It probably comes as no surprise that I have a bad back, Sciatica mostly, a direct result, no doubt, of doing less than brilliant things that should be done by two people; in the name of expediency and sometimes when more than a little P-O’d at my surroundings and/or co-workers.
As a result it is rather painful performing that most-malelike activity of walking about with an overstuffed wallet in my hip pocket. In fact even the presence of anything in my hip pocket is like a red flag to the Sciatica Demon who hides in my lower regions.
If I am on a business trip I can get away with hiding my wallet in my laptop bag or backpack but that is cumbersome for quick trips to the 7-11 for Dr. Phil therapy supplies or an evening jaunt to Giant Tiger or Food Basics. For those I use an MSoft Surface bag I snagged at Value Village but even at 8 x 12″ that can be a pain.
A while back I cadged a Daytimer folio at a garage sale, thinking it would be good for making hasty notes etc. while being bored on local transit. Sadly the folio came with a 17 ring binder apparatus that dominated the inside of the folio. And of course the only notebooks that fit this demon device are purchased at great cost directly from Daytimer! So out with my trusty B+D drill and the appartus was relegated to the dustbin at the end of my bench.
With the binder appartus removed the folio was MUCH more useful, storing my drastic plastics, coin pouch and even both of my cell phones. The only drawback was that it needed to be clutched to be carried or inserted into my Surface bag – not much improvement.
Yesterday in the middle of my granola and yogurt I had an Eureka! moment. The folio was meant to be opened so there is a gap in the leather at the spine! Out came my leather kit and in short order I had created a tongue in the spine with D-rings at either end! The bonus here, my long time friends knowing this about me, the total ‘upgrade’ cost to me was Zero dollars! Win-win.
So now I have a perfectly good ‘man-purse’ that is small, easy to carry and can even be worn under my parka (my phone has a tendency to run out of battery life quickly in an outside pocket at 35 below).
Total cost about $1.00 (what I paid at the garage sale) plus no cost for the leather goods for the tongue from my FB Buy-Nothing group. Might look a bit unmanly but hey, the white beard gives me carte blanche to look a bit weird.
Cheers!
Mark