What’s in My Inventory? | Bear Blog Carnival
When I first chose Bear Blog as my blogging platform, I didn’t realize that it had such a vibrant and wholesome community (discover other Bear Bloggers). I saw a Bear Blog carnival going on for Nov 2025 (hosted by Absurd Pirate) and I’m certainly not going to miss it!
The prompt—
I work from home most days (unfortunately, that might change) and below are the stuff I take with me when I head to the office (studio).
Backpack—
A 41L Wandrd PRVKE camera backpack. I first bought one back in 2018 when I was a photographer, which got replaced via warranty (kudos to Wandrd for a surprisingly easy process) due to a worn out zipper. I haven’t done photography for several years now but the backpack functions extremely well for everyday carry!
TCard—
The ID for University of Toronto (U of T) students, staff and faculty. I need this to enter the studio, but it also gives me full access to U of T’s ginormous library collection and resources—it’s one of the best perks of working at U of T!
16-in M1 Max MacBook Pro—
My main computer. Got it on launch day back in 2021 and it’s the best computer I’ve ever used. You don’t have to like Apple but you gotta admit they nailed their Apple Silicon line of computers.
Specs:
- M1 Max chip
- 64GB unified memory
- 4TB SSD
140W MBP charger or 27,650mAh Anker Prime Power Bank—
I bring one or the other as needed. Heading to the office just for the AM? I bring neither. Full day? The MBP charger. Heading to Second Cup (Canada’s Starbucks equivalent, except with much better coffee) for a work date with my wife? The Anker power bank so we can both juice up as needed.
Trackball—
If I’ll be in the office all day, I bring my thumb trackball, ProtoArc EM01 (read my review). I was a mouse user like a normal human for the longest time, but then I got really serious with ergonomics. I use the cursor a lot for media production tasks, and I do NOT want to develop the carpel tunnel syndrome.
Finger-operated trackballs really didn’t work for me because it was too hard to get used to using the thumb for clicking and the rest of the fingers for navigating the cursor, even after weeks of usage.
With the thumb-operated trackball, I didn’t need any transition period—I got used to it right away.
AirPods 3rd Gen & AirPods Pro 2nd Gen—
Yes, I often carry both because I use the AirPods Pro for their active noise-cancelling during the commute, and the regular AirPods when I’m just working at the desk in the studio. I don’t like wearing the AirPods Pro for too long due to the in-ear tips.
iPhone 13 Pro Max—
No case. I repeat, I never use a case with my phone! This seems to always shock people, to the point where I’ve had strangers comment on my phone’s lack of a case on multiple occasions.
The design of the phone is part of what I paid for when I bought the phone, and I’m not going to cover that up. I’ve also never cracked a phone’s screen so maybe that’s why I’m “bold” to go case-less.
Apple Watch Series 10—
Easily my most used tech besides my phone. I use it to set reminders, set timers while cooking, keep track of fermentation time when I’m making sourdough bread, check weather, do calculations and conversions, and unlock my MacBook because I use it in clamshell mode (fingerprint reader no longer accessible).
Fun facts: I don’t actually pay attention to the activity rings much, and my Siri is set to Cantonese, even though my dominant language is English.
Titan security key—I secure my most important accounts with this security key and so I carry it with me always; otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to log into them.
Two keys & an AirTag—
One key for the current apartment, and the other from my old place that I moved out of—I carry it because it’s a reminder that despite it being a terrible place to live in, I survived, and I hit many big milestones in life while living there. It’s a reminder of my humble beginning as an immigrant in Canada.
Wallet—It has my driver’s license, my health insurance card from the government (universal healthcare hell yeah), my health insurance card from work, and some credit cards and debit cards in case Apple Wallet malfunctions (which it has never). It has an AirTag.
Tissue packs—
This is an old habit I have from when I was living in China, where washrooms in schools and public didn’t have toilet paper, so you always had to bring your own.
I rarely need to use the tissue packs in general, but having some with me just brings me some peace of mind when I’m out and about—it can come in handy in other scenarios like if I spill something.
40oz water bottle—
With warm water. Yup, just like your typical Asian auntie. My mom always told me drinking cold water is bad for you (gotta love traditional Chinese medicine), but I insisted on only drinking cold water from the tap (never iced, though) because—well, why would I listen to my mom?! However, just a couple of years ago, I started drinking warm water when I got sick during winter. Then, after recovering, I started drinking warm water when I was in the office because it was always so cold (still is).
After a while, I ended up preferring drinking warm water over cold because I find that it helps me drink more water throughout the day. In the winter, it’s really nice to drink something warm, especially if I’ve been out in the old.
Umbrella—
I always carry it, all year round, even if we are deep into the winter in Canada—sometimes the snow can be coming down so densely that if you don’t use an umbrella, you’d be soaked! And I have a lot of products in my hair!
Two fabric bags, a bunch of produce bags & a bunch of elastics—I go grocery shopping with my backpack multiple times a week. The elastics are for securing the clamshell case that raspberries, blueberries and strawberries come in.
Lip balm—For my perpetually chapped lips.
Lens cloth—For my damn self-dirtying spectacles.
That’s it from me. Don’t forget to check out other bloggers’ entries for this carnival!
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