Here's a little something you didn't know about me:
I am a spy.
Well ok, not really. But I do carry a little notebook around with me so I can jot down quotes and ideas whenever I hear them. I once had a professor who recommended doing this because you never know what "golden nuggets" you'll want to remember for later -- and besides, it makes people wonder what you're up to ; )
I am a self-appointed observer of the world and I keep all my findings in my little notebook ... which has now extended onto random post-it notes and scraps of paper I corral in a plastic bag.
I learned the hard way to protect my thoughts in a plastic bag because you never know when a faulty water bottle top might leak, or when you'll get caught in the rain. Once I lost an entire notebook and felt lost for weeks until I managed to transfer those precious notes from memory into a new notebook.
Actually, I have a whole slew of notebooks. My collection began as a kid. I remember worrying about what to write in each of them because every one needed to have a purpose. I'd set them all up on the table, stare at them for probably half an hour, and then run my plan by my mom (who told me not to worry so much and just write!). I think I ended up with a dream journal, an everyday journal (where I literally wrote something down every single day ... talk about a yawn-er), a travel journal, and I'm sure I came up with some other purposes. I took my journaling seriously. After all, it wasn't only for me, I wrote for the whole world. Seriously, I imagined that someday the world would be destroyed and a few lone survivors would come across my journal, and that is all they would have as a clue to our former world. Yes, I really did imagine this. That's why I'd write down the entire date in the corner of the page and as many details as I could. I wanted to help those future earthlings out! They might be confused what 9/24/1993 meant, but they'd figure it out, thanks to my impeccable recording. And then my journals would be famous, wuahaha.
Here's my collection today:
My greatest inspirations usually come when I'm driving to work in the morning. I've read somewhere that morning is a natural creative time, and I definitely find this to be true. I'll be driving along listening to some music when all of a sudden an idea pops in my head -- and I have to wait until I arrive at work before I can quickly scribble it down in my notes (or sometimes I may use my hand as a notepad while sitting at a light!).
I never fully know what the future holds for these "golden nuggets". Sometimes it's just a scene or image I'd like to remember and maybe incorporate into a children's book someday, like a smokestack puffing pink cotton-candy into the setting sky, or a whole army of UPS trucks heading down the road in perfect unison that somehow remind me of an animated kid's movie. Other times I jot down more philosophical thoughts that usually revolve around the seasons or nature. And there's definitely a whole slew of blog-post ideas, poems, and childhood memories. I'll get back to them ...
....Someday....
I work almost full time at a publishing house, work as a freelance writer for a local lifestyle magazine, I try squeeze in a run (or a Body Pump class!) almost every day, and have many other hobbies and house projects that keep me going. So if a few weeks go by without a peep from me on this ol' blog it isn't because I have nothing to say.
My thoughts are just germinating -- waiting for their turn in the ziplock bag.
