GAAAHHHH!!!… I’ve spent the last week completely addicted to the Girl Genius comics, reading the entire backlog from 2001, and now… now I’m UP TO DATE! Which means there is no more for me to read! And the story is ongoing! Now I’ll have to content myself to 3 pages per week, as they come out.

12 x boohoo!!

I just might get me a heart-shaped gear insignia to console myself. (They are so cute!)

Seriously, though, I recommend the comic. Its tagline says “Adventure. Romance. Mad Science!” and it’s the best description I could give, with “really funny!” implied in there.

PS. And Paula, I found out that comic is STEAMPUNK genre, so now I know what that is!

Girl Genius - Web comics

Alright, time to spill it. My purse, I mean, to follow up on this recent post.

So here is the list of what I carry around everywhere.

What’s in

1. Wallet
2. Card holder (for all the pesky membership cards)
3. Keys, on and off
4. 2 memo pads
5. 1 pen stolen from work
6. Misc. paper things (tickets, prescriptions)
7. Dead batteries (so I can get replacement ones of the same kind, one day)
8. Paper ruler (from Ikea)
9. Gum
10. 3 packs of Kleenex (why 3?)
11. Purell
12. Tylenol, on and off
13. Deodorant
14. Tide-to-Go (that I’ve never used)
15. Lady hygiene stuff (not pictured, bleh)
16. Club Med Perfume
17. Band-Aids
18. Medicated lip balm (not fun at all, but effective, ugh…)
19. Stick make-up
20. Lip gloss — I took the resolution to wear lipstick more often, but it’s a failure as yet.
21. Pocket mirror
22. Sunscreen
23. Bag for the baby stuff
24. 2 diapers, different sizes
25. Baby wipes (not pictured… I ran out recently)
26. Bib
27. Crayons
28. Crackers in a candy box
29. Digital camera (point-and-shoot, not pictured)
30. Extra memory card

What I plan to add
(There’s still enough space.)

1. 1 Sharpie
2. Small roll of duct tape
3. Swiss Army knife (is that legal?)
4. I should also add the waterproof matchsticks I made as a girl Scout… always prepared!
5. USB cord to unload the camera, maybe

The great thing about this bag is all the compartments, keeping things organized.

No phone, no GPS, no Palm, no iPod!! We live in the dark ages, Frank and I.

No pacifier, but there’s often one in my jeans pocket anyway.
No toys, but I carried around a Hot Wheel in my coat pocket most of winter.
I would carry drink boxes if my purse didn’t get kicked around so much.

No spy gadgets! though I dig that this list ended with “lipstick”.

If you have suggestions for useful additions, I’m interested.

When I was younger, one my idols was a B.D. (European comics) character named Yoko Tsuno (and on Wiki). Apart from being a brainy electrical engineer /slash/ Aïkido black belt /slash/ glider and helicopter and jet pilot /slash/ scuba diver /slash/ alien friend /slash/ time traveller — and an all-around very nice person I might add –, one of her cool trademarks (to my eyes) was the fact that she was often carrying around a long-strap bag filled with useful gadgets and tools, which made her ready to tackle any tricky situation (as she is wont to do). This bag — actually, these bags, plural — were somewhat like the one Jack Bauer lugged around for most of season 5 (the one with the nerve gas), except cuter and probably cleaner.

Thus, I have a sweet spot for well-equipped long-strap bags.

Behold, my purse.

This little shoulder bag may not help me face a terrorist threat, but it deals wonderfully with most of my day-to-day crisis. For fun, I’ll let you guess at the contents before I make a list. You’ll be surprised how much stuff this small accessory can snug in.

PS. I leave you with some Yoko Tsuno images. That Asian/European chick is some kick-ass sci-fi hero.