Gift to Self

April 23, 2008

Every so often I do something crazily extravagant and give myself a gift. I did that recently by splurging on a very nice leather journal cover. It wasn’t even my birthday.

Not that long ago I wrote about my journaling habit. You can read about that here. At that time I mentioned that for the past several years I used a cheap spiral bound journal that slipped into a vinyl cover, the type you can buy at just about any office supply store. My point was that you don’t necessarily need some expensive leather journal in order to journal. That’s still true, of course, but I can no longer say that from personal experience.

How did this happen? Some time back my youngest daughter and her husband began to mention to me how they were really getting into moleskines. Moleskines are notebooks made by a Italian firm who copyrighted the name of a defunct French manufacturer whose notebooks were said to have been used by generations of European artists, poets and literary figures. What’s known for sure is that this Italian firm has a fair bit of marketing genius. Recently, they have become very trendy here in the United States.

Amanda, a regular reader of this blog and a fine blogger in her own right, commented on her own fondness for moleskines. I was getting surrounded. So, what could it hurt to try one? I experimented using one as a trip journal last year. I still wasn’t convinced. Then, sometime in February, on impulse, I grabbed a large sized (5.25″X8.25″) ruled journal. Maybe it’s some chemical they put on the oilcloth-covered cardboard cover. The smell? The feel? The off-white color of the pages? I’m not sure what it was or how it happened, but I got hooked.

Soon, I discovered an entire community of moleskine freaks living in cyberspace. They speak with the same hushed tones and fanaticism as Mac computer people. Perusing some of their comments and hints, I came across this leather shop in Santa Fe, Renaissance Art, that makes leather covers specifically to fit moleskines. It’s really pretty neat and I am enjoying it very much. It has a loop to hold my pen and it keeps the journal from getting beat up banging around in my briefcase.

I was feeling a bit guilty spending the money to buy a leather journal cover. At least it takes refills and can be used over and over. Then, I thought of friends who have also bought presents for themselves — from exotic sports cars to high powered hunting rifles and fishing gear. That make me feel better and perhaps makes me somewhat of a hypocrite.

Do you ever do stuff like that? Buy yourself a gift? Are you goofy enough like me to tell other people what you have done? So, what are some of your favorite gifts to yourself?

http://www.kcbt.org Jeff Adams

Wow, Lee! Great thought. Thank you for a nice touch of reality to a fun post. Thanks to all of you for the good interaction. And, all you Moleskine freaks. I know who you are!
Lee

As odd as it may sound, the greatest gift I’ve given myself over the last year was joy. I cannot begin to explain the amount of pure joy I received by in participating in the Seed Company. I’ve never had so much fun spending money in my entire life!

The studio quality Darth Vader light sabre put a pinch in my wallet as well!
Dan Greenbank

……..someone check my Greek here…but, I think when Paul wrote in 2Tim 4:13 “………but especially the parchments.” I’m pretty sure that meant Moleskines. Paul used them too, even though they were a splurge!
http://hiddenart.wordpress.com amanda

Did you know the Moleskine is also a musical instrument? Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8kHX-RwdQo
amanda
http://www.kcbt.org Jeff Adams

OK, OK! Maybe splurge or extravagant are not the right words. Sorry! It just seems like it because I was used to cheap spiral notebooks. And, after your comments I discovered the leather cover cost less than I remembered because I also bought a couple of refills when I ordered it. That made the figure in my head much more than it really was for the cover. By the way, for all you Moleskine freaks surfacing out there, like Dan and Skip, Renaissance Art offers the Moleskine refills for a discounted price that you might want to check out.
http://sjps.tv Scott Jolley

My splurges almost always involve camera/video gear and the stuff that supports it. I have an obsession with light and how it responds to bouncing, bending, filtering etc… We have a saying in my business “as God as my gaffer”… On some shoots we struggle to add or manipulate light, but I have found working with the sun is easier that fighting it. I tried one of those moleskin books, not sure where it is now… I’m a photographer, not a writer I guess. And… I agree with Rebekah, you crazy spendthrift… are you trying to revive the economy all by yourself!
Sally Trued

My digital camera.

Love it!!!!!!

SAT
Dan Greenbank

Wow…and I thought Skip B. and I were solely keeping Moleskine in business. It’s good to know that I’m not the only one. I stumbled on these journals about years ago. I don’t regularly use the hard-covered ones anymore….but, I can’t get enough of the Black Cahier (large squared or xl ruled)(they’re much thinner and easier to handle/manipulate). I use them in business, I use them to take notes and diagram in my studies, I use them in my personal budgeting planning. I haven’t explored, yet, the covers…….I kinda like just using a silver sharpie to discretely label them. I can fit alot more of them in my bag that way. What did I do before these were available?! They’re certainly low-tech, and old-school………but “essential”.
http://www.rebekahherzog.blogspot.com Rebekah

Gee, Dad! From the sound of your post I was expecting the cover to be at least a hundred or more. Really – I think classifying $30 as a splurge just doesn’t count. Maybe call it a “treat” for yourself but certainly not a splurge. That said….what really would be a splurge?

For me: a Kate Spade handbag would be a splurge. Not that I would ever actually splurge like that, but if I came accross a million dollar money tree that’s what it would be!

Jeff Adams

Gift to Self