Let's Play A Game!
So, here I am in my cubicle at work, and a shimmering time-space vortex has suddenly appeared -- as they do -- to engulf me and send me I know not whence.
I have only one minute to grab what I can before being transported into... a vaguely medieval Europe-ish fantasy land? A twenty-fourth century starship? An arid wasteland of lurking horrors? What to pack?
Well, fortunately I have my leather messenger bag (I use it as a laptop case) and a stack of sturdy canvas bookbags (unclaimed Summer Reading prizes) close at hand. Dumping out the electronics (how could I keep them charged?) I fill them up with the easy stuff:
1. Water bottle
2. Stash of snacks and candy I keep hidden in drawers
3. Fork and paring knife (the closest thing I have to weapons)
4. Tylenol, ibuprofen, cold and flu medication, bandaids, hand sanitizer
5. Running shoes and extra socks I keep in case I'm inclined to go for a walk on my lunch break
Okay, I've got forty-five seconds and plenty of room left. As a librarian, my shelves are covered with books, books, and more books. Unfortunately, none of them are anything like Edible Wild Plants or How To Build A Boat or Assuming Command Of A Starfighter For Dummies. I doubt that my American Heritage Dictionary or Book Lust or Beyond Heaving Bosoms or a complete paperback run of Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark-Hunter series (it was a donation! I swear!) would be worth the weight. What else do I have?
6. Roll of string, because string is always useful!
7. Scissors, because the same, and also could be a weapon
8. Magnetized bookmarks, for the magnets
9. Small box of tampons, because I really don't want to think about the alternatives
10. Altoids tin filled with shiny coins, because maybe I could barter with them
11. Small tins of and tubes of scented hand creams and lotions, because ditto
12. The two unmatched "found" earrings in my drawer -- an amethyst and an opal -- because ditto
13. The whole box of pens and pencils, including the rainbow sharpies, and a sheaf of blank paper, because the past, future, or "other" economy, the ability and means to produce a nice picture (especially a flattering but recognizable portrait) should always be relatively rare and worth something to somebody
Huh. The bags are getting pretty full and I'm running out of time. What else?
14. The sparkly fake gem encrusted boxes and doodads on my toy shelf. Maybe I can trade them to credulous natives for Manhattan.
15. Pictures of the spouse and kids. It took me this long to think of those? That's embarrassing!
16. Is there room for a packet of tissues? There is! Well, wherever I end up, at least I'll be able to blow my nose decorously.
Time's up. I sling a bag over each shoulder and grab my knit poncho and walking stick before the portal swallows me whole.
I wonder how well prepared I am for what awaits beyond me.
How about you? Look around you right now (no fair running to the kitchen or the garage or the Mad Lair of Secret Villainy if you're not already there) and tell me what you would pack!
I have only one minute to grab what I can before being transported into... a vaguely medieval Europe-ish fantasy land? A twenty-fourth century starship? An arid wasteland of lurking horrors? What to pack?
Well, fortunately I have my leather messenger bag (I use it as a laptop case) and a stack of sturdy canvas bookbags (unclaimed Summer Reading prizes) close at hand. Dumping out the electronics (how could I keep them charged?) I fill them up with the easy stuff:
1. Water bottle
2. Stash of snacks and candy I keep hidden in drawers
3. Fork and paring knife (the closest thing I have to weapons)
4. Tylenol, ibuprofen, cold and flu medication, bandaids, hand sanitizer
5. Running shoes and extra socks I keep in case I'm inclined to go for a walk on my lunch break
Okay, I've got forty-five seconds and plenty of room left. As a librarian, my shelves are covered with books, books, and more books. Unfortunately, none of them are anything like Edible Wild Plants or How To Build A Boat or Assuming Command Of A Starfighter For Dummies. I doubt that my American Heritage Dictionary or Book Lust or Beyond Heaving Bosoms or a complete paperback run of Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark-Hunter series (it was a donation! I swear!) would be worth the weight. What else do I have?
6. Roll of string, because string is always useful!
7. Scissors, because the same, and also could be a weapon
8. Magnetized bookmarks, for the magnets
9. Small box of tampons, because I really don't want to think about the alternatives
10. Altoids tin filled with shiny coins, because maybe I could barter with them
11. Small tins of and tubes of scented hand creams and lotions, because ditto
12. The two unmatched "found" earrings in my drawer -- an amethyst and an opal -- because ditto
13. The whole box of pens and pencils, including the rainbow sharpies, and a sheaf of blank paper, because the past, future, or "other" economy, the ability and means to produce a nice picture (especially a flattering but recognizable portrait) should always be relatively rare and worth something to somebody
Huh. The bags are getting pretty full and I'm running out of time. What else?
14. The sparkly fake gem encrusted boxes and doodads on my toy shelf. Maybe I can trade them to credulous natives for Manhattan.
15. Pictures of the spouse and kids. It took me this long to think of those? That's embarrassing!
16. Is there room for a packet of tissues? There is! Well, wherever I end up, at least I'll be able to blow my nose decorously.
Time's up. I sling a bag over each shoulder and grab my knit poncho and walking stick before the portal swallows me whole.
I wonder how well prepared I am for what awaits beyond me.
How about you? Look around you right now (no fair running to the kitchen or the garage or the Mad Lair of Secret Villainy if you're not already there) and tell me what you would pack!