moleskinerie

MOLESKINE NOTES ENTRY: "From the trash can to the bookshelf"

I snuck in the back door as quietly as I dared.

Setting my purse down carefully on the kitchen floor, I reached into the big black trash bag near the back wall. Forcing my hand through the leftovers--bits of gristle, pieces of wilted lettuce, used coffee grinds--I felt around for the crumpled pieces and fragments of paper I knew were in amongst the garbage.

When I found them, I pulled them out like a treasure, flattened them as best as I could, clutched them carefully to myself, picked my purse up from the floor, and crept slowly back towards the door.

This was an ongoing ritual for me nearly every night from elementary school until I finally ran away from home as a teenager. I was an avid journal keeper, a fact that my extremely conservative and fundamentalist Christian family couldn't stand. They regularly went through my journals and ripped out the "inappropriate parts." It could be a section on my doubts of God's existence, or my bemoaning a recent movie I wasn't allowed to see. Sometimes it was my fantasizing about my future as an independent thinker, or the longing with which I looked at the make-up section at my local drugstore. Whatever they deemed not worthy of a "good Christian girl," they destroyed.

  As I grew older, and wiser, I started keeping two journals. One, the version that they read and ripped. (I admit to sometimes writing things just for the reaction.) Another, the one that was on me at all times, a journal they didn't even know existed.

It's no surprise, then, that to this day I value journals. From lined and unlined to leather-bound and fabric covered, I love blank books (and the idea of blank books). I collect them as some women collect shoes. Their very potential thrills me—all this space waiting to be filled with words that won't be discovered and destroyed.

  When a friend introduced me to Moleskine, about a year ago, I realized I'd discovered the journal I'd always been looking for. I think I caught my breath as I carefully took off the band and reverently turned the pages. It was a real journal. The one I'd always wished I could find.

  Moleskine honors my story and my life. They craft the pages with care, and they treat my words as if they matter. When I sit in a coffee shop or on a bench at the beach, people often ask me what I'm writing. "That's a beautiful journal," they say. I smile, and nod, and inside, something is very proud.

"Take that!" I say inside myself to the family of origin I haven't seen or spoken with in over a decade.

  I buy Moleskines every few months, whether I need them or not. I buy the Van Gogh green ones, the small ones, the blank ones, the lined ones—I have a shelf full of them, as if they are a treasure. And they are a treasure.

Recently I published my first book. I'm happy to say that there was nothing left or ripped out of it… It is my words, and my story, in all of its honest, sacred truth. I wrote much of it in my first moleskine. The words poured out of me, and found a safe place among the pages. I'm happy to say they're all still there.

Renee Altson
author of  Stumbling Toward Faith  (Zondervan, Harper Collins 2004)
avid Moleskine user,  lover of all things cheese.
Visit her site.

A MOLESKINE NOTES ESSAY SERIES ENTRY. This is the last entry in the series. Thanks for your participation.

Image: "Lettres de Lou" by Arsian @ Moleskinerie/FLICKR.
© All rights reserved. Used with permission. Merci!

Get out, have a life - and write about it! Enjoy the weekend everyone. See you on Monday!

"Solvitur Ambulando" - It is solved by walking

The long, thick stripes of heavy rain on the window obstructed my view in the shuttle bus from Charles de Gaulle Airport to the Arc de Triomphe on a late April afternoon. I was feeling sick from the slow ride on the highway at rush hour. Maybe I was tired than I thought after the thirteen-hour flight from Tokyo. At the bus terminal near the monument, I hailed a taxi but the driver dropped me off at the wrong street and I had to haul my baggage for a couple of blocks to my hotel in the drizzle.

 

After unpacking my things in the small hotel room and making sure I had everything in order for the meeting on the next day, I looked out my window facing the Seine. A rainbow had appeared above the Louvre in the evening twilight. I grabbed my bag in which I carried a map of the city, a Moleskine notebook that was my guidebook, a digital camera, and went out for my first walk of this stay.

 

* * *

 

I had visited Paris twice in the past and although I agreed it was an impressive city, I never felt affection towards it. To me, Paris seemed like an actress whose outstanding beauty radiated a proud and unapproachable aura.

 

While preparing for my third visit, I wondered why I had felt this way towards the city. I recalled my travels to other cities; for example in Berlin, where I went to in 2001, I had visited and photographed the few and scattered remains of the Wall in my spare time. With this personal assignment and the numerous business appointments I kept, I had covered much of Berlin by foot and it became one of my favorite cities in the world.

 

It dawned on me that in the case of Paris, I never really had the opportunity to walk its streets.

 

In prior to this trip, I had been reading an anthology of travel essays by the British author Bruce Chatwin, who introduced me to another quality of walking. In a chapter dedicated to the German film director Werner Herzog, Chatwin wrote:

 

"He [Herzog] was also the only person with whom I could have a one-to-one conversation on what I would call the sacramental aspect of walking. He and I share a belief that walking is not simply therapeutic for oneself but is a poetic activity that can cure the world of its ills. He sums up his position in a stern pronouncement: 'Walking is virtue, tourism deadly sin."

- Bruce Chatwin, "Werner Herzog in Ghana," What Am I Doing Here.

MOLESKINE NOTES ENTRY: "Helper in Need"

My first contact with a Moleskine happened several years ago. I saw a stash of them at a bookstore and thought that it's a quite neat idea. But I didn't had enough spare money on me at that time, so I didn't buy one.

I never used notebooks. I had no idea that such blank books exist and I wouldn't see any use for it, anyway. I either jotted down small notes on little pieces of paper that I stuck in my wallet or I noted stuff on my large college block for later learning. Neither of both types of notes would last longer than a month at most.

A few weeks ago, I found the moleskines again. I still found them neat and I bought one for my girlfriend which, I thought, would appreciate a nice, classic notebook. She *loved* it from day one and keeps many, many day-to-day notes in it. Telephone numbers, addresses, shopping lists, little to-dos and just plain notes wander into the moleskine and are always at hand. She's pretty grumpy when she accidentally forgets it at home.

That made me look at the way that I treat notes. I still jotted on small pieces of paper, but since I started working, I became flooded with little paper notes. I needed quite some time searching for specific notes, I was always short of one crucial note and many notes just disappeared. I was more  than ready for a notebook.

I bought myself a pocket moleskine for private stuff and a large, A4-sized non-moleskine for work. I can't understand how I could live without them for so long. My favorite is the pocket size memo pockets moleskine. Finally a good place for coupons, tickets, cards, receips and other pieces of paper. At work, with my A4 notebook, I have all the important information at my hand and due to the size, the small notes become small logs with which I can trace my work better. Outside of work, I can keep my infos together in my pocket moleskine and, first of all, have a place to put my infos in.

That pocket-size Moleskine became my lifesaver in Egypt! My Girlfriend and I have just arrived in Egypt and waited in the Airport for our luggage - which would not appear. A friendly travel agent researched a little bit and found out that most of our luggage was still in Frankfurt! A few minutes later, an airport employee told us that the luggage would arrive with the next flight later that day.

Let me give you a little bit of background:
We were planning a diving cruise on the Red Sea. Flight and Cruise were booked seperately, so the cruise organiser would not stand up for us. The cruise people had send the travel agent to make the arrival smoother, but that's as much as they would do. Our ship was scheduled to leave the harbour during the following night - and the harbour was located 300km southbound in the middle of nowhere. Two out of three bags were missing, so we had no diving equipment whatsoever. If the equipment won't arrive in the evening, there will be no time left to rent a replacement. If we rent now, without any approval from the air carrier, we'll be destined to pay for it ourselves. If we rent and our bags do arrive, that'll be lots of money down the drain. We were at an egyptian airport - more or less a place were planes can land with no service desks at all. I do not speak arabian. I had little money (the cruise was all-inclusive). All I had was my carry-on luggage: hardly more than a book, a toothbrush, a cell phone ... and my moleskine.

The travel agent was about leave me. Time to take action: I flipped open my moleskine and started to act:
I noted flight numbers and plans, passport numbers (just in case - they were wandering through many hands at this time), luggage numbers, telephone numbers of the agent and someone at the airport. Names, locatons, notes on formulars. Notes about which information I gave to whom. I took a small Euro-Bill out of the moleskine's back pocket and handed it to the travel agent and got, in return, the promise that he would take good care of our luggage as soon as it will arrive. Then I phoned my carrier - I bombed the people back in Germany with infos about my desperate situation and, since they would not pay for replacement rent, pressured them  to a clear affirmation that our luggage will, definitively, arrive. I could name enough details in order to tell with subtlety: "I am documenting everything - and if this goes wrong, I have everything at hand to kick several asses!"

I think it made a change. And, most of all, it gave me the feeling that I was in control. I was not an idiot who stuttered when asked for luggage numbers and flight plans. I was prepared.

When I phoned the airport later (which I could, 'cause I had the number), I found out that the luggage is on the right plane.  Still later, I phoned the travel agent, who had picked up our luggage and send it on it's way to the harbour. Everything went just fine, thanks to my moleskine, my cell phone ... and a little bit of bakshish money that I kept in the moleskine back pocket.

"A Helper in Need"
By Jens Schäfer
A MOLESKINE NOTES ESSAY SERIES ENTRY

Image: "An Affair" by Diong @ Moleskinerie/FLICKR
© All rights reserved. Used with permission

Randomness:
- Discover and join the Moleskine Communities at MYSPACE, FLICKR, ORKUT, LIVEJOURNAL & GOOGLEGROUPS.
- If you're in Taipei, check out Workingunit's "MyMoleskine" exhibit.
- I'm moving to a new place this weekend so comments will take a little longer to screen and approve.  I may not be able to respond to emails until Tuesday next week so please be patient.

Get out, have a life - and write about it! See you on Monday.

MOLESKINE NOTES ENTRY: "Joy and Revolution"

Moleskine. “What is it? What do they do?” These were the first things I asked myself when I saw a buddy of mine pull his [Moleskine] out.  A clean black textured cover, giving it a very modern and classy look, a bound black elastic band to keep it’s precious contents safe accidents and weathering, and a clever purplish ribbon placeholder. In class I would peak over his shoulder to see what he was doing with it [drawing]. This wasn’t just any ordinary notebook or diary, you don’t treat notebooks  with as much care as he did, there was a feeling of pride that he exuded. May 6, 2005 at 3:50 pm: This was the first time I was introduced to the Moleskine and bought one of my own (and I have documented proof).

I was never the type to keep a weekly planner or notebook. I always found it easier to rip off a piece of paper, make a note ,and stick it in my pocket to find and remind myself later on in the day. I had tried to keep a weekly planner for school, my mom insisted so,  but I would always forget to write down my assignments or to check it when I arrived home after school. So I gave up on that idea. A half decade later I began my freshman year of college at Southern Oregon University. Assignments are flying at me from every direction, scheduled meetings with fellow classmates for midterms and quizzes, and notes I need to make myself in order to keep my school and social life stable. I went through the entire first two terms this way, rushed because I’m forgetting materials and meetings. During that frantic time I met a friend that would change all of that and would eventually lead to becoming a front liner for advertising the Moleskine to others.

I met Don my second term of college in my Environmental Studies class. One day he asked my what kind of soda I wanted, it was a lecture class and I never had time to eat before, so I asked for a Pepsi. When he proceeded down the stairs, I saw him pull out this little black book and flip to the back. Inside there was a “secret” pocket that concealed a few dollar bills used for emergencies or giving others change. When he arrived from the pop machine I immediately asked about his little book. “it’s a Moleskine,” Don exclaimed. I replied with “What the hell is a Moleskine?” For the rest of the class he let me check out his M and answered any questions I had about them: Where to purchase them, how much they cost, are they worth it. He had his present one for about a year so he knew a bunch of  “hacks” I could use when I first started off: Tab hack, TOC hack, and the hyperlink hack. The first thing I wrote in my M was “Applied science paper,” then below that “Topic?” I couldn’t stop writing in my Moleskine. I wrote ideas that I had about everything and anything, about school, work. I also wrote outlines for papers and works cited pages. Events of the week and how much money I have spent were the most popular of everything I wrote. And the most fun I had with my Moleskine is the drawings, especially when you see or hear something really awkward and funny going on, little pictures/doodle made the experience worth while. Towards the end of my first Moleskine I started longer entries, usually about how school or work went, or specials events I had with my friends. Those are the best to go back and read no matter what: Good, bad, funny,  or sad, it was always interesting to see what was going on at that time in my life. Memories are memories.

Currently I am working on my second Moleskine. I bought it just before my second year of college started. This one is mainly long entries. Now that a lot of my friends have gone our separate ways in life and school I don’t get to see them as much. When I start to think about them, it always helps if I write it out in my Moleskine to get it off my mind or to remind myself to call them. I made a Phone number page in the back that I can transfer throughout my future Moleskines. And of course I have the usual “To-Do” list and other ideas I might think up. I also have started to make notes on what to post on my weblog, HACKERATi.blogspot.com. It seems that the uses for just the pocket Moleskine are endless, not to mention the uses for all the other M’s. I am impressed with what a simple notebook can do. I find that I am more organized throughout the day, and that my writing has improved and just seems to flow better. And the best part of all, I have all my memories form the past  hidden in this little black book that wont short circuit or burn out like a computer does. This is special. This is permanent. This is a Moleskine.

"Joy and Revolution"
By Adam Machado
A MOLESKINE NOTES ESSAY SERIES ENTRY

Image: Karen Winters
© All rights reserved. Used with permission

Randomness:
- Discover and join the Moleskine Communities at MYSPACE, FLICKR, ORKUT, LIVEJOURNAL & GOOGLEGROUPS.
- Birthday greetings to Lohr Miller, November 22
- If you're in Taipei, check out Workingunit's "MyMoleskine" exhibit.

Shameless plug:)
Please check out my new project.
Get out, have a life - and write about it!
Happy Thanksgiving. See you on Monday.

MOLESKINE NOTES ENTRY: "Black as Sin"

It has taken me twenty years and being thousands of kilometers away from home, just to find the perfect journal. At the time, I had no idea what a Moleskine notebook was.  My search for the ideal journal had been narrowed down to very few but crucial qualifications.  The quality of paper and the notebook itself must be suitable for lefties like me: a spread-easy spine that allows the notebook to open up to a full 180 degrees, smooth paper—one that must dry quickly lest I end up with word road kill and smudges on my hand.

Back in September 2004, my friends and I decided to go around Europe; Rome, Florence, Venice, and finally, Paris for a few weeks.  At the time, I had the knickknacks I needed in my mailbag to feed my wanderlust: Lonely Planet guidebooks, a copy of A Moveable Feast, maps, a bottle of water; my large journal—brand new, hardcover and ring bound, passport, wallet, pens, double-sided tape, camera etc. It was heavy. My shoulders burned from the sheer weight of my bag. Every time I'd slip my fingers in to pluck something out, the metal rings of my journal would get in the way and my knuckles would get sore.  I figured the only way to take some weight off my shoulders was to get rid of things that I didn't need. Everything else in my bag was indispensable and irreplaceable — except for that journal (which only had a few notes). Luckily, I was standing a few feet away from a corner bookstore. Without hesitation I immediately ran inside, nearly running over a large and sleeping St. Bernard sprawled by the doorway.  I shifted my attention to the attendant who had just lit a cigarette and asked if they had small journals.

I was pointed to the direction where notebooks with Da Vinci's Mona Lisa, The Vitruvian Man, cherub details from Raphael's Sistine Madonna, and photos of the Vatican on the cover were arranged next to a stack of black notebooks with yellow and orange bands.  I had no time to choose which artwork I preferred the most so I chose the most inconspicuous journal for three reasons: It was black. It was small. It was black.

As soon as I paid for it, I took out the plastic, ripped off the yellow band (not even reading what was written on it) and shoved it in my bag. That night, back in our room, I flipped through my new journal and realized that its pages had grids. I scanned through it, hoping to see a blank or ruled page when a leaflet fell from its inner pocket; it read Storia di un taccuino leggendario. I turned it over and finally discovered the history of this legendary notebook. My inability to properly breathe shortly gave way to shrieks of excitement when   I read that Van Gogh, Matisse, Ernest Hemingway, and Bruce Chatwin also used Moleskines. I took out my copy of A Moveable Feast and scanned for pages where Hemingway wrote about writing in his pocket sized notebook. It was only my second day in Rome and I knew then, that I had to buy some more and this time I knew the right (band) color to pick. I took it as a sign, a moment's burning bush, that I would be the writer I've always wanted to be and that I would try to make every single corner of that notebook count—every sentence, every word.

I had it with me throughout my trip; wine-stained pages and notes from Rome, doodles of sunflowers from a road trip through Tuscany, watermarks from autumn drizzles in Florence, short poems and pasta sauce from Venice, coffee stains and musings in Paris. My entire trip documented and fastened in that notebook. As an afterthought; one year, three worn and fully used pocket-sized Moleskines (and a stockpile) later, I'm happy brought the wrong journal with me.  It led me to find the last journal I will ever use. Now, like any other Moleskine fan that cannot readily avail of it, I have become greedy. I hoard. I scamper around dark cyber-alleys for good deals. I ask friends for favors. All because it's impossible to find these notebooks in my country for the simple fact that it isn't sold here. It's quite expensive but worth every cent because I know that every time I turn a blank Moleskine page and dip my pen into it, I share that sinfully delightful and cathartic moment of writing with thousands of others. These days, I never leave home without it; maybe Hemingway said it best in A Moveable Feast  "wherever you go for the rest of your life it stays with you..." an indulgence that moves with me, goes where I go, and bears witness to the many facets of my life.

"Black as Sin"
By Pia Marquez-Matic
Manila, Philippines
A MOLESKINE NOTES ESSAY SERIES ENTRY

Image: "I Like You" by Nocas @ Moleskinerie/FLICKR
© All rights reserved. Used with permission.

Randomness:
- Discover and join the Moleskine Communities at MYSPACE, FLICKR, ORKUT, LIVEJOURNAL & GOOGLEGROUPS.
- Birthday greetings to Mark Wehrhahn, November 20
- Thanks to Jens Schäfer for her recent donation.
- If you're in Taipei, check out Workingunit's "MyMoleskine" exhibit.

WIN A COPY OF TWINS!

Tell me why you must absolutely have and own a copy of this book. The best emailed response (in 300 words or less) gets the prize. Deadline is Sunday, November 20th at 12 Noon Central. Write 'TWINS" on the subject line. Winner will be announced on Monday, 11.21.05.

Get out, have a life - and write about it! See you on Monday.

MOLESKINE NOTES ENTRY: "Little Black Gems"

I never knew what a Moleskine notebook was until March of 2004.  I discovered these little black gems while I was on a trip with my wife and daughter.  Each year we spend the week after Easter on the coast.  For those seven days we call Emerald Isle, North Carolina home.  We spend the week reading, exploring, eating well, resting, fishing and acting like locals.

Each morning I head out before sunrise.  My destination is usually Bogue Inlet Fishing Pier; where the fishing is usually good and the conversation is always better.  One cool morning both the fishing and the conversation was slow so I made my way over to the local bookstore.  It is an independent store that has all the charm and warmth that you would expect from such a place at the beach.  I was looking for a new journal when I came across what would become a new companion.

I picked up the small notebook and opened it up.  When I did a small piece of paper fell to the floor. I picked it up and read “The history of a legendary notebook.”  Bruce Chatwin’s story was enough to win me over, but when I discovered that Ernest Hemingway had used them I had to have one immediately, so I bought two.      I went back to the pier to see if the fishing had picked up.  I carried one of my new notebooks in my coat pocket, determined that if the fishing was still slow that I could write until I had nothing else to write about, but it would end up being days later before I ever printed the first word in it.

At first I could not bring myself to write in it because I could not think of anything that I would or could write that would be worthy to put in such a fine book with such a rich history.  Finally I thought of the words of Herb Brooks, who was the coach of the 1980 United States men’s hockey team that won the gold medal against astronomical odds.  When asked by his wife what he liked most about the young men on that team, he told her that he admired them most for “sacrificing for the unknown.”  So, on the first page of my very first Moleskine I wrote that quote and I begin to fill the remaining pages with my own words, telling who I am, what I am doing and sharing the dreams that I hope will one day come true.  When I go back and read what I wrote I realize that what I had to say was worthy, and that the words belonged in such a fine book.     

Needless to say this little book has become my friend, I go nowhere without it.  I have a stockpile of them hidden on my bookshelf ready to go when the current one has been filled.  I consider it a privilege to own one. 

"Little Black Gems"
By Calvin Lassiter, Jr.
A MOLESKINE NOTES ESSAY SERIES ENTRY

Image: Lorretine @ Moleskinerie/FLICKR
© All rights reserved. Used with permission.

Randomness:
- Discover and join the Moleskine Communities at MYSPACE, FLICKR, ORKUT, LIVEJOURNAL & GOOGLEGROUPS.
-Take Lauren Cerand's Lux Lotus 52 Projects Challenge.
- Birthday greetings to Alan Webber (Nov.11) at Moleskinerie/ORKUT
- For those lucky to be in the area, visit the My Moleskine exhbit in Taipei 11.4 through 12.31.
- Thanks to Julian and Lori for their recent donations.
- My eBay account was hijacked yesterday and somebody tried to sell a non-existent 17" Apple Powerbook G4. Issue has been recolved now. Thanks Danika.^_^
- Current circumstances necessitate that I spend more time offline these days so please be patient for those comments to be screened/posted and the emails answered.

Get out, have a life - and write about it!

MOLESKINE NOTES ESSAY: "My First Moleskine"

I stumbled upon my first Moleskine notebook by chance. It was a few years ago, in a Barnes and Noble on a rainy day with my Mother.

I am obsessed with notebooks and the process of writing, so upon setting foot inside any bookstore, I always head straight for the journals / blank books section.  There are rarely journals that I haven't seen before or at one time, purchased.

That night there was. It was a small pocket-size notebook called a Moleskine.  Both the size and history intrigued me and I found myself wanting one.   Unfortunately, I didn't have the money to buy one.  So, I plopped myself down in the café and started writing in what I found to be an inadequate substitute instead, while I waited for my mother to pay for her books and come over to join me.

A few minutes later, when she did join me, I looked up to see her drop a bag in front of me with a large grin on her face.  I quickly opened the bag to find one of the Moleskines I had been drooling over.  She had seen me looking at them and bought one for me.  I was so happy.

For days, I toiled over what to keep in the small black book, wondering if I should taint it in with my own writing or keep it as a book of quotations for others' writing.  After deciding on the latter, I meticulously collected quote after quote and slowly began to fill the little notebook.  I carried it everywhere and continued to do so into my freshman year of college.  By my sophomore year, my drive to record quotations had lessened, and I became more involved with my own writing. So, I put that first Moleskine in my desk drawer and went to the store to buy a second one for my own writing.  I bought a small squared one and started writing.

That same year, my mother was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer.  I recorded my thoughts and fears about the situation in a Moleskine.  She died in September of 2004.

A few weeks after her death, I was rummaging through my desk drawer and stumbled upon that first Moleskine.  On the last page of my scribbles, was the last quote I had recorded in the book.  It was Tennyson's "'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."  I smiled.  Then, I grabbed my current Moleskine, opened it up and wrote about my mom, her love, her life and how she had given me my very first Moleskine.

"My First Moleskine"
By  Crystal Mohrmann
A MOLESKINE NOTES ESSAY SERIES ENTRY

Image: "Willow Charcoal Rose"
By Sacredheartarts @ Moleskinerie/FLICKR
© All rights reserved. Used with permission.

Randomness:

- Discover the Moleskine Communities at MYSPACE, FLICKR, ORKUT, LIVEJOURNAL & GOOGLEGROUPS.
- A special shoutout to Mike Mennonno of T-Rage. Yes, the revolution shall be written on a cahier!

Get out, have a life and write about it! See y'all on Monday.

I leave you with a video from Ben.

Clicky!

Essay: Moleskine Notes

"Impassioned, intellectual, harried, irreverent, creative." These are just a few of the words Moleskine users have used to describe themselves. With such a diversity of opinions and experiences we thought it might be interesting to see how you use your notebooks but more importantly, what you feel about writing and your art.

As part of our 2nd Anniversary celebrations (1.12.06 ) Moleskinerie is launching "Moleskine Notes", a series of essays by Moleskine users around the world starting next month. To be considered, write an essay (500-1000 words) on your Moleskine experience and email it to us. Put "MOLESKINE NOTES ENTRY" as subject. If chosen, you will receive a gift from Moleskinerie. We look forward to reading your story soon!   

Related link:
Ron Arias: Notebooks a family obsession

Update 10.4.05:

We have revised the series title from "My Moleskine" to "Moleskine Notes" in difference to an ongoing exhibit in Asia organized by Working Unit Ltd. Our apologies for the confusion.

To view all the entries, GO HERE.