Tuesday, December 04, 2007 - Death of a perfectly good travel bag

Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Death of a perfectly good travel bag
So, if you've talked to me, or read any of my blogs over the past 6-8 months you have probably noticed that I've done a bit of travelling. Most of this is work related, some of this is volunteer related, some of it is maintaining my certification and so on and so forth. Regardless of the purpose, I've been making my rounds about the country (and on one recent occasion outside of the country). Travel has not been new to me since the day I was born. I've had my own luggage since I was a small child and I try to keep myself (in a travel bag sense) in something sturdy that will endure the test of years of trips instead of just one or two trips.
Back in college, Brandy had a great little toiletries bag that I was oh-so envious of. It carried virtually anything she would need on a trip and folded up nicely to fit in a suitcase. I couldn't ever manage to land myself one of these nifty contraptions simply because I wasn't looking for one when I was out and about. Finally, some 4 years or so out of college I did manage to pick one up and put it to good use. Over the past 4 years the travel bag has seen Jamaica, NY (repeatedly), Arizona, Indiana, Baltimore, Hawaii, California, Atlanta, Miami, Venezuela, Dallas, Kansas, Chicago, Connecticut, Massachusetts and WV (on more occasions than I wish to recount). It has always held up wonderfully no matter how much I cram in to the main compartment. Faithfully it holds my moisturizer, saline solution, glasses, toothpaste, a million shampoo and conditioner bottles from Marriotts across the country (I love the orange bath & body works scent), and eye makeup remover. This bag has served me very well.
Let's rewind back to August and my very impromptu trip to Venezuela. I pack up the travel bag real quick and toss it in my suitcase. To the best of my knowledge, I didn't pack anything out of the ordinary in the way of toiletries. The standard issue moisturizer, and whatever else I listed above. I probably threw in a handful more q-tips, but they have their own special section alongside the razor, floss, and toothbrush. The main compartment remained unchanged as far as its contents go. I make it to Venezuela in one piece and my luggage follows suit (which is more than I can say for Todd's luggage). I somehow survive the week and begin the tedious job of packing up all of my belongings after 10 VERY LONG days (I swear we were there 3 months). I finish putting everything back in its customary spot, grab the zipper, give it a little tug and RIIIIIP, the main compartment gives way - thankfully at the top and not the bottom. Aghast, I quickly give support to the bottom of the bag and arrange the zippers so that the pressure is not on the newly damaged section (I want to preserve this bag at least until I get home). Well, once I'm home I investigate a bit further and the rip isn't so bad. Sure, it's not like a brand new bag, but it still serves its purpose and nothing is falling out. I continue to use the bag for all of my recent fall travel and the rip only gets minimally larger (as one would expect).
Well, today, I believe, was the final straw for the travel bag. I just made it back from Dallas and commenced to unpacking everything. I went to unzip the maincompartment to fetch my glasses and RIIIIP, the hole became exponentially bigger. Virtually anything could fall out now and I don't think there's any hope left for its recovery. New to my Christmas/birthday list is a travel bag. Though I'd like to pick it out, so don't get any bright ideas.