Taking note…
C.E. Grundler
We can has back porch? This could be the ugliest cockpit enclosure ever, but it isn't.
(Photo unrelated to post, but shows what we've been up to over the last few days.)
These days, two things dominate my life, each competing in turn for my attention. For much of the week my mind is on my writing, though plans of attack on the boat reconstruction still whisper through my head, especially during the darkest, quiet hours. And from Friday night through Sunday I switch to 'boat' mode, though my muses refuse to take a break; they're chattering away with snippets of dialog and plot twists that leave me scrambling for my spiral notebook. Ideas spill across each page, forming an undated journal of character notes, cabin dimensions and measurements for cutting wood, names and phone numbers for contacts of all sorts, appointments, grocery and hardware store lists, you name it. I can only imagine what someone might think if they every leafed through the scribbled pages, where notes on pipe bombs and EMF detectors are mixed with vet appointments for the dog and statements like "when is the best time to kill Neil?" and "It's all Annabel's fault."
These little notebooks have been my system since grammar school, starting, I recall, with a homework pad that began to encompass far more than mundane math assignments. For years I've favored the 6.5" x 9" pads, large enough to write a decent amount per page yet small enough to slip into my messenger bag. And I've long since discovered that it was pointless trying to divide the contents into specific sections; in my life it all overlaps anyways and organization beyond writing *everything* critical down is a lost cause. Chronological works best for me – I start on the first clean page and continue until I've run out of paper.
Recently I was sorting through a box of books that had been packed away and stumbled across a stack of old notebooks. It was fascinating; each one a time-capsule, reflecting my thoughts and priorities of that particular point in life. I've never been one to keep a journal, but among the names and lists, the text and ideas, I saw a candid snapshot of my day-to-day life, strange as it may be. It was fascinating to look back upon these pages, revisiting long forgotten dreams and concerns, goals long since achieved and times and dates for my daughter's upcoming graduation – from kindergarten! In the days before computers (remember those) my handwriting was far neater and much smaller due to better vision and the desire to maximize every inch of paper. These days the penmanship, if you can even call it that, is abysmal at best, and my writing has evolved into a mutant shorthand, strewn with cryptic abbreviations and odd symbols. It goes to show how much technology has affected my life – and how much it never will. I can only imagine what my notebooks will look like and what they will contain in years to come.
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