We are commuters

Maggie,

I also keep my phone and wallet on me, as opposed to in my bag. In my bag, aside from the face-wipes and snacks, I have a little bottle of hand sanitizer, a train schedule, a pack of tissues, three pens (including one red pen in case I need to do any spontaneous editing), a book (currently Insomnia by Stephen King), one rubber band, an umbrella, my iPod, a tin of breath mints, and a stiff folder in case I want to keep something from getting creased. I keep meaning to add a travel pack of aspirin.

I just went to HR to set up my employment. They added dental insurance while I was away, which is great. And I set the beneficiary of my life insurance to Chris (65%), my parents (20%) and my brother (15%). (If I die peacefully they don't get as much as if my body is ripped apart.) When I filled out the same form over three years ago, in a moment of panic over revealing my gayness, I skipped Chris entirely and gave everything to my brother. It weighed on me for years. If I died, what would Chris think when he saw I didn't give him anything? So I'm glad that's cleared up. The HR guy gave the typical oh-my-you're-gay beat of surprise when he read my card, but I don't care about that anymore.

Hope your day is going well.

Ben