Today

The SUV next to me is booming with bass, playing rap at top volume.

I look over to see the driver, a young blond woman with a precise haircut. Her hands are in small fists below her chin. She punches at the air and shrugs her shoulders to the beat. Everything is fine with her. Things are going okay.

In D.C.

We’re in D.C. for Adaptive Path’s User Experience Week, and we’ve decided to roll with the baby’s jetlag, as midnight to 8 a.m. is a far more awesome schedule than his usual 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. It’s a much bigger conference this year, and AP encouraged a few of the speakers to bring their babies along (which partially explains the much higher proportion of female speakers than you typically see at other conferences). The presentations have been surprisingly moving so far — a lot of speakers who are really using design to change people’s lives in meaningful ways. More later.

Crumbler Bags Are Delicous

Oh my goodness, friends. I love me a Crumpler bag. If you’re a photographer, I can’t recommend them enough. I own a 1 Million Dollar Home, which I often use as a purse, and also a Customary Barge. The latter is one of the few camera bags that also has room for your laptop and some everyday stuff, and I take mine everywhere. It’s especially awesome as a carry-on when we travel.

However, I’ve been avoiding recommending the Customary Barge on Mighty Goods, because it’s a few steps away from being the Perfect Thing. I want them to do a few things to fix it, so I can take it to bed with me at night and cradle it in my arms.

Dear Crumpler, please make these slight adjustments to your Customary Barge, because I adore it , but I also sometimes find it frustrating:

-Make a back that works for women.
The back straps seem like they were built to fit a man. I’m a 5’9″ woman, and I can’t seem to adjust the back straps into a comfortable position. This kind of blows when I’m traveling, because it results in achy back.

-Make the zipper logos less obtrusive (for personal safety reasons).
Speaking of travel, I bought the black bag so it would look less obtrusive when I’m traveling in third-world countries, but I had to go to great lengths to de-logo it. The Crumpler brand is getting to be a flag for “expensive stuff in here.” I know it’s important for your branding to be out there, but it would be cool if you could make it a little easier to de-brand the bag for the small percentage of your customers who are concerned about personal safety issues when they travel. My suggestion would be to just make the the little guys on the zippers black so they’re not visible from a distance. I cut off the rubber tags, but still had to color my zippers in with a sharpie, and it obviously looks kind of ugga.

-Include at least one place to slip a pen.
I’m a writer, so I have a deep attachment to my favorite pen, but the top of my favorite pen keeps coming off when I tuck it into a pocket. Then the ink gets all over the stuff in the pocket–stuff like my awesome green leather wallet, and my cell phone. Boo. Also, when I go to fish it out, ink gets all over my hand. This blows. just one little loop of nylon inside the pocket would fix it.

-Make a place for easy cell phone access.
My cell and keys both go in the outside pocket because I need quick access to both. But because there’s no nylon divider, my keys are scratching my phone. I tried putting the phone inside the camera bag, but then I lose lens space, and I can’t get to my phone in time when it rings.

-Tuck a key hook in the outside pocket.
Just one of those little leashes with a clip on the end, so you never have to fish and you can keep your keys on the opposite side of the pocket from your iPod if you need to.

-Make the outside pocket easier to access.
I have small hands, and the zipper scratches the back of my hand when I try to reach in. This may be because of the rain guard flap, which is awesome, but it would be extra-awesome if there were a way to keep that protection while making the pocket slightly more accessible when I need my wallet or my phone’s ringing.

-Like the camera bag, make the laptop sleeve removable.
It’s one of the first things folks ask me about when I’m showing off my excellent bag. Doesn’t bother me too much, but apparently it’s something other people want.

That’s it. You are moments away from the world’s most perfect bag, Crumpler! Let’s do this thing.

Love,
Maggie

Update: Saaaay. The Lowepro Compu Daypack looks like a cool alternative. It’s not exactly the shape or interior space I want, but then again, it’s only fifty bucks. (Thanks for the tip in comments, Kym B.)

We’re Totally Fun Here

Excerpt from Antonia Cornwell’s very kind recap of her trip to the U.S.:

“Just as Earl Grey tastes better in England and A&W root beer tastes better in America, certain music sounds better here too, like Elton John’s Crocodile Rock on the Mustang radio when you’re driving past baseball games and white picket fences on the way to the diner to sit at a Formica table and order pancakes and corned-beef hash.”

Also, this is the second Londoner (Londonist? Londonite? Luddite?) I’ve heard wax nostalgic about pancakes and/or giant American breakfasts. If there’s one thing we do better than public inebriation, it’s hangover breakfasts.

Back in the Saddle

The last few days I’ve been overwhelmed, wondering how I’m going to make all this mom stuff go and still have time for fun stuff. Stuff like going to the dentist! Purchasing underwear that fits me! The depraved luxury of cleaning out our refrigerator!

Anyway, now that we’re no longer attending weddings every twenty minutes, we decided to re-join the gym (the extra fifteen pounds or so has done nothing for my funk). This morning I was grimly plugging away on the elliptical machine. I was thinking about how little time I have, and how many things I want to do, and how the elliptical machine is not one of those things.

Then the news came on, and they showed that picture. You know the one. It’s Melissa Hughes, standing on a recently collapsed bridge, holding her baby girl. And that baby is so tiny, and calm, and safe, I want to cheer. Because, my friends, it is a monumental thing to hold a safe, healthy baby in your arms.

And thus ended my existential crisis about overdue birthday cards. I am a jackass, God. Thanks for the awesome baby.