I suppose everyone has their “Thing.” Some things are just more culturally understood than others.
It’s not considered weird to know the stats of every player on your favorite sports team and the minutiae of why it matters, but if I start debating the pros and cons of dot grid versus reticle grid in a notebook, I get funny looks.
1. It started simply enough. A borrowed pen that wrote so nicely that you took note.
You tracked down the model and bought yourself one.
By the end of the first week, you’ve returned to the store, determined to buy up their entire stock in case of a future apocalypse.
2. You began pressuring people to borrow your pen, convinced they’d fall just as much in love as you did.
Some do, and you hope they don’t question why all the store shelves are empty when they go to buy one.Most just think you’ve reached a point where your coffee intake is clouding your judgment.
3. But I feel true pity for the person who borrows your pen and fails to return it.
For they will feel the wrath of a budding pen addict, stalked throughout the office until the pen is returned. They will also be publically shamed on Slack.
4. Of course, a good pen is no fun on bad paper, so you buy a fancy new notebook. Or eight.
I may have an entire shelf dedicated to notebooks I haven’t used yet, but that doesn’t mean I don’t need another one.
5. Regardless of how many you already own, every new project means finding the perfect new notebook for it.
I can’t possibly plan my bedroom renovation in the same notebook as my bathroom reno from two years ago! I don’t care if I only used a third of the bathroom book!
6. As an excuse to use your pens, you switch from a digital calendar to a paper planner.
“It’s just so much more tactile and real! I remember things better when I write them down!”Whatever your excuse, eventually you’ll miss a day. Or a month.
7. Since you can’t stand those empty pages, getting back on track means a whole new planner.
Even though all the days you did successfully use in your previous planner are now blank in the new one.
8. Finally, you just give up on planners and go full Bullet Journal.
One of us! One of us!
Of course, then you get sucked down the rabbit hole of brush markers, washi tape, and all the other fun of BuJo customization.
9. It didn’t take long for you to trip headfirst into the world of fountain pens.
They’re unmatched in terms of customization. From style to ink color to how wide the line writes, you can mix and match.
Eventually, you have more than a few…
10. With so many fountain pens, you’re going to need ink to fill them up, right?
If you’re anything like me, you’ll end up with more ink than is reasonable for one person to use.
In crafting circles, this is called S.A.B.L.E. or “Stash Accumulated Beyond Life Expectancy.”
11. Every notebook now has a few pages of swatches.
You need to know which of your many stationery supplies are best suited for which paper! DUH!
I usually put mine at the back of the book.
12. You’ve now started lusting over monogrammed everything at the stationery store.
But can you really justify the cost of personalizing on top of everything else? Is it really worth it?
13. Probably not, so instead you just get some wax seals and make your own monograms.
Yes, this is my bright pink Bullet Journal with my initial sealed in wax on it. And yes, I do match my pens to my notebooks.
14. Last time you went on a trip, the only things you bought were stationery related.
Guilty! On my recent trip to NYC, I not only nabbed this collection of stuff from the Japanese bookstore Kinokuniya , but also filled bags at MUJI and CW Pencil Enterprises .
Yes, there is a store in NYC devoted to pencils. I don’t know why this surprises you.
15. And you totally understand why line style and width is important!
Dot grid > Reticle grid > Graph > Blank. Period. Lined doesn’t deserve a mention.Don’t agree with me? Come at me, bro!