Mediocre Monday

Not much of an update today: I didn’t get much sleep last night, and felt groggy all day. When I got home from work, I took a nap straightaway and am feeling better now.

Taking pen to paper. I found an interesting website: Ex Libris Anonymous. They make blank journals with covers from recycled books. Very retro-kitsch. Beware of the “nudie books,” though. Those I’m not sure I approve of. Heh.

Speaking of writing, I may finally replace the little Mead spiral notebook I carry with me. It’s filled with an assortment of notes, especially relating to different trips I’ve taken: hand-drawn maps, restaurant listings and public transportation directions, currency exchange tables, foreign words and phrases. But worn by time and weather — notably one heavy rain that turned 17th Street into a stream, and left me stranded at Blockbuster without an umbrella — the notebook has seen better days.

I’ve read good things in the blogosphere about Moleskine notebooks. Finely constructed with an elastic closure, ribbon marker, and a pocket in the back, it’s perfect for jotting down interesting and odd turns of phrase, the occasional errant thought or three, and of course, further travel details. I used to think a Palm Pilot would be my ultimate techie gadget, but it’s not great for taking notes, as I found with my Kyocera SmartPhone. Graffiti (Palm’s proprietary handwriting recognition system) is fine for writing down a few words at a time, like addresses, but entire sentences becomes tedious. In the end, paper is much more efficient and — as I wax romantic about the art of writing — tactile, sensual.

I think I’ll pick up a moleskine notebook next weekend. (The Art Store in Georgetown should have them.) With a pedigree reaching back to Matisse, how can I resist?