Thanks for the comment!
The desperation meter should be stopped when you pause the game (opening the options menu), opening the bag won't pause it, however.
I'm thinking of adding more locations around the time I start developing roommate interaction or after I'm done with the room features.
I'm not going to personally add a messing option because I'm not into it and wouldn't be able to make scenarios / dialogues about it, but the project is open-source and it should be possible for someone to mod it.