digital cat's out of the bag

Now that my trip home looms so close, I am lapsing into my old ways. The ways of unadulterated consumerism. The ways of bag-lover-dom. Yes, before I ate, slept, lived on the floor; before I could move from one concrete room to another with a quick pack; before my spartan life as a Peace Corps volunteer, I had an affair. With bags.

Purses, clutches, shoulder bags. And my newest addition: computer cases.

Now, I happen to have a laptop which, in my life stateside, needs a swanky home. Not that I have illusions about Nouakchott life: any nice bag is sure to be torn up, stolen, lost or otherwise vanished from me. But how could I resist buttery soft cherry suede, ballistic nylon in snazzy fire red, creamy soft Rawlings leather in classic tan, chocolate with tangerine detail, or this retro number in deep coral?

So what if the cheapest of these bags costs a trip to Atar and back? Or that the most pricey is half a month's salary? These shoulder-riding beauties are calling my laptop, and frankly, she's at the phones.

ps. I should really get to work.