My Little Black Book

The people who you look up to have one with them at all times. You can’t understand it (yet), but you can't deny it looks cool. You look for alternatives. There are none. If only you had a good enough reason to buy one. And then you do.

Hard cover or soft cover? Reporter or classic? Large or small? Sketchbook with thick paper? Watercolour notebook with even thicker paper? Choosing the right Moleskine is a difficult process, but with time and careful practice, you will find "the one".

You're now part of something bigger than yourself. A culture. A club. Your thoughts are suddenly more valuable, so are the things you say. Even your blogging has improved (or so you tell yourself whether true or not). When you see another Moleskine owner, you give each other a nod of approval. Good thing she doesn't know that you haven't written a single word yet.

You peel off the thin plastic protection film. The crackling sound fills you with excitement. You feel the oilskin cover for the first time. You snap open the elastic band and flip through the pages. Your future flashes before your eyes. Your dreams waiting to burst out onto the blank pages. You bookmark an empty page, then snap the Moleskine shut. You wait for the right moment to start.

In the pocket of your new Moleskine is a small leaflet that brings you into the world of the Moleskine and shares its legendary story from Italian roots. You are the next part of that history. It’s the very notebook you now hold in your hands, that plain looking little black book which you covet.

The pages are too perfect. It's difficult to start. "What shall I write or draw?" At first there is no answer. And then, inspiration strikes. It happens more quickly for some and slowly for others. But once inspiration strikes, you start taking notes...and you never look back.

Finishing a Moleskine fills you with a sense of satisfaction, but it also makes you feel vulnerable, naked. Suddenly your ideas don't have a home. The good thing is that wherever you are, you know you can pick up a Moleskine, a notebook of the exact same quality and size from any good book or stationery store. Once you become part of the Moleskine story, it's hard to imagine using any other notebook.

Side Note:
As of late, I absolutely hate my writing. I hate everything about it and I don't know why. I just know what I write sucks. It sucks so much that after I write it, "I" don't even want to read it. Even after one revision, two revisions, three, four...I still hate it. Sometimes just the thought of writing in my Moleskine or continuing this blog seems almost painful. Perhaps I should just stop writing all together to stop sickening myself. Problem solved then.