My work as a freelance musician involves a bit of travel. Not always long trips and not always frequently but enough so that I keep a bag with all my electronic (and toiletries, but that isn't so interesting!) pack and ready to add clothes and leave. It would be easier if I wasn't such an electronic junky, but when I travel I do like to have my toys with me!

I also like to have a bag mostly ready to go, as I tend to do the packing quickly, and if some of the stuff is prepacked, then I know I can just grab the bag and hopefully the right instrument on the way out the door. Also, I have turned up to a international job with no violin bow... that was embarassing... It also reminds me of the times we had a go bag, ready for when my wife was pregnant!

So, as you see above, this is my trusty Caterpillar brand little suitcase. Good for about a week's worth of clothing if I pack well and am not too fashion concious (ha ha, I'm never fashion conscious!). When I first got this bag many years ago, I thought, well if Caterpillar make these mining trucks, then maybe they know how to make a decent bag! So, this bag has survived countless trips in the hold (my violin takes up my cabin baggage allowance) and now is down to it's last working zip. Soon, it will be time for a replacement, but until then, I am super happy with this piece of hardware!

Pexels

Now, nothing says nerd (or anal retentive) more than a neatly packed selection of cables in a Cocoon holder. Most of the things needed for an extended trip with electronics is here (the rest is in my messenger bag).

Marked as present:

1. An Anker 5 port charger (with 2 USB micro and 2 USB C cables)
2. Electric toothbrush charger
3. OnePlus Dash charger (and cable)
4. Portable hard drive (with movies, as well as music that I need to work on)
5. Cute pouch with various usb thumb drives, extra headphone in-ear bits, small cables and other knick-knacks.

Missing for this last trip:

1. Multi-country wall socket adapter.

Ahhhhh. easy to just take the pack and go!

However, this is the true star of the show. An humble powerboard...

So many hotels were designed in the late 18h century (it seems), when people only had one (if that) device to plug into the wall. And often they were conveniently placed on the opposite side of the room where the dangerous EM fields generated by rapidly alternating voltages wouldn't cause your brain to fry whilst you were sleeping... I'm sure that was the reason.

So, this humble yet mighty star allows me to plug all the required devices (I usually also have a laptop with me as well!) and keep them within arms reach of the bed.

Krtek approves!