It Finally Happened

Someone finally asked me about my ultra cool Umbra wallet. At my neighborhood Subway/gas station, I was paying for my footlong Cold Cut Combo on Monterey Cheddar when someone said, "Hey, my man, where'd you get that little credit card case?"
I told him where I got it and he nodded as if to say, "You, my man, are cool and my life will now be better because I intend to follow your sleek example." Or something.

Anyway, a while ago I decided I was a little too George Costanza in terms of my wallet practices. I had receipts, photos, punch cards, and video rental membership cards sticking out of a hunk of leather the size of a small ottoman. It was too much and I decided to downsize. I'd seen Umbra cases in stores before and really liked them because I'm fan of clever cases and containers of all sorts (especially metal ones for some reason. I collect Altoids tins even though I hate Altoids.) I decided it was time to take the plunge. I bought the card-sized case for six or seven bucks at the DIA gift shop and transferred all the essential stuff into it: debit card, driver's license, student ID, library card.



(Mine's black instead of red.)

And since then, I have largely been cash-free. I may carry a five around in my pocket or whatever, but generally, it's all about the cards. I've decided cash is so 20th century - old news, my friends. This attitude, while very forward thinking, is very annoying to Suzanne when it comes to provide the girls' lunch money or buy a .99 bag of chips at the gas station. All she wants is a cheap snack and all I do is shrug my shoulders in a "what can I do? I'm a creature of the 21st century" sort of way. I think my 21st century-ness makes her want to go all medieval on me sometimes.

Anyway, back to my cool non-wallet wallet. The case fits into my front pocket and is completely unobtrusive. It's a darn sight better than the giant-wallet-panty-line many men have. Just say no to the worn-out square on the right back pocket of your pants, my brethren!

So for the last few months, I've been paying for stuff by taking out my sleek metal case, pulling out a card, sliding it, replacing the card, and then letting the elastic cord that attaches the lid click everything back into place with a satisfying "snap!" Everywhere I've gone, I've expected someone to say, "Hey, that's kinda cool. Where did you get it?" It only took six months but someone finally recognized my 21st century cool. Now I'm happy.