An Arsenal of Plastic {30 Day Challenge}

{What's in your purse?}


{DISCLAIMER: I understand that there may be some confusion as to my definition of a “purse”, but let me clarify: I am South African, and here purse = a female’s wallet.}

When I was a child I remember seeing a woman at the store with a purse that was ridiculously jam-packed with cards, knickknacks and myriad paper slips that seemed to serve no purpose other than to occupy space. The image of her sifting through her cards to find the right one to pay for her purchase stayed with me for years – for reasons I know not. Perhaps that over-stuffed purse symbolised adulthood to me – the burden of financial responsibility. Perhaps I felt I’d glimpsed something very personal – I mean, who really looks inside another person’s purse? Whatever the reason, the tableaux she left burned into my memory has always intrigued me. But it never once occurred to me that I might turn into that woman at the store.  

While my arsenal of cards, knickknacks and paper slips is not nearly so prodigious as that woman from my childhood, I cannot pretend that it is unspectacular. Most of the items in my purse are there on purpose. Some are there entirely accidentally. Some of them are useful. Most of them serve little purpose at all…

Cash.  Not much, I don’t like to carry a lot, but I will concede it has some purpose, so I try to keep some on me. For the record, I hate coppers. They serve no purpose in a country where they’re even threatening to do away with the 5c coin. I try and dump them in charity tins when I can, but so few stores have those anymore…

Plastic cash – my debit card. If you need clarification, you must be an alien from the year AD497.

Old slips. Only a few, recent purchases, and an ATM receipt. I’m quite good at discarding unnecessary slips, so nothing exciting to see here.

Loyalty cards. If I frequent a place, I will get the card and join the club. If I can get something back from the thousands I spend at a place, why not? This is probably what takes up most of the space in my purse. Clicks, Pick ‘n Pay, Exclusive Books, Body Shop, Sorbet, Edgars, Ster Kinekor, Monte Casino, Le Papier du Nord (which I seldom shop at, but they insist on giving a card to EVERYONE!), and Dischem. The last one is not actually mine – it’s linked to Kes’ dad’s name, I just use it to score him points when I do hit Dischem which, admittedly, is seldom.

Business cards. I don’t keep many in my purse – I couldn’t fit all the ones I have – but there are a few that have hung around for reasons unexplained. I like to keep cards from some of my favourite restaurants, useful contacts, my hairdresser, my doctor, my kitty’s doctor, the local police sergeant and, of course, my own should I need to give one out.

Gift cards. I really should see how much is left on these cards, they’re becoming a nuisance. I miss the days when you could get change on a gift card instead of walking around with R27-85 on a card that you know you probably will never spend, but keep just in case…

My library card. It’s been a few years since I’ve hit the local library – I’ve been blessed with an abundance of books – but I keep this just in case. One never knows when it may come in handy. Besides, it’s old school, and I like that.

My medical aid card. ESSENTIAL! If you want to end up in a decent hospital in case of emergency, you need one of these! Never underestimate the power of this little card!

An old movie ticket for the Avengers. This is from the fourth time I went to see it. I’m not even sure how it ended up in my purse… but stranger things have happened so I’ll believe it.

An admissions ticket for a fundraiser I ended up missing. Kes’ sister Simone is one of the founders of an NPO for addicts, Soul Connexions, and this was one of their fundraisers. Things fell apart last minute and we ended up missing it, but I figure at least we bought a ticket, even if it went unused.

An application slip for a postgrad merit award. I can’t bring myself to throw it away. I decided at the end of 2009 that I was going to go back to varsity to do my honours in archaeology. I was accepted and so applied for the merit award to pay for my studies. Everyone in the department applies and everyone gets it – if you crack honours entrance you qualify for the award. But I was assured by financial aid that “despite my excellent academic record, I did not qualify”. Rejection is a powerful motivator - this slip is a reminder to work even harder.

Perhaps the oddest in this collection – old South African money. The R5 and R2 notes went out of circulation in the early nineties, the tickies even earlier, but I’m a bit of a collector of old money. Or at least I was until my collection was stolen from me four years ago. The coins (dated 1944 and 1952) entered my life through a few mouthfuls of Christmas pudding when I was a young child, and only survived the robbery because I’d taken them out to show. They never made it back into the bag before it was taken. The notes are a more recent acquisition – I got them from my mother a couple years back, and they have lived in my purse ever since. I want to keep them for my kids, let them hold a piece of history in their hands. That is their only worth.

Until tomorrow!

Peace and Love!