There is something to be said for knowing what you have so you don’t buy things you don’t need. That only partly applies to what I’m talking about here. This is clearly a luxury and a collection. At this point, none of this is necessary, and it’s more of a personal hobby.
Since 2008, I’ve been carrying around a pocket notebook and writing instrument almost everywhere I travel. Constantly in my pocket. It’s funny because I also have a smartphone, and I take notes digitally and on paper. Why? I don’t know, and I guess there is something romantic about the paper discovery process of going through old notebooks and finding ideas. I recently went to a friend’s wedding and went through my old notes to find the initial guest list they had proposed back in 2016, just because I happened to write it down in my memo pad. The guest list turned out to be pretty close to who actually came, and it was a fun moment to have the notebook, take a picture of it, and share it with my friend. Also, at the wedding, I pulled out my notebook and had some guests write Haikus that we sent to the couple on their honeymoon (this tends to be a regular occurrence for me at weddings).
My branch of choice is Field Notes. I’ve been collecting unique editions of these notebooks pretty much since the beginning. In moving my stuff back across the country, we unpacked my boxes to find a plethora of notebooks. I didn’t know what I had open and not open. I did not know what I was missing in my collection. I suppose for any collection to count as a collection, you really need a record of what you have. I’ve solved that: here. This is a link to all the available unopened packs I have in my collection. If you are obsessed with field notes and need to trade or collect, many of these are available for purchase or barter. You need to reach out to me. Let me know what you want, and we can discuss a fair trade/purchase price.
This collection has brought me immense joy and happiness through collecting. I can’t really explain it, but hoarding it now feels wrong. It feels like it is time to start parting with editions I don’t feel particularly attached to.