Today I'll be sharing with you about my external brain a.k.a. my little thinking notebook. I've stopped keeping a diary which is filled with bags of emotion after my teenage year. Now an adult for the most part of my life, I've decided to have an adult like little thinking notebook instead. So above is how I store all my great thoughts and ideas in! I kid you not! These are the tools of my trade! And it started in 2011 and I have been using this method ever since. And you know what's so wonderful about them? They make me happy just looking at them! So let me tell you in more detail about them.
First, the tools. They are all little cute notebook which I buy whenever I see them on sale, in book store, at some china looking stall etc. Each cost me sometimes as little as RM1 each. And each book can last me 3 years! Yes, 3 years! Apparently I don't do much thinking! Hahaha. And to write in them, I use a fountain pen. Not just any fountain pen, but a Hello Kitty fountain pen! I read once that in order to make your thoughts be meaningful, you should hand write them down instead of typing them. I totally agree. I keep all my diaries and little notebook, but I never knew how to organise my digital files of thoughts. Anyway, the wonderful thing about that pen is, I can fill them with any coloured ink I like. And I love coloured ink cause life would be boring without them! And I just discovered that at Popular, each twin cartridge of ink cost SGD2.80, but in Kinokuniya, they only cost SGD1.80! Mind blown! Kino actually sells them cheaper than Popular! What logic is that! Before investing in my tool, I actually consulted some fountain-pen-loving friends, and they told me each cartridge can last them 6 months. I thought that was a good value, but after getting them, sometimes mine only last me 2 to 3 months, cause apparently, I write a lot.
Just to give you a idea how small these notebooks are, here is a photo of my 3 books so far, taken with my standard looking fountain pen. Yes, they are that small. Which means I take them along with me when I travel, and easily put them in my handbag so that I can carry them everywhere I go! Great for sudden bright ideas! Photo above taken with backdrop of my macbook air, so the logo also gave you some reference point in terms of size, and my little Office Lady"Cup no Fuchiko". It's a Hokkaido limited edition of a lavender coloured dress Office Lady with Hello Kitty! Usually it sits on my macbook when I am using it to accompany me and look cute. It cost me SGD6, and its those little treat I gave myself once in a blue moon.
Anyway, back to the notebook. They started when I decided to spend 2 weeks alone in Ubud. You can read about that here. So for 2 weeks of reflection, I thought it would be nice to write all my thought down. So from the top left was how it started, Ubud Bali 2011. But after coming back, I decided to continue using it, and now it's 2017 and I just started my new book recently! How time flies!
What do I write inside them? Well starting last year, since I carry them everywhere, I decided to use them to collect stamps from around the places I travel too! So last year I was in Hokkaido, so chop chop chop. I was in Taiwan this year, and also in Italy. These made the book more memorable and more interesting and fun. Apart from that, I usually use it to help me pack my bags for travel or business trip, budget planning, meal planning, retirement planning, bucket list, exercise log to calculate how much per session cost for my gym membership, and when I'm having some problem in life that I can't seems to figure it out, I write them here as well as a form of putting down the problem and analysing it. It's easier when you write things down and looking at it. Kinda like a pros and cons analyses. I also use it as a to-do list, a calendar, and well, basically planning everything in my life! You may ask how on earth do I write so much in such a small book! Well interestingly, my writing is really really small. In a single line space, I can write two lines of text neatly, even with a bloated fountain pen. When I was studying, I usually keep all my year's worth of personal notes in just one small notebook Sometimes a few years of personal notes can fit into one small notebook! It's easier to store, easier to reference and look for things, and so portable!
I love writing. For blogging, for reflection, for personal thoughts etc. I write when I'm happy, I especially write a lot when I am sad. Above is a photo of a full drawer of little notebooks! They can last me a life time! I stopped buying them now, but sometimes I still add one or two when I come across really nice notebooks. I use some to learn languages like one just to store my favourite Japanese lyrics so that I can learn to sing them. I have other scrap books as well which maybe I can share some other times.
Basically, I love books, those that you read, or those that you write into them. As much as I love blogging and tweeting, it is always more personally when you put ink to paper. Probably because I'm an old fashion kinda person.
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