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Looking for the Perfect Messenger Bag - Otaku Style

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Last weekend, I had to retire my Fullmetal Alchemist messenger bag. The plastic shoulder strap adjuster thingie broke enough to poke me. いったい！ This is my messenger bag:

So I've started to look for the perfect anime messenger bag. So many choices. My criteria is as follows:

  • ample pockets

  • design: cool enough that otaku would say "Sugoi", safe enough for my students to see and grown up enough that other adults wouldn't say, "Aren't you a little old for this?"

  • sturdy design

  • from a show I like

  • decent price

  • decent shipping

I could simply replace my FMA bag with the FullMetal Alchemist Brotherhood: Flamel Cross Messenger Bag:

It's not as nice as my retired one though. This Soul Eater: Meisters Anime Messenger Bag is a serious contender. It has the entire gang: Maka & Soul, Death the Kid with Liz & Patty and let's not forget Black Star & Tsubaki:

However, the Code Geass: Lelouch Geass Symbol Anime Messenger Bag is pretty cool - and it doesn't look childish:

Choices. Choices. I've only just begun. I'd like to see if there are messenger bag designs for some of the more current anime, such as Hyouka, Accel World, and Sword Art Online. One that's for the ladies. Lyfa and Asuna are cool characters, but I'd much prefer to have a bag with Kirito on it - or the main cast.

I'll have to check out my other main places for otaku gear: Right Stuf, CD Japan andJList. I've been meaning to check out AmiAmi too. See what I mean about so many choices?

Sheet Music Plus and Passive Income Streams

I like to shop locally whenever possible. However, sometimes it's just much more economical and just gosh darn convenient to shop online. Digital orders are just a couple of clicks away. You see with the ads on the side that I'm affiliated with Amazon. If you check out the ads, you'll see that I'm actually able to tailor them so that you will see music related items. Teachers, you can do this on your studio website and/or your blog, providing that your account allows you to host ads (for instance, Wordpress.com blogs don't allow ads but Wordpress.org blogs do).

Now, there is another joint in town though that sells a great selection of print and digital sheet music, learning aids and other musical goodies - Sheetmusicplus.com , This is the place that Rideau Music directed their customers to when Gill brothers closed their doors last year.

One of the cool things is that music teachers can create music lists for their students. Anything to make it easier for our busy piano parents to buy the right materials, I say. Some of my piano parents already shop online for sheet music.

Here are my lists:

Fellow music teachers, if you sign up for a teacher account, you can register for their Easy Rebates for Music Teachers program. You can earn 8% cash back on your sheet music purchases. Not only that, by creating music lists and sharing them with your students, family and friends, you will earn a little bit with every sale.

If you're looking for an additional income stream that requires very little effort, check this out. Just bear in mind that as with any passive income stream online, it does take time to build up your presence. You will need to go in an occasionally tweak the keywords and update your lists. You will also need to remember to periodically share the lists with your network of family, friends and students via print, email, your website and/or social networking.

Good luck and happy shopping!