An old University notebook. Over 2 decades old. Pages yellow with age. But within those pages are compilations I did while taking my postgraduate degree in the States — topics that were important to me then:
One of my Singaporean school friends, Chew, first introduced me to his calligraphy pens with which he wrote Chinese calligraphy & poems. I was intrigued and fascinated with the pens which had several interchangeable nibs so you could write fine and thicker strokes.
On one shopping trip, I scouted for one, rejoiced when I found exactly what I was looking for, and took it home.
That was the start of a 2-year collection of sayings that I got from books, newspapers, magazines, any source. If the saying struck me, it went into this notebook.
I keep this red notebook close to me these days. In a night table drawer right beside my bed. I took it out earlier tonight and leafed through some pages. As this is a very thick university notebook, there are still many, many blank pages. I think I was meant to have these empty pages left because now, there is a strong desire growing in me to take it out of hibernation and begin writing in its pages once more — this time as a more mature woman.
Will the sayings I collect from now on be different from the ones I used to collect? Which ones will still hold true for me? The idea of putting in ONE place the sayings that struck me in my youth as well as those that have meaning for me now is fascinating!
My only regret is that I did not bring my calligraphy pens home. I would now have to go out and scout around the bookstores once again to see if I can find one to write this part of life with.
Let me share 2 pages from my life notebook with you. I actually have ANOTHER notebook in that night table of mine. But that is a collection of poems I wrote myself in different situations while abroad. But that is for another post….
This is my wish for all of us: that we LIVE life to the fullest, LOVE passionately and unconditionally, and LAUGH heartily.
wow… i also love to keep treasures in my chest. i still have my diaries way back grade and high school years. pages turned yellow na rin.
nways, ms. jane, i have an award for you. kindly check it in my blog. i love your blog, i really do.
Jane: Ohhhhh that is soooo sweet of you, Nice! Thank you so much for the award. I am just squatting on hubby’s PC. When mine works again, I will put the award on my blog. Delighted you also have your diaries. You have so many memories in there!
wow, i love it, i too have a life journal all mixed-mixed with quotations and reflections…
i love you caligraphy pen =)
live laugh love !!!!
Jane: Another woman after my heart! Hope you continue to write on your life journal…
I also keep something like this! It’s a hardcover notebook where I used to write down quotes that inspired me. Unfortunately, I left it back home in Zamboanga along with all of my diaries/journals dating back to fourth grade. Your post has made me want to start doing this again.
By the way, I have an award for you on my blog.
Jane: Go, go, go. Start another notebook of quotes! Then we can share from it from time to time. 🙂
i didn’t have a notebook, but i had a file — a green folder that held bits and pieces of wisdom from others. some of them found a home in my blog, others didn’t make it as revisiting them as i gained more experiences in life made me realize their foolishness.
Jane: You always had beautiful sayings for your blog, Aly. Now that I read what I collected, I can see what my outlook in life was then. Interesting to put that side by side with what is important to me now. 🙂
you wrote neatly, do you still write the same now? i, too, found my 2 notebooks of poetry, that was why i was able to create a poetry blog.
nice to reminisce, di ba?
Jane: When I write slow, this is still my handwriting, Dine. Yes, it is so nice to look back at what we wrote years ago.
hi there, i’m a lurker in this blog. i love this post because i felt like i was reading an entry about myself. i also had all sorts of fancy pens (including calligraphy pens) when i was a tweener. my dad gave me a fountain pen as a gift when i was seven and i was hooked since. i also kept countless journals and notebooks (of nice quotes, passages from books which i liked, etc.) since i was probably ten. 🙂
Jane: Wow! How wonderful to find more and more people online who share the same stuff as I do! 🙂
I like that notebook of yours! Remember when you pulled it out of the trunk a few years back and showed it to me and shobe. 🙂 Haha.
I still keep my diary, though it has gone un-updated for quite a while. Haha. The bane of keeping an online blog, you sometimes prefer that to handwritten diary entries.
Jane: You can look at it from time to time. The nice thing about notebooks and diaries is that you get to see your own handwriting on it. It is so much more personal than something online. But again, online journals are easier to maintain. Just keep journalling, regardless how you do it. Love you! 🙂
I love life