My Purple Backpack

The past week has been a busy one for me. The core group I hang out with has started to feel were approaching the beginning of the end. We’ve been doing a lot of big group activities thinking ‘this is the last time we’re going to get together like this’. Aside from that, shortly after I return from my trip I have to find a new apartment. So I’ve been busy packing up all my stuff. Lastly, not only am I trying to iron out the details of my trip to Asia, but forefront on my mind is Erik and Ariane’s wedding.

I have some sad news to report. It looks like my favorite backpack ... the one I got for my high-school graduation ... the one that has been with me on EVERY trip I’ve ever made, is on its last leg. We’ve been together for over 10 years now, and I’m quite confident that this will be the last journey together. There is a fun song (I changed the lyrics a little) to fit the relationship I have with my backpack:

I got you when I was only 18,
the brightest purple backpack I’ve ever seen.
It was extra large so I wouldn't grow out,
"That's too big for you!" the other kids would shout.
But we stuck together, we didn't quit,
and now the children say, "What a perfect fit."
Remember that long bus trip when I needed a nap?,
I used you as a pillow on that Spanish lady's lap.
Oh what is it about you that makes me so jolly?,
Is it your fifty cotton or your fifty poly?

Oh purple backpack we been through a lot together
like that time I played in that shirts
and skins basketball game and I had to take you off
and throw you in the corner of the gym.
I was midway through the game when I saw you looking at me.
You were staring as if to say
"Chris, you suck at basketball, you dribble like a damn woman.
"I was so mad I challenged you to a game of one on one
and you know backpack, even though I beat you 11 to 9,
deep in my soul I know you missed those lay-ups on purpose.
You let me win and that why I'll forever feel this way.

I love you baaaaaackpack
One pocket baaaaaackpack
dip dip dip
baaaaaackpack
shama lama ding dong
baaaaaackpack.

-Adam Sandler (Remix of Red Hooded Sweatshirt)

Normally, me ‘n my purple backpack travel alone. I take only the essentials: passport and plane ticket, Lonely Planet book and one or two changes of clothes. My newest acquisition is a battery charger (to power my digital camera and electric toothbrush). I was amazed how expensive it was (60 euro), but I know it’ll be worth it and its high time I stop mooching off other peoples anyway. This trip I am also going to bring my uni-wheeled suitcase too (to carry suit, wedding present and birthday present).