What’s in my bag?

For the ‘what’s in your bag’ activity, I chose my work bag. I use this bag 5 days a week for work as a PE teacher/Athletic Director at a high school in the Okanagan. I have had this specific bag for 6 years and it serves me well.

Here are the insides of my bag:

• Work Keys x 2
• Wallet/cross body bag
  • Science centre pass
  • Driver’s license
  • Credit card
  • Cash
  • Coins (for parking, although I have the parking app)
• Car keys
• Blistex Lip Chap
• Tampons
• Hand sanitizer
• Mr. Noodles
• Cheese string (daily staple)
• Cellphone
• Flash drive
• A few forks
• A soother (not pictures as my toddler saw it and immediately stole)
• Chip clips

Even though I cart these items around everyday, I do not use each of them in my everyday life. The items I physically use daily include my work keys and cellphone. My work keys unlock the outside door of the school, the door to the gym, and the door to my office. I carry these around with me and then return them to my bag at the end of the day, to be used again the following morning. My phone remains in my office as I have an Apple Watch that notifies me if there are any pressing e-mails/texts that need immediate attention (this is one of the struggles with being an athletic director – people sometimes need responses sooner than later). I also use my phone to pay, so I do not physically use my wallet. I have started to notice a twinge of anxiety boiling up when a store does not take ApplePay because I use my credit card so infrequently I get nervous it won’t work. I very rarely, physically handle my car keys. While car keys are imperative for driving, they never leave my bag, therefore, I am not physically using them. The keys are a fob that unlock the door in proximity and start the engine in proximity, so they usually live at the bottom of the bag. This activity has shown me how strongly I rely on the technology in my bag working while passively interacting with it.

The other items in my bag are simply there ‘just in case’ – who  knows when you’re going to need a cup of noodles. I don’t carry a lot around with me since I have an office and use my personal computer at home. All of my marks, resources and scheduling happen digitally – hence the lack of an agenda and computer in my bag. While I’d say it represents me well, I’d say it’s a tad boring and that my work desk would probably be a better indication of my personality (RuPaul cup and all).

Text technologies

I rely heavily on text technologies throughout my day. My phone and Apple Watch are synced and keep me in the know throughout my day at work. I am mindful and take my watch off at home and tuck my phone away so that I can ‘unplug’ in some sense. My phone and watch allow me to reply to emails and text people in a timely manner for athletic related questions/issues. My watch also allows me to play music and keep time during PE classes without having to constantly go to my phone to stop time or change songs. The technology in my bag allows me to stay connected on the go. I think these text technologies show that I am connected to modern communication. While part of my communication happens in person, most of my connections are supported by technology  (e-mail, text, canvas, whatsapp, messenger, weebly athletics website, etc.). I suppose I never thought about how heavily my communication channels have shifted into a digital space.

The flash drive that I carry holds important documents in case I do not have data or wifi (for cloud connection). I have come to realize that my reliance on technology for my job and school is only as reliable as the accessibility I have. For example, if the wifi is down at work and I do not have access to my cloud, I have no way of printing documents from my computer unless I hotspot my phone. While this is a reality in some cases, in others it isn’t feasible (especially if I am near my data limit).  For this reason, the flash drive truly is for post-apocalyptic circumstances

I believe if my bag was analyzed 15 years ago it would look very similar, but may have a flip phone instead of an iPhone. This goes to show how items viewed in a superficial way may misrepresent the use (how I use my iPhone to connect to my watch and to pay for everything). In 25 years I hope this bag is empty and I am living my best retired life. I’m sure my phone, wallet, and keys will still be an integral part of my day to day life. This activity certainly made me question why I carry around the mundane chip clips or tampons (comfort?) and made me realize how heavily I truly rely on text technology throughout my waking hours.