WIYB with Joanna Yong, 28

We cross our little hearts and swear that this has got to be the best WIYB entry ever! Joanna is the perfect candidate for WIYB; every item in her bag is so cute, and interesting that we wished they were ours!

A 28 year-old civil servant, Joanna counts diving as her biggest passion along with nudibranches (a type of underwater snail), Patrick from Spongebob Squarepants, and good minced pork noodles.

Picking shoulder bags as her favourite style, one of Joanna’s criteria when it comes to choosing bags is it has to be light. She picks Madison as her favourite design from bagspace.sg

What’s in Joanna’s Bag:

• Bag organizer

It’s helped to keep everything I have organized such that I don’t forget anything when I change bags. It has many compartments, both inside and out, which means all my items are always accessible to me. I think it’s great that the interior of this organizer is light-colored because it makes finding things much easier! My mum saw it and demanded that I get one for her too, after she saw how convenient it was.

• Book of Stuff

This is my notebook, which I use to jot down ideas, budget for my travels, and anything interesting I see. It’s from Moleskin, and it’s the only brand of notebook I use because they are the hardiest!

• Handphone Pouch

This has become the default souvenir pouch too, from the many dingly-dangles on the strap. This has been with me for about 4 years, and I like that it has a zip and long strap so that I can loop it round my wrist when I go for lunch.

• Coloured pens

When I saw these pens, I immediately bought 4! Their slim shapes fit in perfectly into my bag organizer, so it was a no-brainer. They’ve been super useful when I attend unexpected meetings, and I like to use colours other than black so that my notes stand out.

• Perfume vial / solid perfume

I got these when I travelled to New York last year. Very handy for freshing up when I have to meet friends after work.

• Recyclable bag

This was all the rage in Hong Kong when I went there in October 2010. I keep it with me so that I’ll remind myself to stop taking plastic bags. Save the Earth!

• Raybans

This is a must-have in my bag, especially during lunch times. I got these at a really good price too, from my optometrist friend It makes all the difference under the blinding sun.

• Thumbdrive

I’ve found it extremely useful to carry my own personal thumbdrive around with me. It contains mostly photos and some work stuff too. Helps that it’s super cute. It’s butt lights up when it is being plugged in!

• Wallet

This was a recent purchase from Hong Kong. I bought it because it had a nice cover, and is big enough to contain all my “barang barang” (things for the uninitiated). It even has a slot inside for SD memory cards. I especially liked what the designer put inside “Holding your sh*t”.

Q) What is one item you can’t leave home without?

My wallet!

Q) Tell us one thing we don’t know about you

I fell off a water buffalo when I was volunteering in Cambodia.

Q) Describe yourself in one sentence

Outspoken with a mind of my own.