What's in your wallet?

Earlier this week, the Hot Librarian (who never fails to leave me laughing so hard I gasp for air - she's that funny!) was musing about what women keep in their purses and how it says something about them. What we carry in our purses is probably insight into what we value, or things we can't let go of. Purses are also memory repositories - remember that trip to Lettuce Knits, and how crazy cool Kensington Market was? Well, the receipt is right here, and the memories are coming back. What we carry in our purses is also indicative of what kind of emergencies - medical, cosmetic, or other - we are prepared to deal with.

Or, it could just mean that I don't clean out my purse all that often, and I must have a brick in there somewhere because it weighs a ton.

• Wallet, naturally. Library card, Subway coupons, Blockbuster card, the usual suspects. The unexpected - a $10 credit for The Bookworm, a used bookstore in St. Catharines where I've had a credit slip for the last fifteen years or so (when it gets low, I just bring them a box of books I don't want anymore and replenish my credit). A ticket stub from when I went to see Fantasia 2000 at the Imax in Bayer's Lake. A receipt from the Clay Cafe. A discount card for Disc Go Round, a new and used CD store in Halifax. (Hey Phillip - do you want this? I won't be back anytime soon, alas.)
  
• Cellphone. I lost my password, so I can't check my message. Sorry to the person who left it - I'm not intentionally avoiding you, unless you are the collection agency who's trying to get in touch with the person who had the number before me.
• Tissues, because I sneeze a lot.
• Hydrocortisone cream. I am genuinely puzzled by this - how did this get here, and when did I think I would have a rash emergency (ha ha) that would require this? Obviously, it's something I must have thrown in there on my way to work one morning, when I am not at my best (obviously).
• Altoids, the curiously strong mints. Mmmmm!
• Name tag from the OLA conference. Why haven't I taken this out yet?
• Notebook and pen to write down random stray thoughts that occur to me when I'm out and about, such as things I shouldn't forget to bring with me to Sudbury, potential taglines for my blog (what do you think of "It's Dewey Decimal-riffic!"?), and the middle three books in the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series, with years of publication and ISBN so I can (eventually) order them through interlibrary loan.
• Lip stuff. Burt's Bees Beeswax Lip Balm, which is superfantastic. Body Shop Cranberry Lip Balm, which is sparkly. And a Lancome Iced Cranberry Juicy Tube, which I like but is kind of messy to put on.
• Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream to keep my cuticles moisturized. Otherwise, they look hideous.
• Buttons (the kind you sew) from Courage, My Love. They're funky, one-of-a-kind things that I forgot were there. Huh.
• receipts from half a dozen places, none of them very exciting.
• A phone number on a slip of paper. Oh dear, I don't remember getting this. I hope I was having fun when I got it. (No, wait - it's someone in the book club's phone number.)
• A government bond. Geez, I thought I had taken that out of there.
• My income tax assessment form from last year. Ah - that explains things. No, seriously - I went to the bank to do some banky things and needed those two forms.

Well, a good half of that junk is coming out. I need to take my car to Canadian Tire tomorrow, and I need to make room for books to read while I wait (hopefully not three hours).