tickle fight!

Most of the problems I have are very modern and specific to the “bleeding-hearts with money” set. 

Okay, I don’t really have much money.  But the heart is a gusher.

My love of paper and frequent, pressing urges to buy it and use it in various forms are part of an unsustainable practice.  I love magazines, I love print photos, and I love new, juicy pens (blue-black, from the japanese stationery store, oh yes).  I love handwriting, drawing, and holding actual books in my hands.  I like to cut out pictures from magazines and make covers of cd’s or collages with them.  I give thank-you cards, thinking-of-you cards,  and have engaged in multiple snail-mail style exchanges.  I have stacks of books with journal entries from almost my entire life up in one of my lofts.

I am anti-Kindle for an unknown reason that resides in my old-fashioned heart.  Oh yeah, IT IS UGLY and I VOLUNTEER AT A LIBRARY BOOKSTORE FOR CHRISSAKE.

I schedule everything in a paper planner (provided by my employer).  This year, they messed up the order and everyone got their planner of choice except for me.  For a brief, exciting moment, I contemplated going digital with my calendar.  I could track due dates for bills, schedule activities, remind myself of things to do ALL ONLINE.  But then the doubt crawled in.  What if my iphone dies while I’m out and I need a time or something?  Or I am not close to a computer?  Then I neglect to do something that I am supposed to?  Or I double book?  I am an anxious person.  This is the way my mind works.  I’m not ready to organize my life electronically.  Which is lame.  I love technology!

So, my justification for my nostalgic, irrational behavior is that I am on a computer all day and, on occasion, in the evening and  my eyes often feel like they won’t work anymore after a day of reading text on a screen.  I use my iphone as an email/internet/text machine more than a phone and often stare at it while waiting for a bus, order, or a person.  I get headaches after looking at a computer too long and often have to wear my glasses in an attempt to avoid my head-crushing fate.

So my solution for the very important (life is hard, waaah!) Planner Problem?  Ecosystem is a line of blank books made from 100% post-consumer recycled paper.  Way cuter than my institutional At-A-Glance planner.  And you can customize it to fit your needs.  I purchased the ecosystem advisor medium-sized weekly calendar, with a flexi-cover.  It features a whole page of note paper to go with your week, which is cool to me because I take notes on stupid little things throughout the day.    Check out the web site, too, because some of the features of the company and its products are pretty bad ass. 

I got the watermelon color and it is pretty, pretty cute.

But, erm, yeah, you should totally do the right thing and organize your life electronically (or in your brain).