Cheating
I've had a thing for paper products and writing instruments as far back as I can remember. The start of school always possessed a bittersweet quality; there was the expected anxiety about starting classes, choosing to see new challenges more as new opportunities to fail. But the best bit, by far, was the back-to-school shopping for supplies.

Early on, I was usually able to wheedle some novelty item into my Mom's cart, like a Monkees lunchbox or the coolest pencil case in the store. Later, it escalated to locker organizers and a LowePro backpack for college. But that was all peripheral nonsense compared to my hunt for the perfect pen or the best quality calendar refill for my planner. My planner was my life and continues to be an integral part of my day, even as I get old and boring, the pages seeming to echo their emptiness when I open the cover each morning:
"Nothing. To. Do.
No. One. To. See."

Still, the call to purchase yet another piece of technology is a strong one. More rechargeable batteries: ugh.

Yes, I'm thinking about getting me a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA). Like most things, I'm a day late and a dollar short, but I've finally been bombarded with enough marketing ploys to get me thinking I need one. It really looks like it could be better for my back to carry this little wafer-thin beastie than my 3-pound Filofax. So why do I feel, as I shop online, like I'm considering cheating on my partner if I go so far as to buy one? Because I'm in love with the physical mechanics of writing and orgainizing, that's why.

Maybe I'll just get my Filofax an apartment and visit it on the side...

Posted at 8:18 a.m.