Coffee Break: Tokyo Water Wonder Resistant Tote
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This Belroy tote looks like a great lightweight tote — and it's great that it's water resistant.
I've often preferred fabric totes like this one (in rugged fabrics like nylon or canvas) because they tend to be lighter weight than leather.
I love the thoughtful details here, like the trolley sleeve and large exterior slip pockets (one of their images shows a full newspaper going in the largest outside pocket!). It also has a padded laptop sleeve as well as a key clip.
This tote looks like a great basic — and at $169, it's a pretty budget-friendly option as well.
As of 2025, if you're hunting for a lightweight tote large enough to fit a paper resume — the perfect interview bag for ladies! — these are our favorite options…
Sales of note for 7/29/25
- Nordstrom – The Anniversary Sale is open for everyone — here's our roundup! (ends 8/3)
- Ann Taylor – 50% off wear-now styles + $50 off dresses and shoes + extra 60% off sale
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything + extra 20% off
- Boden – 25% off Mini styles (no women's sales currently)
- Eloquii – $19+ select styles + extra 45% off all sale
- J.Crew – Up to 50% off summer styles + extra 50% off sale
- J.Crew Factory – Extra 70% off clearance
- M.M.LaFleur – 25% off all previous flash sale items! Try code CORPORETTE15 for 15% off.
- Rothy's – Final Few: up to 50% off
- Spanx – Free shipping on everything
- Talbots – 25% off your entire purchase + extra 50% markdowns on top of that
I need a renal ultrasound. I have an order from my PCP. The hospital needs 5 business days to review the order and call me for scheduling – probably another 3 weeks out.
I am worried that I will progress to needing dialysis or worse before I can get an ultrasound and diagnosis. What do I do? Head to an ER? I’m calling around but everybody seems booked out weeks, and I am in a major city.
Money is no object, I will fly somewhere. Anything to avoid lifelong disability. I am so tired, can’t sleep for constant bathroom use.
Post your city. There are private ultrasound clinics in my area, and there probably are in yours, too. They do not take insurance.
Here’s one for San Jose, on the off chance you’re in the Bay Area: https://www.medpixels.com/medpixels/index.html. I don’t know if they can do the specialty ultrasound you’re looking for, but you could call and ask.
+1 to going to the ER. I needed one late on a Friday afternoon from a post-partum complication. My local ER was very understanding that sometimes they get used for imaging when a quicker appt is not available.
Honestly this. You’re in pain. Officially. Go to the ER.
Agreed.
Do you have CKD now or some recent labs indicating your kidneys are failing? An US is useful for determining if something is fluid-filled (kidney cyst) or a solid mass. IDK that you’d progress to dialysis within just weeks unless something sudden is upon you. Yes? No? Stage 4 of CKD is usually dialysis; stage 5 is kidney failure where you need a transplant. You can stay even at stage 3 and be stable if you watch your salt and eat a kidney-friendly diet.
If you go to an ER, you can just wait forever. But they will see you eventually. Your doctor could call ahead to get you in if you say you’re OK with waiting there to be seen vs weeks for an office visit at the US clinic. x
ERs don’t take prioritization calls from GPs where I am, unless the GP is referring a potential heart attack, stroke, or aneurysm (or similar) — something where minutes matter.
Do you have a Dx yet? If you are peeing a lot, it can be a bladder infection. If it is that + pain, it could be a kidney infection, which is treated with antibiotics (and IIRC does not need an US). I’m guessing that has been ruled out though?
Yes, I already took antibiotics – finished a week ago. No more UTI per updated labs.
You can try using over the counter Azo for urinary pain relief (pyridium) to help give you some relief at night, while you are finishing the work-up.
Call your GP back and ask them to make the referral stat. If they decline, it is because in their medical judgment, it is not an emergency, and that should help resolve your concerns about needing dialysis if this is delayed. (There is also a threshold where the pain itself becomes an emergency; you can evaluate that one for yourself).
How were your labs?
In this situation, I would message your PCP today and tell them you are miserable and spiraling and need help. Tell them the timeline for scheduling, and ask if they could send you a paper copy of the script over MyChart so you can go to an outside clinic. Also ask them to send the order to your hospital as urgent/stat (if they agree) to try to get you in sooner. Be honest and tell them what you are worried about and see what they say.
And then you just get on the phone every morning and afternoon, and just call. Get on all the waiting lists. Call all the major radiology scheduling offices at the hospitals in your area, and be willing to travel to any of their satellite outpatient radiology clinics. There are literally last minute cancellations every day. If you call every morning first thing, you will get in. I do this frequently, I’m sorry to say, as I live in a major city too but have a complex medical history with a lot of medical problems. The last time I had a blood clot and needed an ultrasound I did this (I didn’t want to go to the ER – I’m immunocompromised), and got an appointment that afternoon in an outpatient distant clinic in another hospital system. I did a lot of running around and am expert in calling on two phones at the same time. You will get in too.
And FYI – when your kidneys are failing, you stop peeing – not peeing all the time. Hopefully your doctor has already ordered the blood tests, urine tests and you can go to walgreens and buy UTI test strips to dip yourself if that could be the issue.
I mean, you could go to the ER, but I would warn your PCP you are going to do that and they may see if they can pull any strings to keep you from having to go that route. An ER wont be pleased, and may help you schedule as an outpatient, but may send you out with no ultrasound. They really don’t do emergency kidney ultrasounds. Renal failure is diagnosed by a blood test. Not ultrasound. And they don’t usually have an ultrasound tech in the ER to do those.
Can you share anymore about what is going on, and why you are so concerned? Do you not trust your PCP? I certainly know doctors can be a mixed bag.
I was treated for UTI 2 weeks ago. Repeat labs indicate no UTI but proteins. I am concerned about the proteins plus constant fatigue and bathroom trips plus u tract pain. And I have an extended family history of kidney failure.
None of that sounds like an urgent crisis leading to imminent kidney failure
Most causes of serious kidney disease leading to dialysis/kidney failure are caused progressive chronic disease. It sounds like this is a newer situation, yes? So if the blood tests (not the urine tests – the blood tests. Did you get blood tests?) look ok that is a good sign. So one step at a time.
Keep calling. You’ll get in.
I’m still a little confused by your story. Did you have a UTI 2 weeks ago, with a proven urine culture showing which bacteria was responsible? Did the doctor treat you with an appropriate antibiotic targeting that bacteria? For how long? Sometimes UTIs are only partially treated and come back, slowly with time. Or fast.
This does not warrant an emergent renal US. Just keep your outpatient scheduled ultrasound within the next few weeks.
Renal failure is diagnosed on blood work, not US anyways.
Quick correction: it’s not accurate that you always stop peeing when your kidneys fail. Some people with complete kidney failure (including on dialysis) still make urine, it’s just that their kidneys have lost the ability to filter out waste products, so those waste products accumulate and need to be removed by dialysis. I don’t think this is what’s happening for the OP, but wanted to correct this misconception.
Hey, I’m a physician. I wonder if you might have a bladder stone, with this much urinary irritation. It can be utter misery, though luckily it’s not life-threatening. You might see if you can get an urgent referral to a urologist, either referred from your PCP (if your health insurance requires it) or self-referred. Sometimes they can do a quick bladder scan in the office and see the stone, or get you scheduled for a cystoscopy to extract a stone. If your PCP checked bloodwork and your kidney function is normal, then dialysis isn’t something to worry about right now, even if you have a family history of kidney failure. If all of those options are a dead end, you could also request an X-ray, which can usually be done urgently. Not all types of stones are seen on X-ray, but if you do see one, that may help ease your mind earlier and get you started down the treatment path.
Thank you (and all who replied!). I will stop panicking.
Truly appreciate this community.
You’re very welcome. Keep us posted! I hope you’re able to find relief soon.
omg this. I ended up in and out of different dr. offices for 3 months with urinary irritation and on-and-off pain in that area – had a kidney and bladder ultrasound, urine tests, blood work – and no answers. I was in pelvic floor PT to try to do something about it. Imagine my surprise when a freaking stone came out when I went to pee before bed one night. All symptoms disappeared within hours.
Also, any chance you have an inconveniently placed fibroid? Flagging as something you could ask about if other things aren’t identified. Good luck!
It sounds like the doctors are piping in here, so I hope that gives you some reassurance.
I’m sick (maybe COIVD) and am sad about it. How do you guys make the best out of being sick? I resent not being productive at work, not being able to go to the office, not being able to work out. I dislike not knowing when this will be over. How to make less this less rough?
Well, you’re going to get old and this is going to happen more often. Instead of resenting when your health is temporarily compromised, perhaps focusing on gratitude that it is temporary would help.
This isn’t a given. I started masking in the pandemic and get sick less often than I used to.
I guarantee that you will encounter aches, pains, and illness more often gradually as you age. I don’t mean communicable diseases; I mean your joints, arteries, and cells will start to turn on you sooner or later. That is fundamental to getting closer to death.
Oh yeah those other kinds of issues feel really different to me. Though I actually have fewer of those issues at my current age than when I was younger (thanks to diagnosis and treatment that wasn’t available when I was young), but I have no illusions about aging.
Still, infections are different; they’re acute, and if you can’t fight them off, you’re going to die a lot sooner than later. To me they feel different too.
Reframe your thoughts – your body works hard for you 99% of the time. Now it needs rest and it is your job to get it that rest. Watch those shows you never have time for, read a book, soak in a bath. Treat yourself the way you would take care of a sick child with a bad fever.
I like this.
I don’t know that I’ve ever felt resentful about being sick, exactly, but I did used to try to white knuckle it and work through it and always spent the day feeling sorry for myself because I wanted to rest and felt that I couldn’t. Lately, if I’m sick to where I need to lie down, I give myself permission to log off and take the rest I need. I fight the urge to feel guilty about reading a book or watching TV between naps. My coworkers can cover for me just as I will gladly cover for them when they need it. Remind yourself that you’ll most likely feel better tomorrow than you do today.
Rest as much as you can so that it passes faster. Also, go to urgent care. I get antivirals to help move it along when I have COVID.
This. Get tested and treated. People with health insurance don’t have to just guess what we have and wait for it to pass in 2025.
You just suck it up and know eventually it will pass. Getting sick is part of life. And yes, gratitude that you generally have good health and feeling poor is a rare occurrence for you.
Embrace it. Sleep. Drink drink drink. Take your antivirals, tylenol/ibuprofen around the clock (with food) so you get healthier sooner. Cough that junk out of your lungs. Eat nutritious but simple comfort foods. And watch all the good/bad/favorite TV shows.
Be grateful that this to will pass quickly. Make sure you get your COVID vaccine in October (3 months after infection), and your Flu shot as soon as they are available. Remind yourself to up your handwashing game outside the house, with hand sanitizer in the car/at work, and consider wearing masks occasionally in crowded spaces if getting sick bothers you so much.
Sadly, your life could change in an instant at anytime. Give someone a call today in your family who gives you comfort.
And maybe think about whether your mindset is in the healthiest place.
Can you frame it like rest is the quickest path to healing ? When I’m sick I’m pretty good at dropping everything non-urgent to focus on rest because I want to feel better as soon as possible. Feel better soon!
I see it as your body needs a break, and you should provide it that. Embrace whatever makes you feel better – last time I was sick I didn’t feel like eating anything and literally ate ice cream. That did help because at least I had consumed some calories then.
Do something else you can enjoy, like laying around in bed all day reading or watching movies.
Malaise can be a symptom in itself, so recognizing that this feeling is just part of being sick, and it will pass soon. For some reason I find that realization helpful.
+1
I get a special little “I’m having a sick day” treat – a show I’ve been meaning to watch, a have I’ve been meaning to play, a book I’ve been meaning to read. And I’ve always got one locked and loaded, since you never know when you’ll need it. Been sitting on a collection of Star Trek Next Gen DVDs for a couple of months now.
I do this too. Sometimes I’ll set aside a show that I think I will actually enjoy more when I’m sick.
I’m developing a migraine and very annoyed about it so I get you
What’s your vice right now?
Daily takeout and press-on nails.
Ice cream. Send help.
All out of help, but I do have five pints of Ben & Jerry’s Half Baked for ya.
If you need motivation, I dropped my LDL cholesterol 30 points by doing nothing but cutting out pints of ice cream in the home. I can still have ice cream if I’m out, but now I don’t binge eat full pints at a time.
Didn’t you read that article about how folks who it ice cream actually tend to live longer?
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/analysis-is-it-actually-healthy-to-eat-ice-cream-heres-what-the-evidence-says
There is good stuff in ice cream. Some protein, calcium, filling fat.
It’s certainly better than my chips.
I love this question. Probably wine. Trying to drink less, so I now only drink wine that I really love, which is more expensive.
Bourbon.
All the NYT games. I can’t start my day until I’ve reached “genius” in Spelling Bee.
Same! Sometimes at midnight as soon as it drops on the west coast.
Yasso frozen yogurt bars. Diet Dr Pepper.
Ditto on the Yasso bars. They’ve gotten stupidly expensive in my area but were recently on sale so I stocked up and have been eating at least one every day.
I love when my Costco has the 12-pack of Yasso bars. So much cheaper than the grocery store.
Yasso bars are new to me. Which flavors do you recommend?
Coffee and mint chocolate chip are the two I have on repeat. No surprise since those are also fav ice cream flavors.
Are you me, because same. (Also, Yasso bars are literally the only thing I consistently know the price of and can track when it is going up or down at the grocery store. Currently it’s down)
Taking time off of work. An hour here and an hour there adds up but it feels so nice to leave a little early in the summer.
That’s not a vice, that’s a good thing!
Chik-fil-a with a cherry Coke.
Thank you for supporting my local economy.
And on the other hand, I never eat Chik-fil-a because *politics*
I do like my Popeye’s fried chicken spicy sandwich. And such a bargain.
A stupid little organizing/sorting game. I’m in a phase where there’s a lot of gray choices and hard long-term tasks, and it is so satisfying at the end of the day to do a game where there are right answers and the challenge is getting things in order as quickly as possible.
Palomas
Spending inordinate amounts of time on FBMP searching for decor for my newly-renovated home. I am hooked, but also, I’ve gotten great stuff: rugs, light fixtures, furniture. It is such a treasure hunt, and I will be sad when said home is fully-furnished and decorated. My second vice is cornering anyone who will listen and telling them about all the great stuff I’ve found on FBMP.
I too am a fbmp addict
True vice I should quit: social media
Vice I don’t really want to quit even a little: coffeehouse coffees, Coke, chocolate
doomscrolling, ugh. Also, sporcle puzzle games.
Masturbation
Daily naps
Buying plants.
My phone. Right bank Bordeaux (not drinking it because it’s summer but I keep stocking up on it.)
Browsing subreddits.
Same.
booze and MJ
Diet Coke.
Fanfic
A woman after my own heart
Slash fanfic!
Doomscrolling.
Has anyone had success using the Bright Method of time management? I’ve starting listening to Kelly Nolan’s podcast and like her approach. Wondering if anyone has found it helpful/sustainable in the long run.
The starvation crisis in Gaza is devastating.
Yes, it is. I’ve posted many comments about how Hamas is to blame for the war and destruction, but I agree that starvation is devastating. Israel needs to allow UN aid stations now, EVEN IF Hamas could divert aid. Hamas doesn’t care at all about people starving, but the rest of us do and Israel has a legal and moral obligation to stop it.
There is not credible evidence that Hamas diverts any significant amount of aid. And who cares if they do.
People should indeed care if a terrorist group siphons aid from the population it purports to be fighting for.
The best way to address this is to flood the Strip with aid so a little diversion matters not. But we’ve never been willing to let the Palestinians do anything but barely survive. Aid has been choked for over a decade, not just two and a half years.
Sorry – 22 months
Turning a blind eye because it’s the terrorists’ fault is the same as not caring.
There are terrorists on both sides of this conflict.
Looking for suggestions on how to make donations to charities without getting on email and text message lists. I don’t normally give out my phone number but I recently went to a charity auction and they got my phone from my ticket purchase. Maybe that’s a tale of being more cautious. But I also get a ridiculous amount of email soliciting contributions, trying to make me angry, trying to make me sad….whatever it takes to get money from me. I try to unsub from them, but shouldn’t there be a way for me to donate without getting deluged?
I don’t know but I wish there was! It makes me hesitate to donate to a new org because I don’t want to get tons of mail, spam emails, and texts making me feel terrible
There are really two options – do it anonymously, or get added to their list. Donor lists are really really important to charities/non-profits for tracking. Not to mention that previous donors are your most likely future donors.
Donate anonymously. I do it through a donor advised fund, but you can probably do it anonymously other ways too. But this is definitely one reason I mostly give to a set list of organizations on a monthly or yearly basis and don’t randomly give to other groups. I donated $20 to the ACLU back in the early 2000s and I still regularly get mail from them, despite moving at least 10 times since then. They’ve wasted far more money than I’ve ever given them, which has convinced me they don’t deserve another penny from me.
A lot of time, grant funds are tied to unique donors and the continued solicitation/giving. I don’t know about the ACLU’s current financial status, but definitely don’t assume they don’t need it. For them, or any other non-profit that updates your address, etc.
That’s REALLY sloppy donor database management on their part. I would never include someone who gave 20 years ago in a mailing!
This is how charities get donations renewed; it’s just part of what works. Many donors also like to know how their money is being used and get annoyed if they never hear from a charity except when it is asking for money. (I am a fundraiser for a nonprofit). You can make fully anonymous gifts through a donor-advised fund. For an auction, there is probably no good option.
Google voice number might work for this sort of stuff.
I have a fake number that I use any time someone doesn’t really need to get in touch with me. (It is someone’s fax number, so no one else is getting spammed with my junk calls or texts.) That helps, although it is not infallible.
This is making me flash back to the early ’00s, when we had a fax machine at home (connected to a land line, of course) and we used to get spam faxes.
You can donate anonymously through Charity Navigator: https://www.charitynavigator.org/donor-basics/tools-for-giving/giving-basket/
I donate from my Donor Advised Fund at Fidelity, and donate anonymously when I don’t want to be contacted. Easy.
If I get too many emails, I simply unsubscribe or block.
Or I actually make a phone call (!) and ask them to take me off of all of the mailings. That always works.
+1 that asking to be taken off lists usually works.
I work in fundraising in the charitable sector. The best way to not get contacted is to donate anonymously through a third party platform. We get very little information about those donors other than amounts. The downside is the third party charges a small fee to process those donations.
Do Donor Advised Funds charge a fee?
No, any fees are paid by the donor, not the recipient charity.
Yes, they do. https://www.fidelitycharitable.org/giving-account/what-it-costs.html
Charity Navigator lets you give to a bunch of organizations and stay anonymous and you still get the tax docs. You also can research orgs there.
If you are on Apple products, Hide My Email is a lifesaver. I use it any time I have to enter an email address and don’t want to give a real one. I can get the immediate tax receipt (or more commonly, the discount or coupon code), and can then shut it down.
If you are a federal employee, you can donate via the Combined Federal Campaign, and your name and contact information won’t be provided to the recipient charity except upon your affirmative request. That’s one of the major benefit of donating through the CFC, the ability to donate anonymously and avoid getting on “a list.”
I’m sure this has been beat to death, but I’ll ask again – are Rothy’s worth it?
I really love a pointed toe shoe, so The Point (or The Point 2?) are the ones I’m looking at in particular. If you don’t like Rothy’s, other pointed flats suggestions are very welcome.
Used to be yes. Now there are lots of other brands that are similar for a lot less money — Aerosoles, Vivaia, I’ve seen them at Target and Old Navy even.
I just got my first pair of Aerosoles–the styling has gotten better or I’ve aged into them. I got some summer wedges and like them a lot.
I feel this way about Dr. Scholl’s, although not for flats. I’m pretty close to buying some loafers from them though. I just checked to see if they had any good pointy toe flats and I’m surprised how much I like their sneakers too.
Aerosoles – they look like ballet flats to me…am I overlooking the pointed toe versions? For some reason I strongly dislike round ballet flats but I really love a point toe.
I was curious about Vivaia! Wasn’t sure how legit they were.
I like them for very long days (conferences, commutes, etc.) but they’re really not dressy enough for suit-adjacent attire. If that’s fine or if your office is more casual then yes, they’re worth it. I also have weird duck feet so the shape works for me but if you have wide feet it might be uncomfortable.
I’m in an informal office most of the time, so that would work. Specifically I was wondering about conferences so that’s solid you wear them there. Normal width feet, so that’s not an issue.
i have a pair of the point 2 – got as a gift and surprised by how much I love them.
I’d suggest considering them in a fun color – they’re definitely business casual to me so I like a pop of color with those looks/with jeans vs wearing black fabric flats with an outfit that would look better with a leather/dressier shoe, if that makes sense.
I haven’t tried any of the dupes yet, not sure if I will or just wait for a sale at rothys.
no support, pinch your toes, no padding. waste of money. the drivers look cute, but the points kill me.
In terms of things to grab in the sale section if you can this time of year – a formal-ish outfit to wear when it’s 95 degrees and you need to be outside. I am so grateful I’ve got a few washable dress options for the absolute nightmare walking around midtown NY is going to be tomorrow.
What is this magical outfit? I had a job interview in Midtown during the last heat wave and just about floated out of the office on a sea of sweat.
It’s not so much a set outfit as it is a few characteristics – A-line so the fabric doesn’t cling, ideally washable so I know that if I sweat I can at least launder it easily, and a fabric weave that won’t immediately show sweat (thicker cottons, poplin, seersucker, etc.)
This dress is older but has been a godsend in summer:
https://www.brooksbrothers.com/striped-stretch-cotton-seersucker-dress/WX00457.html?srsltid=AfmBOopdiHOokOhkRxhvR_LQS7XX8ZTJDYn_BnND0BH37hv-JPeQ-EB5