Hand in the bag...

I can't say that what you would find in my bag would be anything out of the ordinary. There isn't really anything of significant emotional or physical value in its contents. It mostly serves the purpose of a book bag.

I carry the needed books for the days classes, unless of course the text isn't required for use in the classroom. It always has my folder. It contains material for all of my classes so I try to keep it as clean as possible, going through it every so often to ensure that there is no unneccesary clutter. There are also the stray notebooks that work well for note taking both in and out of class. A pen bag keeps all my writing utensils organized and at the ready. I usually have a personal book in it as well. One for reading on the train. Of course this constantly changes but nevertheless, I nearly always have a good personal read for the commute.

My iPod is a mainstay. Sometimes I just can't make up my mind if I want to listen to music and play solitaire on the train or read a book. I've found it's good to have both. Options work nice.

My phone always sits nicely in a convenient little pouch built for the purpose. The only problem is that I can never tell when it rings since it is on a constant vibrate mode. I'd change the settings, but I think the last thing I need is my phone going off on the train while I stand around oblivious, listening to music that is probably too loud for me and everyone else on board.

I have a day planner that seems to make it into and out of my bag without warning. Sometimes it's there, other days it's not. It was part of my plan to be more on top of things. Because you know, having a day planner can make a person responsible. I have written in it twice I think. Once on the first day of Spring semester, and once on the first day of Summer semester after clearing out all the old and wasted pages of the months gone by. Another item that goes on in a constant state of un-use is my flash cards for Japanese. I swear, I don't think I'm ever going to learn this language properly.

Trash is usually in my bag. Right now I have a few tissues from I can't even remember when. A buisness card from a friend of a friend can be found in the same pocket. There's also a smashed up cigarette pack. There's a whole one too. I know, they're bad for me. But hell, they look almost as cool on me as a beer and I can't really go walking around school with one of those.

I guess I do have one personal piece in my bag. Well, actually it's pinned to it, and it's a pin. It's a pin I got from NHK the first week I came to Japan. I'm pretty sure that was the same day I bought the bag. It's a pin of Domokun, the child show star. I guess it is a sort of good luck pin in a way. I have never taken it off my bag since I first put it on. It reminds me of where I was when I came here and where I am now.