Birth of an Obsession...

As a child, I used to love the first day of the new school term.

I would forget the previous term’s miseries of being picked on, of being left out of the ‘In Crowd’, of being the one that nobody wanted on their team for sports. The saving grace for a sad little geek like me was the joy of that first day back, when the new exercise books were handed out.......

There was something almost holy about the freshness of the unsullied pages, the smooth, uncreased covers that were bare of doodles and dog-ears. It was a secretly beloved ritual: that slight hesitation before carefully inscribing my name in reverential hand on the virginal cover, knowing full well that in a few short weeks, that pristine pamphlet, that exquisite exercise book would be scribbled on, forever soiled by sweaty juvenile paws and bearing the legend “I LUV DAVID”, or the name of some other pimply youth that was my current crush.......

Some thirty-five years later, those feelings wash over me as if it were only yesterday that I penned my name in childish script. What significant event has sparked this re-run of the start of my geekdom? As echoes of days long gone fade into the past, I look down at the catalyst, hesitating slightly before once more filling in the front page of my brand, spanking new Moleskine with my name and address, savouring the very smell of the unspoilt pages, the feel of them as I let them flutter through my fingers. I’m instantly taken back to that first day at school where I clamoured to be that term’s Class Monitor, handing out the biros and pencils to my ungrateful peers who had no appreciation of such implements and immediately put teeth marks into the smooth painted surface of the HBs and plastic pen tops.....

Perhaps that’s where my obsession with stationery began? I always was kind of odd....... *Strokes journal reverently*

Elb addicted........

I'm easily led, and when I like something, I REALLY like something.....

A fellow scribbler raved for some time about a particular brand of notebook, and finally - intrigued by the zealot-like adoration of these things, I bite the bullet, take the bovine by the sharp protruberances and succumb to the hype.

My first parcel is delivered to my place of work, and with trembling fingers, I eagerly liberate the small black book from its packaging, break the cellophane seal and....... nothing. Zero. Not a sausage. No bolt of lightning - no choirs of angels - just a 9 by 14 centimetre notebook with creamy ruled pages... and a handy little pocket at the back for those essential bits and bobs.... I was expecting something more somehow, and slightly disappointed, I put it aside as I carry on with my daily work.....

These seemingly harmless little black notebooks however, hide a sinfully wicked secret, and it isn't long before I feel the pull of the innocent black book enticing me away from the gritty reality of work, seducing me beyond the dark covers into the pure unsullied sheets inside..... Guiltily, I down tools and pick up a pen. Write is wrong - I should be working! I put the pen down again, but the force from the dark side is too strong, and like an alcoholic let loose in an off-licence, I descend swiftly into the madness of Moleskine addiction.........

It's only a matter of moments before I understand what all the hype is about, and I find myself fondling the sleek black cover before delving inside again to the smooth, pristine pages - hesitating but a moment before I mar them with a harsh slash of black ink, and change their virginal state irrevocably...... Startled by the effect, I pause - realise that there is no going back - and gleefully embrace the culture of Moleskine...............

It's official.

My name is Elb, and I'm a Moleskine addict...........