Office supply ovation

Like anyone, with every age bracket I’ve entered into, I’ve changed, some for the better and some for the not so better. In either case, I’ve made change. Looking back, however, there’s at least two constants that have remained particular to me throughout: my love of clothes (and shoes and accessories) and my love of the written word.

As a child I can remember going to the store with my mum to get new school supplies. For most kids, I’m sure it was a reminder of the impending doom that was beckoning around the corner, but not for me. I reveled at the opportunity to pick out just the right notebook with the most aesthetically appealing lined paper, the pencils that were sure not to dull out too soon, and the erasers that were just plain cool-looking. Yeah, I was a weird kid. But, even more awesome than my Trapper Keeper that now sits in a box somewhere with some boy’s name doodled in the back corner, was the special paper I got to have. Despite not having the neatest handwriting in the world, there was something special to me about having that unlined sky paper. To me, it was like having soda instead of milk with dinner on a weeknight. It was a treat. What’s funny though is that to this day; I think I maybe used three sheets out of that entire packet of paper. It was too special to write on. Even as I morphed into an awkward teenager writing poetry and song lyrics, I used the edge of envelopes, napkins and torn-up pieces of scrap paper to write some of what I consider my “best” work then.

And that weirdo excitement that I got then, it’s still there. I realized it the other day when I scheduled time to make it to a specific well-known office supply superstore. It went a little something like this:

Entering the store, I was immediately dazzled by the “clearance” section and it’s “ridiculously low” prices for things I didn’t know I needed. A leather-bound notebook for $10? Wow! I’m so glad that was the first thing I saw, because I certainly wouldn’t have thought I needed that! Or the pack of 10 pens that write so smooth you would think they were markers and come in a rainbow array of colors? Yup. Need those. Will immediately throw away the yellow because, no one uses yellow. You can’t see it. Why do they always put in yellow like that? I must throw away at least 10 yellow-colored Sharpies and fine-tip pens each year. Man…Or what about this stapler in the shape of a high heel?! Yes! Wait, I already have a tape dispenser like that…I guess I’ll pass…

Eventually I made it out of the clearance section and arrived in the area where the planners are kept. So. Many. Colors. And. Patterns. Need. Want. All. And you can’t just choose the first one you see because this is going to be my lifeline for the next year, do I really want to look at a peacock pattern all year long? Okay, the purple one it is. Man it’s pretty….Ooooooh! Notebooks!

Oh. My. Goodness.

Nautical-themed.

Feathers!

I need the one with the feathers it’s got a band that I can keep things from falling out of in-between the pages, maybe I can use this one for journaling…oh, there’s a gold feather on each page, yes, I’m using it for journaling. But wait! There’s a hand-stitched one from India that has a typewriter on it AND A FAIRY TALE THEME COMING OUT OF THE TOP OF THE TYPEWRITER. This is a dilemma. Do I really need two additional notebooks/journals for myself when I already supplied with some at work?....

In the end, I spent almost $70 at the previously-described office supply paradise, yet I still have found myself taking notes on the edge of envelopes for my bills. God I hope I write at least one word in those damn decorative books of paper.