Messenger Bag Contents

Inspired by a post on The Simple Dollar, I thought it would be fun to spill the contents of my trusty messenger bag for all the world to see.

As you may know, I commute by bicycle whenever the weather and my schedule permit, and sometimes even when they don’t! Since I work many places other than my office (home, coffee shops, local parks, etc.) I tend to keep most of what I need to work with me in my bag, since you never know what you might need when. I must admit, the eclectic mix of contents surprised even me. Read on to see what’s inside:

As you can see in the picture above (click for hi-res), I can cram quite a bit into my Dana Designs Ti messenger bag. I got the bag on ebay four or five years ago and even though I’ve thought of replacing it recently, as it’s starting to show some wear and tear, I simply can’t find anything else I like as much as this one!

Now for the grand list: (starting bottom center and moving counter-clockwise)

• Toshiba Laptop w/ extended-life battery
• Laptop power adapter
• Audio cables – mini-DIN to mini-DIN and mini-DIN to RCA (useful for connecting the laptop to other audio systems)
• Note pad – for those times when I’m feeling a little “analog”
• Blackberry Curve 8330 – don’t leave home without it!
• Plantronics bluetooth headset
• Bluetooth GPS receiver
• Reading materials – I’ve always got an assortment of books, magazines, etc. in my bag. Pictured are The Green Bible, Tim Keller’s The Reason for God, the latest Christian Century, and some premarital counseling materials
• Garage door opener
• Bike Richmond map – in case I meet anyone who needs a copy
• Assortment of writing devices: 2 pens, a pencil, and a couple mini sharpies
• Anointing oil
• Spare 1GB microSD card with miniSD and full-size adapters
• 6′ low-profile ethernet cable
• Stapler
• SwissBit – Swiss army knife / 512MB USB drive
• Chap stick
• Band-aids
• Inexpensive Koss earbuds – the cat ate my good ones …
• Rubber bands
• $1.01 in pocket change – I don’t always keep this exact amount but I always have some stashed just in case
• Spare Blackberry battery
• Business cards – they make good bookmarks too
• Microfiber cleaning cloth
• LED flash light
• Paper clips
• Mini USB cable – for the Blackberry, GPS, and anything else that might need it!

Just for the record, all of this is in my bag intentionally, not just because I put it in there one day and have never taken it out. And yes, I was an Eagle Scout (be prepared!) It’s amazing how often I find myself making use of some of these things, even the more unusual ones.

The bag, packed with all of the goodies pictured, weighs exactly 15 pounds. While it may seem like a lot all listed out like this, note that many of these things weigh just a few ounces each. Also note what’s not here: scads of papers, crumpled up receipts, and so on. I make it a point to file such things quickly (or eliminate them entirely) so I don’t have to worry about lugging them around.

Keeping the contents of my bag streamlined allows for plenty of extra room to add things like a light jacket or lunch and snacks when I’m heading out on the bike.

So there you have it: the mystery of my messenger bag, exposed.

I don’t want this to come across as an “I’m just putting something on my blog because ohmygod I haven’t posted in ages!” kind of effort (even if at some level it may be), so here are a couple quick updates. In particular I’ll try to highlight some of the things I’ve posted about “recently.”

• My parents are doing quite well after their house fire last year. I just received word from them today that their construction loan has finally gone through. They are rebuilding on the same piece of land their old house was on, but starting literally from the ground up. They hope to start digging footers for the new construction next week (mid-May) and to be in the house by fall.

• The new Honda Insight has launched, to pretty good reviews I might add, but I’m still not convinced. It is about 4/5 of a Prius at a lower price, both size and mileage-wise. While the $20k price is attractive, I still have significant reservations about the overall environmental impact of all those hybrids’ batteries, even if they do use less fuel.
• I survived my first time through all the major seasons of the church (especially Christmas and Easter) and have emerged unscathed as I prepare to celebrate my 1 year anniversary of being a pastor on June 15th. It’s incredibly hard to believe it’s been almost 11 months, though I guess if you judge by the continually decreasing frequency of my blog posts, it’s not all that surprising.
• Part of the blame for my lack of blogging should also go straight to Facebook and Twitter. The more I seem to get sucked into these social-media oriented sites, the less I create original content for my blog. I do intend to remedy that though …

Rather than inundate you with more semi-interesting updates, I’ll leave you with news about this blog:

No, I am not abandoning it. Yes, I am actively planning new content!

• A review of my recent “road test” of a 2009 Nissan Versa. I’ve had my eye on the Versa as a possible next car for a while now, so you might be interested in my impressions after spending 350 miles with one.
• Some tech updates on “recent” purchases – Lenovo S10 netbook, Nikon D60 Digital SLR camera, and several others.
• Some insight into bicycle commuting – continuing the irony that this gearhead car-blogger often doesn’t even drive a car unless I can’t avoid it!
• A revew of Phyllis Tickle’s The Great Emergence – a wonderful, insightful (and relatively short) book about “how Christianity is changing and why.”
• A semi-regular feature for posting recipes, particularly for the soups and breads I make every Monday night as part of the dinner and conversation group I host.

So, there you go … proof that <montypythonvoice> I’m not dead yet! I’m getting better! </montypythonvoice> Stay tuned for new content coming soon, and feel free to leave your suggestions for interesting posts in the comments section!

Sunday, February 14, when I was 6 years old, we were sitting in worship when one of the ushers came forward and told my family we needed to step outside for a moment. He told my parents that our house was on fire. A neighbor had called the fire department and, knowing where we went to church, called the church. (Ah, the days before cell phones.) We returned home to find that the fire had mostly been extinguished, but one end of our house was a burned-out shell and much of the rest of the house suffered smoke damage.

Sunday, November 30, 20 years, 9 months, and 16I days later, as my parents were driving home to Virginia after visiting my wife Becky and me in Indiana for Thanksgiving, it happened again.

My parents had only been on the road for about an hour when the call came in, this time via cell phone. A neighbor had seen the fire and called 911, but did not know how to reach my family. Another neighbor saw the fire and called yet another neighbor still, who had my Dad’s number.

Receiving the news that your home is on fire is a devastating thing that no one should ever have to bear, even once, let alone twice, in their lives. Yet this actually makes three times for my family. Let me explain: this past March, as high winds whipped across southwest Virginia, a pine tree snapped and fell on a power line, igniting a forest fire. Hardly a month after the 20-year anniversary of our first house fire my parents got word while they were away on a Boy Scout activity that the woods surrounding their house were ablaze. Upon returning home they discovered the house was safe, but the fire had come within 6 feet of a large propane tank and their recently-built barn.

This, the third time they received a call regarding fire and their home, has turned out to be the worst by far.

Pictures

My brother, who lives nearby, got to the house shortly thereafter and took the first pictures we were able to see. Though you couldn’t see much for all the steam and smoke, you can tell that the house was lost.

(The full photo album, including hi-res versions of these pictures, is available here.)

Later conversations with firefighters revealed that the house was almost totally engulfed when they arrived. Surprisingly they were able to save the barn, which sits only 8-10 feet from the house.

My parents finally made it back to what used to be their home at about 10pm. It was then that it began to fully sink in the totality of the destruction.

The next morning, upon returning to the house with some friends, they found that the fire had re-ignited, as if to add insult to injury. The fire department was called once again to put out the flames that threatened what little was left standing from the day before.

Looking through the pictures that my parents have shared, every now and then I get a brief flashback from our first fire. I don’t remember much at all from then, but something about seeing the charred shell of the house, all of the ashes and rubble, occasionally jolts my memory.

It is difficult to look at the pictures and try to remember the way things used to look. Where once stood my childhood bedroom there is now nothing but ash and the springs from a mattress. No walls, no furniture, just destruction.

Appliances were piled on the back deck, the deck which I remember helping my family and friends build.

My father’s office, filled with computers, monitors, printers, and countless parts, is just a collection of disfigured metal shelving and computer cases. Anything plastic seems to have simply vanished.

Though they still await the final inspection, it is believed the fire may have begun around the propane furnace. We found out the neigbor who called 911 came to the house and knocked on doors and windows to see if my parents were at home, and turned off the propane at the tank, which may have helped to save the barn from burning as well.

My mother’s car, which was parked next to the house, was also damaged. A side window busted, the windshield cracked, and the side mirror melted. Both sets of keys to their third vehicle were all inside the house as well.

What’s next

Now begins the long process of greiving, recovering, and rebuilding. Mom and Dad have been surrounded with love and support from the many communities they are a part of, especially their church. Many of their friends from church walked with them through this 20 years ago.

They are staying nearby with friends for the time being, and intend to find a house to rent before Christmas. Since they had been visiting us they had more with them than they might have been able to save otherwise, including their laptop computers, quite a few clothes, and their dog.

The insurance company has been very helpful thus far and based on past experience will likely continue to be. After a final inspection of the house my parents will begin to literally sift through the ashes in search for anything that might be salvageable. It won’t be an entirely unfamiliar undertaking for them, though this time there will be much less that is saved.

I am thankful that so many people have showered them with support, love, and prayers in the midst of this tragedy, especially with being so far away myself. I anticipate going home at Christmas; I don’t know that there’s much that me being there now would accomplish. Becky and I have spent a lot of time on the phone with them the past couple days and I’m sure we’ll continue to talk with them a lot, giving them both support and listening ears to process things.

Many people have expressed a desire to help out somehow. We’re still working on figuring out what help is needed and how all of us can best lend our support. One of the things my parents have suggested is that anyone who might have old pictures of our family, either from family events, Boy Scouts, school, marching band, etc. can scan those pictures for them as a way to begin to piece together some of the irreplacable things that were lost. As I find out more ways to help, I’ll be sure and post them here on my blog, on facebook, and maybe even on twitter.

The “God Question”

Being a person who spends quite a bit of time thinking about faith, God, and life, it seems unsurprising that I’ve thought a lot about where God is in the midst of such tragedy.

It is tempting to see events such as this as divine retribution for things we’ve done wrong, or a sign of some sort. Some might even see it as a positive gift from God, a chance to cleanse and purge all of the excess stuff from life and start anew. Both of these assume that God was behind this tragedy, that God caused it for some divine purpose.

But that’s not how I see it. I don’t think God causes tragedy. I don’t think God causes babies to die, car accidents to take the lives of teenagers, hurricanes and tsunamis to destroy entire cities, or propane furnaces to malfunction and burn down houses. I simply don’t believe that is how God works. The world we live in is an imperfect place where unexplainable tragedies are an unfortunate part of life.

The way I see it, when such awful things happen, God may not be the force that causes them, but God is actively walking beside us, supporting us, and helping us to rise from the ashes. It is with the help of God that people are able to forgive someone who killed one of their family members. It is by God’s work in our lives that we are able to find a kernel of hope in the midst of great loss. God is with us in the darkest hour and points us toward the light of a new day. God accompanies us as we sort through the rubble, cries with us in our pain, and gives us strength to face tomorrow.

No one deserves tragedy. Not my family, not yours, no one. It is my hope and prayer that in the midst of this tragedy, as in all tragedies, that those of us who are hurting, mourning, and feeling helpless will feel the presence of the Divine Comfortor with us, walking with us into tomorrow, whatever tomorrow may bring.

My bike is a full-suspension mountain bike, which I used to actually bike in the mountains back when I lived in Virginia. It’s about 4 or 5 years old now, and the bottom bracket (the assembly that the crank runs through) was beginning to exhibit quite a bit of wear, causing my pedals to wobble.

Some of you may expect that I would simply fix my bike on my own, considering that is my usual practice with cars. However, I have little (ok, no) experience doing bike repair, and none of the special tools it may require. So I found myself in need of a repair shop.

When I can I like to try and help out new local businesses, and it just so happens that there is fairly new bike shop in town here in Richmond, the Cycling and Fitness Warehouse. I decided I’d give them a shot and I took in my bike. At the time it was right at the beginning of the summer season, so they were swamped with repair work. After about two weeks I recieved a call letting me know that the bike was done and I went to pick it up.

I had expected to have racked up a somewhat sizable repair bill, however I was pleased that instead of replacing the entire bottom bracket assembly they had simply redone the bearings and put everything back together. I paid my $8.50 and headed home a happy customer.

Fast forward a couple weeks … I’ve ridden my bike some around town and the wobble has returned, indicating that something was still amiss with the recently-repaired bottom bracket. I called up the shop and they told me to bring it in and they’d have it looked at in a day or two.

When I came to pick it up, I was shown that the pedals were once again tight, and told that this time they re-packed the bearings again and replaced a bushing. I was impressed that they were still trying to fix the problem without replacing parts unnecessarily. I was also pleased that when I asked what I owed they said “nothing” since it was my second trip to see them about the same problem.

This time I rode the bike home, and by the time I got back I noticed the wobble was already starting to return, though not as bad. I called the shop back (by now I was on a first name basis with the guy) and he said to bring it in again and they’d have it fixed in a day or two.

So this past Tuesday I rode back down to the shop, talked to the guys there for a bit, and dropped the bike off. The plan now was to go ahead and replace the entire bottom bracket assembly. There’s a part of me that thought “finally … this is what I expected them to do in the first place.” However, I also think they were right not to replace it if it wasn’t really defective. Finally we were all in agreement that yes, it was.

Saturday morning I was back at the shop to pick my bike up, hopefully for the last time (at least for this problem.) I was greeted by a friendly “hi Matt” as I walked in the door. After getting my bike back I once again asked what I owed, expecting to at least pay for the price of the new bottom bracket assembly. But once again I was told that I was not going to be charged. Needless to say, I was pleased.

As I rode my bike home the difference was like night and day. It felt so good I rode far past my house, just to ride. Now I could be cranky about the fact that it took three trips to the shop to get this problem right, or that the whole ordeal took over a month, but I’m not. And why is that? Great customer service.

I think that in the modern age of internet shopping and mega-marts, we often forget what really good customer service is like. In our phone conversations I quickly went from being “Mat, the owner of the full-suspension Mountainsmith bike” to “Matt with the bottom bracket problems” to just “Matt.” The people I talked to at the shop were sincerely apologetic that the problem had not yet been fixed. And I know that the shop ended up spending both time and money to make sure I was a happy customer. All this for someone who had never set foot in their shop before all this began.

And so I am a happy customer. They will recieve more of my business and I’ll gladly spread the word of my experiences there. Having worked in customer service before, I know it isn’t always easy (or even possible) to keep patrons happy, so I applaud this shop’s efforts to do so. Now if only all my online customer service issues were handled in a similarly pleasant way.

If you’re in or around Richmond, IN and need a cycle shop, be sure to check out the Cycling and Fitness Warehouse. (Be forewarned that their website, while flashy, is rather obnoxious.) Tell them Matt with the bottom bracket problems sent you. I’m sure they’ll be glad to know their good customer service paid off.

1. After 22 years I will finally be done with school. For a while at least.
2. From now on I will be able to buy books because I like them, not because they’re required for class.
3. Two words: Gainful Employment.
4. I will finally have a bit more regularity to my daily schedule. Hopefully.
5. Because it’s a great excuse to see family and friends I haven’t seen for a while.

It’s been a great three years here at Bethany, and there are definitely some things I will miss about being in school. However, I must admit that I’m pretty excited to be done and get out into the “real world.” See you there!

Any other graduates out there? Any thoughts on graduation in general? Feel free to share in the comments.

Friday5 is a weekly column that lists five items on a theme drawn from one of the various categories covered by From Bits to Bites & Windshields to Worship.

Today marks one year since those 33 people’s lives were abruptly brought to a halt. Simply typing this and thinking of the sadness of it all brings back those familiar emotions from a year ago. I hope that you notice that I choose to remember 33, not 32 as the media tends to do. I hope that you will also remember 33, because even though Cho was the one who perpetrated this tragedy, he was a victim as well. A victim of a society that often does not know how to deal with diversity in healthy ways, a society that would rather shun and break people down instead of including them and building them up. In addition, the pain of Cho’s family is no less than the pain of the other victims’ families. If anything, theirs may be greater.

I’ll be wearing my maroon and orange again today, in solidarity, in unity, in remembrance of 33.

We are Virginia Tech.

Be sure to see my wife Becky’s post on this same topic.

1. Read it

Ok, this one might seem a bit obvious. But sometimes it’s good to start with the obvious things. Wander around the site a bit, get a feel for not only what’s here already, but what might be yet to come. Check out the about page for a little more insight into what I’m trying to do here. I know the topics might seem a bit disjointed but hey, if we’re honest isn’t life a little disjointed?

2. Bookmark it

Http://www.mattmckimmy.com/blog . Right click and “bookmark this link …” (if you’re using Firefox at least.) Of course you could use any number of methods to set up a bookmark to this, your new favorite site. Or you could do one better and …

3. Subscribe

I realize that some folks don’t have a clue what it means to “subscribe” to a website. Fear not. I’ve written a post just for you. If you’re already on board with RSS and looking for new food for your feed reader, check out the links on the right in the subscribe section. You’ll find what you need there.

4. Leave a Comment

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. What makes blogs great is that they’re not just a static medium. They’re interactive and communal. They allow for conversation between me the writer, you the reader, and anyone else who happens to stumble across this corner of cyberspace. So speak your mind, question my sanity, grace us with your wisdom, and make your mark in the comments section at the end of each post. You don’t even have to register. Unless, of course, you want to …

5. Register

Why register? Well, it makes leaving comments a lot easier for one. Plus it helps to create consistency. Once you enter in your information once it will appear exactly the same on each comment you post. And if you use an email address you’ve associated with a gravatar that will show up too. How cool is that?

Well I hope these suggestions give you some ideas of how you can get the most out of this site. I figure that if I’m going to take the time to write this stuff I mind as well try and make it useful for people, right? Here’s to hoping you’ll get something out of your time here …

Friday5 is a weekly column that lists five items on a theme drawn from one of the various categories covered by From Bits to Bites & Windshields to Worship.

From Bits to Bites & Windshields to Worship!

I’ve put a great deal of time and effort into getting this blog up and going. I hope that it can be a source of information, insight, connection, and community. One of the advantages of ramping up slowly before going live is that I’m able to launch with quite a bit of content already posted, so feel free to poke around and get a feel for what this blog is all about. Check out the categories listings, peruse the archives, and maybe even leave a comment or get a subscription (or at least figure out what getting a subscription means!)

One of the things that makes blogs so great is the opportunity they provide for conversation. Therefore, I hope you’ll feel free to contribute your own thoughts, retorts, and suggestions in the comments sections you’ll find at the end of each post. The beauty of the internet is that it doesn’t have to be a one-way communication medium, so let’s make the most of it!

Now that you’re here, why don’t you go ahead and take your coat off, kick off your shoes, and hang out for a while? I think this gonna be a lot of fun …