The inventory of gadgets I schlep around includes: a Nextel clamshell cellphone; a Motorola neckloop with a microphone and 2.5 mm jack for the cellphone; a HATIS headset with silhouettes, boom mike and 2.5 mm jack for the cellphone (bulky but better fidelity than the neckloop, in case I need it); a Palm Pilot for my phone numbers and addresses; a Cingular Ogo wireless hand-held email device; a Hitec SoundWizard II personal listening system; separate plug-in connectors to the SoundWizard for phone and RF systems; a 48-inch Williams Sound neckloop with 3.5 mm jack for the SoundWizard; extra Duracell AA batteries for the Soundwizard; extra Duracell #13 hearing aid batteries for the hearing aids; and, depending on the duration of my journey, separate chargers for the Motorola neckloop, cellphone, Ogo, and Palm Pilot. It's a sizeable collection of stuff.

So, I got a purse.  Not just any purse, mind you.  I started with a very manly black leather number from Kenneth Cole that was advertised as a walking pouch "for men."  But at the end of the day, it looked like a purse. I think it was the skinny shoulder strap that always slipped off my shoulder.  Plus it was too small.  So I upgraded to what is essentially a handbag.  It's a  Tumi Urban Shoulder Pack.... and it's perfect. It's big enough to accommodate all my hearing gear (as well as additional items I imagine one is supposed to carry in one's purse, such as sunglasses, business cards, and a few pens), but small enough to carry along with my briefcase.  It's also got a shoulder harness that gives more of a backpack look and makes it easy to carry on a long walk.  (My only regret is I didn't stumble across the Man Bag website sooner, as I may have given one of their products a try, too). My kids still tease me in spite of all their school training in avoiding gender stereotypes.  But I don't care.  If it's good enough for A-Rod, it's good enough for me.