Bag angst

It was just over a year ago that I got this lovely camera bag.  I loved it (as much as one could love a bag) and I took it with me everywhere.  I loved that I could always have my camera in tow, and that it was well-protected.  I really loved that the tote looked like a big purse and didn’t scream “I am a camera bag.”  We (my Olive Vine Tote bag and I) were happy.

Sadly, as sometimes happens, about six months into this blissful relationship, the seeds of discontent were planted.  Neil gave me an android tablet for my 40th birthday, and I became smitten.  It was such a handy tool, I naturally wanted to take the tablet with me wherever I went.

But the bag. Oh, my lovely Olive Vine bag! There was just no nice way to rearrange the padded dividers so that a 10-inch tablet could slide in there.  I tried all kinds of things, but in the end, I decided the only way to make it work would be to do some surgery on the bag.  I wasn’t willing to risk messing it up, so that was that. I had to live with it.

After that when I left the house, it was either without the camera, without the tablet, carrying two bags, or carrying one bag with the camera and tablet both flopping around loosely inside (oh, the horror!).

I am really not one to take the purchase of a $100 bag lightly, but I was having such difficulty leaving the house some days! Which electronics should I bring with me? How should I get them there? All of this dithering was driving me batty.  And so finally I sat down, spent an hour or two online, argued with myself a good bit, re-checked my blog revenue for the past year, and pressed “Buy Now” on Betsy.

Part of my bargain with myself involved selling Olive.  She really is still a great bag, and I’d still be taking her with me everywhere I went if she could only see fit to accommodate a 10-inch tablet!  I was planning to put Olive on eBay as soon as the new bag gets here, but I thought first that maybe I should give my favorite online community (that would be you, of course) first crack at her.

So, here are the details:

This “Olive Vine Tote” was made by Jo Totes, measures 15″ x 5 3/4″ x 11″, has a removable cross-body strap, six repositionable padded velcro dividers, and metal feet.

It’s roomy interior fits all of this stuff, which includes a DSLR, three lenses, a snap-on lens in a box, an external flash, a large wallet, and a million other small things.  Everything you see pictured on the bottom right was just moments before inside the bag for the top photo.  That’s how I always have carried it, and it doesn’t feel over-stuffed.

There are a few signs of wear, none of them structural.  Most notably, the green faux leather has worn in a few places: a few corners and under the zipper (which is mostly hidden). Also the (non-zippered) inner pocket is coming unraveled.  A little hand sewing should fix that right up, but I haven’t needed that pocket and so I have never bothered.

I originally paid almost $90 for this bag.  I’m not entirely sure what it would fetch now, after a year of use, but I found an even older one on eBay currently bidding at $46 with a day left to go on it.

This tote was well-loved, but still has plenty of life left in it.  My eBay plan was to start the bidding at $30, but have a buy-it-now price of $55.  Would any of you be interested in it for $50 + shipping? Be the first person to comment or email me that you would like it, and it’s yours!

If I haven’t had a nibble here after a couple of days, I’ll go ahead with my original eBay plan and edit this post to provide you with the link.

[Update: Olive is SOLD! I thought you might be a little disappointed, so I did a quick eBay search and found some other Jo Totes and some similar bags by Epiphanie. Have fun!]

Now, if you will pardon me, I am going to go stalk the mailbox.  Betsy should be here today, and I am eager to fill her up with camera gear, and tablet-y goodness!

(Please consider giving Olive a good home – she’s a lot less work than a new puppy, but just as much fun to carry around.)