So. I haven't written here for so long you may have thought I've forgotten about that account o'mine. Rest assured, I didn't - there was just too much work, overhaul needed, both inside and outside the house - I love spring, I really do, but it's consistent with the title of the busiest time of the year, aside autumn.
Aside the February-incited trial job, and the power-working through both house, field and garden (the joys of shoveling dirt where outside are almost summer temperatures, with no clouds in sight), I've also managed to drive along learning three languages at the same time - yes, yes, ballsy, but in my defense, I can go only so long without being inexplicably bored. Thus, idle mind = devil playground - maybe not, my head is always running with ideas and whatnot, but knowing more than one foreign language can only be useful in life.
Of course, I've got fed up with my Apple 3G iPhone - loved the bit to death, almost literally, but it got worn out to the degree it didn't pop any notifications for incoming SMS, calls were also something hit-and-miss, so I've reluctantly saddled over to the brand new Huawei Y5 II.
Overall impression - phone is cute as a button, even if it managed to somehow be greedy enough to much a whole lot of card data, and the transfer of important bits (i.e. phone numbers, SMS evidence) was a pain in the ass to deal with, especially because I hadn't known that iPhone and Android based phones actually like sharing data with each other like rabid dogs and cats. To put in simply, none, and I had to go to the official operator to get the Huawei going as it should. The phone voice is tinny, I really can't hear it well, even if it's on the biggest volume, but it does have a handy back-light so yes, safer ways when the autumn and winter will be coming around the corners. For the budget phone it's good, now gotta find out how to load on some music. oh, and upgrade it with something to better hear the voice.
As it goes, my backpack also slowly announced its retirement, so I went on a manhunt for a new one. A manhunt that lasted at least two weeks. Two. Weeks. The last thing that took so long was when my brother prompted me to choose which washing machine we ought to buy. And I think it says much about my character that I was prepared to sacrifice so much time for one backpack, much more willingly than one washing machine. But in my defense, nobody wears quarter of a ton worth of washing machine on their back, so there.
My latest backpack, so to say, was made by company called American Tourister, and in the time I had bought it, it was darned pricey thing. But I fell in love with it at first glance, sight and nuzzle, so to speak (yes, very tactile person here), and it has served me well for...almost a decade. Which is kind of a record even in my books, when I remember that my first backpack lasted me for solid 8 years (entire primary school). My high school backpack - a veritable monster from Hi-Tech Academia - suffered through the whole four years of abuse - and I mean abuse, because it wasn't anything unusual if I've dragged around some 6 or 7 kilos worth of stuff on my back daily, most of it books for me to read. And it still served strong, even if we had to fortify the bottom, but it suffered through the additional abuse my mum had heaped upon it silently and honestly until it very nearly went to pieces.
Moral of this little story? Durability, for me, is one of the best and biggest factors in buying a bag. I want my bag to be like a cockroach - so to say, be able to survive damn near bar atomic explosion, and if it does survive even that, then I am sold. Then, good back support and bag straps to follow through the support of damn near insane loads. And also, to be able to weather the weather - yes, pun, I know, but it's appropriate here, and then to be orderly enough for my little collection of pens, books and whatchamacallits I usually tote around. Last, but not least, safety. I avoid the shoulder bags because of the simple reason - not only they are bad for posture when they are loaded, but they are also stupidly easy to snatch by a thief, and then, goodbye your wallet, your money, your personal data, your identity. Oh, and your phone, too.
(Remember: It's not paranoia if they are out to get you. I believe in goodwill of my fellow people, but it's a fact there are still some around who don't play by rules of so-called polite society. And being a damsel in distress is not a rewarding position for the one who finds themselves in it.)
My little tour around in the real world and through the virtual one made me aware of a distressing reality - companies more often than not cater to the 'cute' and 'cool' instead of 'practical'. I almost wept with despair in one of the shops when I've found out that there were almost no secret compartments which would be readily available to safely stash in the valuables. Sure, Dakine stood up with their thermo-insulated pockets for the electronics, but no thoughts about wallet storage. And I very nearly screamed with outrage when the kind vendors told the that the oh-so-cool zips does zilch, nada, zero when a veritable hailstorm of rain decides to vent it's watery anger onto your innocent backpack. I've lived in the era when it was normal and even required for the zips to have been covered with little flaps as to prevent the rain or snow to get to the zips and consequently into the backpack's interior. In the era of electronic, it became fashionable - don't ask me why - that the zips are all-freaking-out, with no protection, especially when it comes to electronic equipment stored in the bag! The horror!
The only one who had some redeeming points here was Eastpak, becasue some of their models got the required flaps over the zips (thank God, there are still some sane people designing the bags on the world), and both Everki and Port Design also include little rain cover for their backpacks. Sadly, Port Design elected to have theirs in neon yellow (ouch, my EYES!!!), and for Everki, I am not even sure if our vendors even include it along the bag aside some specific - and very pricey models.
And here we go. Price and availability. In the era when you can get a backpack for as low as some 20 quids, it may be almost mind-boggling for anyone aside really serious travelers, bag aficionados and motorists to shell out some really big bucks for what they want. Availability - I am really grateful I have Uncle Google to ask about particulars, otherwise I would be one miserable little being, having to settle for something of an inferior quality and make just becasue I hadn't known that there were other options. Though, I also nearly got some heart attacks when I saw just what some bags were priced, and I really began to wonder just how much they were worth of their price tag in reality. I even contemplated ordering my new backpack in some other country by a reliable company, but the import taxes... Wow. Let's just say: I was looking at the backpacks of the upper price range. The import taxes were of an almost equal sum to it. And there's also the fact when there were some good bags, but I would have to shell out as many bucks as for a middle-to-high-ranged mobile phone or a very high-ranged hearing aid. And this, from me as a deaf of hearing person, says much, because I've been intimately acquitted with the prices of the latter, all in the name of good hearing, however much I've still got.
I have to say, my country don't have developed culture or even conscience just how much can a good backpack mean a difference in a person's life. We got used to buying things, if we don't like them, we give them away, thrash them, or sell them, and very rarely a simple backpack means so much as to be a staple in our lives - here, dependable through thick and thin, well-used and well-loved. Maybe I am too picky, some may also accuse me of being a backpack aficionado. But I think I have a right to be, considering that I've put my back through unreasonably heavy loads and the ensuing discomfort resulting from it, be that in rain or shine, taught me to appreciate just how much my spine could bear. However, I also had to acknowledge that this won't last forever. Additionally, I began to appreciate that my things were stored safely, be that rain, snow or shine, I could always be sure that everything inside the bag was dry as it ought to be.
With that in mind, I've found a perfect backpack for me. Here's to hoping it would follow the steps of its well-worn and well-loved compatriots and be my faithful companion for a long time to come. I won't be saying which one is it or even which brand, because people have different tastes, and what may be a perfect backpack for me, may not suit you.
But I implore you - next time when you see a bag or backpack (or any other thing, really,) and you think to yourself - "Hey! This is a seriously good deal!" - think a little of the item in question not as a temporary fix for your needs, however pretty or cool it may seem to be, with a price to match, but as a lifelong companion, at least for the duration of life of that particular bag or backpack. Take it in your hands. Search it's insides - imagine yourself having it, wearing it for a long time, for many years to come. Be that in a town, on a journey, or a picnic - anywhere and everywhere you would think or love to take this particular bag or backpack with you. And then ask yourself, if you love that image - love it enough to say that this is your one, the bag you would happily tote around - not because it's fashionable, but because it really fits you and your needs to a T, so much that you take it along wherever and whenever the road takes you. Don't be satisfied with making compromises. Search for it, learn about it and be prepared to shell out maybe some more bucks for a really good quality bag that would see you through many years, much to your satisfaction, instead of thinking you would be 'cool' with it just because of its price.
Your spine, and consequently you, along with your laptop and sense of safety, deserve better.
