2012, 07:06:57 am »

Have you thought about a handbag!

Jim
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stamper

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Re: Impatient. Toronto...
« Reply #2 on: June 24, 2012, 07:32:20 am »

Are you suggesting a sex change? :) ;)

michael

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Re: Impatient. Toronto...
« Reply #3 on: June 24, 2012, 11:13:11 am »

Have you thought about a handbag!

Jim

Agreed. Women figured this out a long time ago.

I think they're now called "manbags" when carried by our gender.

I have a nice soft leather bag with a shoulder strap. Holds my wallet, keys, cell phone, Ipad and a small camera with a lens or two (like the OM-D5. Also, doesn't look like a camera or computer bag so possibly less likely to be a theft target.

Michael
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Rob C

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Re: Impatient. Toronto...
« Reply #4 on: June 24, 2012, 12:05:04 pm »

Well, I'm afraid that though I'm not interested in a sex change, I did suffer from a small bout of premature congratuations in my P.S. above: it turns out that it's not the slider part that foils the other (jeans belt) buckle: it's the actual plastic of the hook part through which the strap passes. It's just a bit wider, actually, than the slider. Guess there's no solution since both ends are the same.

Well, an old WW2 gassmask satchel would do instead - they used to be very popular with school kids for carrying their books, right up into the 50s, which shows you just how well we could make things in the UK in those days. Of course, there's always the possibility they were imported by convoy from the U.S. and not a domestic product at all. Perhaps if I take a trip back to Glasgow one day I might find Millets... they used to carry all manner of army-surplus stuff in the 50s. I wonder if they still exist?

;-(

Rob C

Ken Bennett

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Re: Impatient. Toronto...
« Reply #5 on: June 24, 2012, 12:41:05 pm »

I'm with Michael on this one. My small Timbuk2 bag carries an iPad or a Macbook Air, a small camera and a couple of lenses, eyeglasses and case, a small umbrella, and all the little items like earbuds, pens, etc., that I want with me but won't fit in my pockets. I carry it almost everywhere, and can rationalize it as a "camera bag" should I feel less than manly on occasion.
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aduke

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Re: Impatient. Toronto...
« Reply #6 on: June 24, 2012, 01:06:34 pm »

Last year, I bought a Lowepro sling bag. It will carry the 7D, 17-40L, 70-200 f4L, a couple of extension tubes, spare batteries, flash cards, tools and most importantly, my water bottle.

Its a somewhat larger version of the ladies sling bags and can be hung from a shoulder or across the chest.

Alan
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Slobodan Blagojevic

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Re: Impatient. Toronto...
« Reply #7 on: June 24, 2012, 01:12:11 pm »

Are you suggesting a sex change? :) ;)

 ;D ;D ;D

digitaldog

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Re: Impatient. Toronto...
« Reply #8 on: June 24, 2012, 02:23:37 pm »

I think they're now called "manbags" when carried by our gender.

Careful there big guy. Not to be confused with teabags:

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=manbag


1. Puffy swelling under the eye after a boozy night
2. Slang: testicles
3. Small handbag for a man made from leather, fabric or other substance displaying a brand name such as Gucci, Prada, Adidas or Game
4. Slang: condom
5. (Biblical): David kept his sling and stones in a MANbag (if he'd thought to, he could have kept his iPod in there as well.)
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Rob C

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Re: Impatient. Toronto...
« Reply #9 on: June 24, 2012, 02:45:12 pm »

Mine is called a Case Logic, which I suppose is indisputable...

Rob C

Edward Starkie

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Re: Impatient. Toronto...
« Reply #10 on: June 24, 2012, 04:50:13 pm »

Kids in Portland, OR call it a murse (manpurse)
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Ray

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Re: Impatient. Toronto...
« Reply #11 on: June 24, 2012, 08:52:04 pm »

An alternative approach is simply to wear sensible clothes, as opposed to fashionable clothes.

Precisely because of this problem that Rob has mentioned, I have some difficulty in finding the design of clothes I need, when I go shopping for clothes. But I usually succeed eventually.

For example, as a result of all the bits and pieces I tend to carry around, which often include two pairs of spectacles (or one pair plus sunglasses), a pen and small notepad, a mobile phone, a cleaning cloth and liquid for my camera lens, a wallet and sometimes a passport, comb, coins, keys and tissue paper etc, I feel that I need clothes with real pockets.

A separate bag with a shoulder strap, as women tend to carry, would certainly be a solution, but not a good solution in my view, unless wearing the most fashionable clothes is your first priority.

A separate bag, like a lady's handbag, simply advertises to all thieves that this is where all your valuables are located.

These are my requirements when I buy a shirt.

(1) It must be durable and made of strong material.

(2) It must be drip-dry so that it never needs ironing.

(3) It must have two large pockets at the front, with flaps and buttons.

(4) Lastly, but still of some concern, it should be reasonably stylish if possible and have a nice pattern.

Of course, two good-sized, buttoned pockets on one's shirt are not enough by themselves. One also has to rely upon the trousers. A tight-fitting pair of jeans will not pass muster.

One needs a slightly baggy pair of trousers with numerous, secure pockets. Pockets in the legs of the trousers can be very useful. Even my shorts have 7 pockets.
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LesPalenik

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Re: Impatient. Toronto...
« Reply #12 on: June 24, 2012, 10:48:44 pm »

If you are lucky to live in a country where you can keep kangaroos, you could get a female walkabout model and put all the small gear into her pouch.  But I hear, they are always pregnant, so that would mean some delicate handling. Nevertheless, in high elevations, they could be a real help.

Maybe also a rucksack on her back. I used to have one for my late Bouvier, but never could completely trust him with a phone or camera.
 
« Last Edit: June 25, 2012, 02:15:23 am by LesPalenik »
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DougJ

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Re: Impatient. Toronto...
« Reply #14 on: June 25, 2012, 02:35:37 am »

Thank you gentlemen for giving me a wonderful LuLa laugh--especially the DigitalDog's contribution, but the opening exposition certainly had funny charm about it.

Doug
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stamper

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Re: Impatient. Toronto...
« Reply #15 on: June 25, 2012, 03:51:18 am »

Quote


Perhaps if I take a trip back to Glasgow one day I might find Millets... they used to carry all manner of army-surplus stuff in the 50s. I wonder if they still exist?

Unquote

They still exist but they went upmarket a few years ago. I have a couple of the bags which I used for fishing. A vest would do the trick with plenty of pockets.

Rob C

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Re: Impatient. Toronto...
« Reply #16 on: June 25, 2012, 04:28:45 am »

http://www.barbour.com/mens-clothing/bags/cotton/accessories/cotton-canvas-tarras-bag




David, that's far too modish for Mallorca! Worse, it looks new and very metrosexual.

I could always revert to form (atavistic old guy that I am) and try to use/force the last few miles out of my career-long camera case, but I realise now that empty it seems to weigh just as much as I remember it to have weighed when filled with a pair of 'blads and three lenses.

The good thing about it is that any would-be thief would have to be pretty athletic to be able to run fast with it... of course, I wouldn't be able or willing to chase him/her anyway, so perhaps that point's academic. I've just been trying to remember the last time that I actually ran - I think I vaguely recall a slight trot, but actually running is too far in the past to envisage clearly. Hmmm...

Rob C

Rob C

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Re: Impatient. Toronto...
« Reply #17 on: June 25, 2012, 04:54:42 am »

Quote


Perhaps if I take a trip back to Glasgow one day I might find Millets... they used to carry all manner of army-surplus stuff in the 50s. I wonder if they still exist?

Unquote

They still exist but they went upmarket a few years ago. I have a couple of the bags which I used for fishing. A vest would do the trick with plenty of pockets.


Hi stamper

I do have one of those - bought it off an oriental stall in the market for arounf 5€ some years ago and it's perfect for that brief season when it's cold enough but not too cold to venture forth without something warmer. Trouble is, like now, it's too hot for anything other than a T-shirt, so even Ray's sensible, patterned multi-pocketed shirt would prove too hot for comfort. (Bit dodgy - patterned shirts: Village People have a lot for which to answer.)

The good thing about these 'vests' is that if you have a cold, then you can stash any number of kitchen roll sheets to see you safely back home without a crisis.

Rob C

Ken Bennett

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Re: Impatient. Toronto...
« Reply #18 on: June 25, 2012, 07:31:43 am »


A separate bag with a shoulder strap, as women tend to carry, would certainly be a solution, but not a good solution in my view, unless wearing the most fashionable clothes is your first priority.


This is too funny. No one who saw me would think that wearing the most fashionable clothes was my first priority. It's clearly not in the top ten. And yet even with plenty of pockets, I still prefer a bag for the larger stuff.
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Colorado David

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Re: Impatient. Toronto...
« Reply #19 on: June 25, 2012, 07:42:42 am »


David, that's far too modish for Mallorca! Worse, it looks new and very metrosexual.

Metrosexual? Oh goodness!  That is a classic British hunting/fishing bag.  How could you utter (type) such a thing? ;D
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