The challenge. I didn’t go anywhere. What do I take photographs of? I’ve exhausted my little neighborhood, haven’t I? My world has shrunk, and like many, I don’t really venture beyond a small area. Yes, yes, COVID and all that, but the problem still needs to be solved.
Ah, ha!
What’s on your desk? Here’s what’s on mine:
- an Acer all-in-one computer with mouse, keyboard, and speakers
- a lamp and two plants
- a pencil case filled with pens that need refilling
- a repurposed jar of jam to hold my pens
- chapstick, sticky notes, correction tape, and a cat-shaped coaster
- a cashier’s book that’s dirt cheap used as scratch pad
- my old journal, the one I’m using, another notebook, and a 2020 planner
- usually some sort of beverage [coffee, smoothie, tea or water]
I had a lot of free time this month as work goes through another one of its unpredictable changes. Luckily, I have online work to help supplement my income, but its made me realize just how little I need to live. In any case, I’ve been reading and writing a lot, and I thought I’d give you a sneak peek into one of my loves.
Are you laughing yet? These pens need to be refilled. When I lived in Chiang Rai, they sold refills at the nationwide bookstore chain B2S, but for some reason I can’t find refills in Rayong. And trust me, I always look. I hate the idea of tossing them, too. Maybe I should search online…
I like Paper Mate’s Ink Joy gel pens, but I’m branching out for the sake of cost and sanity. Because my local Tesco doesn’t seem to understand what it means to restock an item. [But lately, they have crates and crates of oil, much to the hilarity of my partner and me. We like to joke about how someone accidentally added an extra ‘0’ when ordering. Seriously. I should take a picture.] Anyway, as you can see, I’m not your basic black or blue pen person. Although, one of my former students gave me a black Muji pen that rocks. I also prefer a 0.7 medium gel size. Not really a fan of thin scratchy ink.
Although, you wouldn’t know it by the thin layer of dust on the jar. Thanks camera phone for picking that up!
Since I journal everyday, I like to change pen colors. I also just realized I have more pens to the left of my desk in another drawer. I’m not one for saving things, but boy, do I hate tossing a pen out. By the way, this Atlantic article on ‘What does your writing implement say about you?‘ is pretty funny.
My current bad habit is starting to write, then hopping online to check my inboxes: Gmail, Messenger, and TinyLetter, then returning to my morning pages for more scribbling. I’ve also been having a harder time writing those three pages down because I’m eager to get online and get going. Naturally, this is after I’ve meditated for 20 minutes (makes smug expression).
When I lived in the States, I don’t remember a great quantity of cutesy journals unless I was in a Sanrio store. But here in Thailand, they love their notebooks with bad English translations (no, I do not buy them), weird quotes, and super girly designs (yes!). Of course, they have plain ones, too.
Since I move frequently, these are by far the densest things I lug around. Sometimes I have to mail them to my family up North because I loathe heavy suitcases. But they’re my babies. And it looks like this is about five years worth of morning journals. I have more in America, and my earliest diary is from thirty-three years ago. I know, crazy, right? This is what can happen when your family moves to the Mojave Desert when you’re a teenager. Reading and writing become your comforts and joys.
The Changing Seasons is a monthly challenge where bloggers around the world share what’s been happening in their month. Please check out Su’s blog post on the guidelines. 🙂
How was your September? And what’s on your desk?
Life, the Universe, and Lani 
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