The Interpreter's bag

Let's face it:  Interpreters have a lot of stuff.  In fact, some of us are notorious for it.  I don't mean my closet full of black shirts or twenty pairs of cute, but somewhat impractical, shoes.  I'm talking about what I carry around in my bag everyday.  Interpreters are like the maid of honor on the wedding day- we need to be prepared for anything and everything.

So what's exactly is in my interpreter bag?
-business cards
-Smartrip card
-wallet (including photo ID)
-cell phone
-lint roller (a necessity for an interpreter with a pet)
-notebook
-pens
-chapstick
-lipgloss
-Kindle (a fairly recent addition)
-sunglasses
-umbrella
-water bottle
-snacks
-lotion
-hand sanitizer
-nail file
-deodorant
-Advil
-Prescription migraine medicine
-Rolaids
-gum/mints
-Dr. Scholl's rub relief stick
-eye drops
-hair ties
-bobby pins
-Tampons
-tweezers
-Tide to-go mini
-floss
-nasal decongestant
-floss
-toothpaste
-Neosporin "Neo to go!"

(Okay, so a few items have went missing when I got a new bag for Christmas, but they'll be back!)

And I'm sure you're wondering: if this is what is in your bag, what is in your car?

Probably not as much as expected, since I often ride the metro to work.  Sage interpreter advice recommends keeping an extra change of clothes in your car, which I don't have at the moment since I don't have enough professional attire at the moment.  But, you will find a map, GPS, cell phone charger, hair brush, mp3 player charger, pillow, pens, CDs, quarters for parking and tolls...

This might seem like overkill, but several items were added after I found myself needing something that I didn't have.  As a I mentioned before, interpreters needed to be prepared for anything.  I always figure it's better to be safe than sorry!