It's European

When I go out, I carry a fair bit of stuff. A cellphone or more commonly two. Usually a netbook or a full sized laptop. A bit of reading material. An iPod, perhaps. Accessories. A set of earphones. Perhaps an external microphone. Perhaps a camera. I have just replaced a USB 3G modem with a cute MiFi portable router. In winter, perhaps a sweater or other things to keep me warm. Perhaps an umbrella. Perhaps I will soon be carrying an iPad, which may or may not be replacing some of the other devices.

To carry all this stuff, I use a backpack. I have a Swissgear backpack, which I also use as my one piece of luggage if I go traveling for anything less than a week.

However, on a day to day basis, this is actually too big and heavy for what I need. I takes up too much space on trains, and I bump other people. And it is mostly empty. What I need is something smaller with perhaps a shoulder strap, and a few different compartments to stow all my stuff.

Of course, there is a name for this kind of thing. It is called a handbag. The ladies have solved this problem years ago. Having looked at a few of these things lately, I am discovering that the fashionable ones are getting larger, and have all kinds of compartments for weird electronic devices. Some of these things are really quite nice, and I have in some instances looked at them quite enviously.

Is the world changing, or am I just being overcome by metrosexuality?