concerns about coins

last Monday, I bought myself a new purse. I’d been thinking that the one I’d had for 9 years could last a little longer, even though I couldn’t close it anymore, which meant that my credit cards often managed to escape and enjoy a life of freedom swanning around in my bag. however, after I tried to pay at officeworks with my medicare card instead of my (albeit similarly-coloured) american express, I decided a new purse was definitely required. my cards' halcyon days were over.

my excellent new purse is great with lots of places for my wayward cards and a see-through bit where you can put a photo of your loved one. naturally my sushi train loyalty card occupies that position.

however, one difficulty has presented itself: my new purse has not one but two zip-up sections for coins. I knew before buying that this would cause some consternation as decision-making would be required, but decided to challenge myself.

after purchasing, I took my new purse home and began to transfer the items from my old purse. I went along merrily, hoping that if I just ignored the zip pocket issue it might go away.

but of course it did not. and after all the other items were safely in their new home, I finally had to face the problem head on:

where would I put the coins?

I worried about it for quite a long time. it seemed there were pros and cons whichever way I turned.

if I put the coins on the inside, where they would be next to their friends the notes, the purse might not close easily when the pocket was full.

but coins in the outside section could create an awkward bulge, thereby ruining the pleasing asthetics. however, it would allow the coins a bit of privacy and time to themselves without having to make polite chit-chat with the slightly boorish visa card all day.

just when I was beginning to think that no decision was going to be made and I would therefore have to carry my coins around in my hand every time I went out, it hit me: I could try one pocket out for a while and see if it worked. and if it didn’t, I could make a change.

and that’s exactly what I did!

I placed the coins in one zip-up section, did some trial shopping, and when it proved a bit awkward, I MOVED THEM TO THE OTHER SECTION. there were no sirens or flashing lights to alert others to my initial error, and the purse shop people didn’t come and say 'excuse me you’ll need to give that purse back now if you can't make correct decisions about zip-up sections immediately'.

in fact, I would be so bold as to say that this 'trial and error' approach could perhaps be applied to other situations as well.

lessons learned:
1. change will not kill me (pun most definitely intended)
2. officeworks does not accept medicare.