Journal

Notebooks (And Commencement)

New Beginnings

On Saturday, I retired my old notebook. I hadn’t finished it, but it just felt right to leave it behind and start the new one. So, of course, I started the new one too. I’ve made a few entries since, primarily to do with the incoming project. I had a very good idea of what it was going to be before I started writing Bukit Merah, but it doesn’t seem to be the case anymore. Which is good, I guess. I’m trying my best not to dive straight in, because I know that usually ruins the whole thing.

Still, a remarkable flurry of ideas, some old, some new, but mostly new combinations of old ideas. There are… a lot of things to deal with, lots of ideas that seem to go in some place and yet can’t fit anywhere. It isn’t helped by the fact that I’m not adopting my old structure, so I don’t have the big picture to work with in the first place. Still, it’s a problem that I am happy to have. Early days, these.

Funny to think of notebooks and how I used to not know what to do with them. Well, obviously one makes notes with notebooks, but there was a time when I thought I’d get a notebook, open up to a blank page and just not know how to do anything on it, seemingly out of fear of ruining a nice page. Many years and notebooks later, I think I’ve developed some kind of procedure, so I don’t have that sort of fear of the blank page anymore. In fact, I think it’s become central to my whole thinking process. Sometimes, I just can’t piece things together unless I write it down. And other times, I just need a place to put down all the half-ideas buzzing in my brain before they slip away.

In the meantime, though, nice to have a proper notebook with me this time round. I actually put aside a bit of cash to invest in one this time, as you will probably know. Before this, I used free notebooks from CommunicAsia, low-price ring-bound ones from Popular, and spare ones lying around the house. I suppose you could consider it a bit of a luxury, this, kind of pampering myself a tiny bit. Just a tiny bit. Having spent most of my time with those types of notebooks, this Moleskine feels a little… strange in my hands, but hey, it’s a feeling I can get used to.

Congratulations

Jolie’s commencement is tomorrow, if my memory hasn’t evaporated yet, so, congratulations, Jolie!

d

© 2009 a modest odyssey.