The New Year Un-Gear Roundup

Wed Jan 01, 2020 · 3 min read

Usually, around this time of year, I’d write a big gear review.

This isn’t one.

Partly, because not much has changed. I’m still happy with a lot of the items I had last year, though I gave my one-bag to better use in a new home. I bought an iPad Pro, and to review it would be akin to telling you that fresh water is nice and maybe you should have some.

I have some new everyday carry gear, of course, and I’ll tell you about it if you like. It’s just… something’s a little different.

I used to equip myself with the best item for the task at hand, hands-down. I did a lot of research and went through ample trouble to attempt to be correct about it. Most of the time, I was pretty spot on - the boon of hard labour rather than any particular ability. I got the best thingy for the job that fit all my requirements… but that didn’t necessarily mean it’s the thingy I liked best.

This year, I did some experiments. I got some things that are heavy. Things that are delicate, or scratch up. Things that (gasp) aren’t black. Yes, I travelled with them, and made some accommodations in my strictly-singular volumetric luggage restrictions to do so. Yes, it was a little less convenient.

I also liked it better.

It’s nice to wear impractical high heels, and sometimes a dress that doesn’t pack very well. I’m rather enjoying carrying a high-quality purse that I like, though its fine smooth leather will scratch if you glance at it sideways. It’s nice to be properly attired for an occasion - to-the-nines, for a change, instead of being the only one in cute flats. It’s nice to look, and to feel, like an adult.

Unlike my previous tendencies, buying things that aren’t made of 1000 denier nylon means that once you start using them, they don’t stay looking like new. Oddly, I’m finding this quality charming. I’m even seeking it out, intentionally purchasing a brass pen that will develop a patina over months to years of use. Like polished worn leather, or a scratched wedding ring, I like things that look not-new, but cared for. Things that look loved.

This year, I’m experimenting. My round-up gear review isn’t going to tell you the best stuff to buy. I’m simply going to tell you to try getting what you like. You might even discover it’s not quite what you thought it was.

I still like posting about gear, and plan to do so in the new year. Though I won’t deny that this blog, like myself, keeps evolving. After all, in any given moment, you are but a version of the same story.

It’s never the big moments that make that story true; only many little choices can create big moments to begin with. Little, indistinct, unnoticeable choices that don’t make the movie-screen biography of your life; but they do make you.

Enjoy your choices this new year. Make them yours.