First of all, I do not carry a man-purse, I carry 1) either a beat-up shoulder bag whose plastic strap bindings squeak when I walk or a bigger shoulder bag that looks nice but weighs a bit much considering you’re going to add a load to its capacious interior, and 2) a wallet that is, I’ll have you know, European. Straight from Prague.

In the latter I currently have: 27 USD, five ATM receipts, a driver’s license with a really stupid picture they snapped before I could make my usual moronically happy face at the camera, a postal tracking receipt whose purpose I have forgotten, a Qwest phone card, a Barnes & Noble membership card, a Blockbuster card I rarely use, a Hollywood Video card I don’t think I’ve used in four years, a copy card for townies confronting university photocopiers, a student ID that serves the same purpose for students, two grocery store “Very Important Customer” discount cards, the ATM card that generates all those damn receipts, and — in another pocket — two auto repair shop cards, my car insurance card, medical insurance card, three credit cards, one department store credit card, a AAA registration card, several business cards of mine in dire need of redesign, a voter registration card, a battered and ancient Red Cross donor card I keep around solely to remind EMTs of my blood type since I can no longer give after long experience traipsing around Eastern Europe, a marrow donor card, my former orthopedist’s card in case I have to recall how to contact him after surgery more than a year ago, some other guy’s card, and two auto registrations.

Sorry you asked?

You might imagine all this makes for a rather fat man-wallet. It does. I am happy to use it for eye-catching purposes by stowing it in my right front pants pocket. The only downside is having to explain why the large lump in my pants is lop-sided and rectangular. :-7

And the last time I was in The Netherlands was in 2002 or so.

Great post btw :)

It had better not be horsemeat, however.