Monday, August 11, 2008

Notebooks

There’s something about a blank page.

Even though I do most of my writing on my computer these days, I still get kind of silly about a fresh notebook. I just love the crisp, naked pages.

I carry a notebook with me at all times.

I’m picky about notebooks, too. (There’s a shocker)

I like spiral, preferably with a hard board cover with at least one pocket for loose pages. I like them thin and about 5x8. And it’s gotta be lined. Lined is key. My good friend Dave prefers unlined notebooks because he likes to do sketches of some of the more bizarre characters and environments he creates.

But I like lines. (This is true of the other sort of line, too. Who doesn’t love a good single-file line???)

I like the order and rationality of 30 perfectly ordered and parallel lines, just waiting to be filled up with my thoughts.

The pen is important, too. There’s nothing I hate more than a cheap Bic ball-point pen. Ugh. My pen of choice is the Pentel micro (0.5mm) in blue. About once a year or so I buy a whole box of them. My mother used to “commandeer” them from her office, but now that she’s retired, I have to feed my pen habit myself.

But, like I said, mostly I write on my laptop: the Cricket. A Dell 12 inch Inspiron 700m (only 4 pounds even with the extended battery so I pretty much have it with me wherever I go) which is slowly falling apart. The external speakers stopped working a month after the warrantee ended (Hahaha!) and it’s starting to do some squirrelly things.

So I’ve been backing up EVERYTHING in my fiction folder and crossing my fingers that the Cricket survives until my next income tax refund comes around in February….

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

No one understands the need for a computer more than I!! I hope when you get your next book published you'll come out of hiding so we can read it.

Hey -- can't write this on the Boards so thought I'd write it here -- Mike is waaaaaaaaaaaaaay to serious. He's a lot of work. Damn lawyers.

Best,
Terri

Anonymous said...

OMG, I just caught up with the topix boards during lunch. I think Mike's a fucking nut job. (sorry Angelique i don't know the clinical terms) Sorry to see you upset EEE and very surprised to see Angel lose patience as well. The whole situation has me turned off so I'll read from the sidelines as I have refused to address Mike directly from the time he showed up. Remember, do not feed the trolls or the internet insane.

Happy Monday all!

EEE said...

I agree. Mike's cheese has slipped of its cracker.

Hehehe! I can say cracker here!

Cracker! Cracker! Cracker! Cracker! Cracker! Cracker! Cracker! Cracker! Cracker!

Um... sorry!

It kind of takes a lot to really piss me off too and Mike fried my last nerve. (That freaking ELC chick didn't help either - what is her major malfunction????)

I really didn't think either of them trolls to start with but Mike is starting show classic troll behavior (the self-effasion etc) and ELC... well... clearly I rubbed her the wrong way and I didn't even get to enjoy it!

Anonymous said...

ELC is truly a troll. Mike is just nuts. There's something even worse than Feel The Heat there. Just totally changes direction. I'm ignoring from now on. Doesn't exist.

I'm glad Mike is too dumb (I think, I hope) to put Tripoli and EEE together. Duh. You're pushing the envelope though there EEE. If you're gonna post to him b/c you can't take it anymore, at least do it under FTH postname or something.

Terri

EEE said...

Hahaha, Terri!

I kind of don't care if he knows it's me.

It's childish and passive agressive but I don't care!

That guy is thicker than a brick wall. I hate to outright say "leave" since technically they're public boards, but he seems the sort to not understand subtlety...

Anonymous said...

Subtlety? He doesn't understand a brick wall falling on his head if you ask me.

Hee, hee. Well, back to the Boards to check things out.

Terri

Anonymous said...

I just can't believe the mess on boards. Mike just doesn't give up.

EEE have you seen the business cards with the EYE or do you have them. I saw them at vista.com and thought of you.

From the heart

PS... OK-----I'm slow today ...... I knew tripoli was EEE but I just GOT IT when I said it aloud.

Anonymous said...

Gonna go out on a limb and say that ELC is BITTER! (Sorry... didn't want to say it in the forums in case she found her way over there...)

You made a good faith effort to be helpful - who knew she'd turn out to be one of *them*...

Enjoy the raspberry margarita :- )

Cheers,
Really