Dr. Who Moleskine 2.0

I decorated my last moleskine with Dr. Who stickers. That's well-worn now, and full of course, so while I am using Jane Austen journal for a bit of a change, I spent some time decorating my next moleskine. Dr. Who theme again :-) So that's Dr. Who Moleskine 2. Totally Love It!! This is going to be my next personal journal, and I can't wait to use it. 

Moleskine Pen Test - Results

About two months ago, I did a post on testing several pens for Plain Moleskine. Having used them now, here is my result. 

Uniball Signo 207, 0.7

It was okay on Moleskine, but it actually turned out to be absolutely perfect for my Travel Journal. So I stopped using it in Moleskine. 0.7 nib works better on thicker pages. 

Pilot G-Tec - C4

Definitely better suited to drawing. Too fine for continuous and speedy writing. It's not bad, but it just doesn't flow as smoothly as I would like. As most of what I do is write, I won't be buying any more of these.

Pilot G2-0.38

Good pen, but again, bit too fine for my purpose. This is the one I am currently using, and I am almost out of the ink. But even after the usage, it's not completely smooth flowing. 

Pilot G2-0.5

PERFECT. I love it. This is definitely THE PEN for Plain Moleskines. I believe it so much that I have bought packs of 12 refills for my Black and Blue pens. I know someone mentioned in the comments in the Test post that after some usage the ink will flow smooth (I had complained that it wasn't), and they were right. After I used it for a bit, it was perfect. Easy to hold, fast to write, flows on the page, and doesn't mess up handwriting. I can see now why everyone always associates this pen with moleskines.

Pilot G2-0.7

Okay, but same principle as Uniball Signo. 0.7 is slightly too thick for thin pages of Plain Moleskines. It's usable, but it's better suited to thicker pages of other journals. 

Moleskine Protective Bag

I promised Nofretiri ages ago that I will post a picture of my cute moleskine bag. Finally here it is. And since I delayed, for a bonus, I am also posting a picture of the bag (present from my sister) that I am using for my filofax.

Journaling Goals for 2011

It wouldn't do not to have some new goals for this year's journaling, so here it is: 

In 2011, my main goal is to Carry My Journal Everywhere. 

I have tried it in the past, but except for Travel Journals, never been consistent because I was always worried about ruining my journals, carrying them along with all the other crap that seems to accumulate in my handbags. But I found a solution. While on holiday in Tenerife, I found some pretty pouches, one of which is a perfect fit for my moleskine, so even in the oversized handbag with half my household inside, my journal will be protected. 

A part of me does wonder if there is any point in carrying it around, since most of my day is scheduled (i.e. at work), so I wouldn't actually get a chance to write, but then I think even if it happens only now and again, some odd moments of journaling, it's bound to add bit more depth and characters to my journals than simply doing it at home. 

What about  you? Do you carry your personal journal around with you? Do you have any particular Journal Keeping goals for 2011? 

Remembrance Sunday

Remembrance Sunday

Tribute to Remembrance Sunday with a Poppy and a Poem.

Dr. Who Moleskine

My new Plain Moleskine. It's the first one that I decided to decorate, and Dr. Who stickers seemed like the best way to start!

I absolutely love this moleskine, and this will be my 20th Journal, which I will be starting today, having finished my 19th Journal (236 pages), in one day less than 4 months. 

I am hooked on decorating covers now, so looking forward to buying more journals to spruce up.

Anyone know where I can buy Stargate stickers? ;)

Moleskine Pen Test

I bought some new pens to try with my moleskine. I have used several before, but not been satisfied with any. 

Here, I must point out - it depends on the moleskine too. For my Moleskine Sketchbook, I have a perfect pen. Pentel Energel 0.7. It works fabulously on thick sketchbook pages.

But my quest this time was for plain or ruled moleskine, which has thinner pages. After reading several reviews from other moleskine users, I bought five pens.

Uniball Signo 207, 0.7

Pilot G-Tec - C4

Pilot G2-0.38

Pilot G2-0.5

Pilot G2-0.7

Yes, four of them were Pilot, because it's a good, trusty brand, and I knew it was just a matter of finding the right fit. I tested all of them, and these are my results:

Pilot G-Tec-C4 and Pilot G2-0.38, while excellent are not for me. Their very fine point are more suited to sketching than writing. For writing, I find them bit rough on the page, and the writing is quite light. But I tried a few doodles, and it definitely works. Unfortunately, I am not much of a sketcher, so I will just find some other uses for them, or there is always doodling.

Pilot G2 - 0.5 - very good. This is the pen most frequently recommended by other moleskine users. I liked it. It's comfy, and it flows, but I did find it bit hesitant on the page.

Pilot G2 - 0.7 and Uniball Signo 207, 0.7 - my favourites, and perfect for me. I don't know if I like one of them better. I guess I will find out after more use. But the ink flows very smoothly. There is absolutely no roughness to it. Writing comes out properly black, dark, just as I like it, and 0.7 is definitely more suited to A LOT of writing. Between the two, I would buy either one of these or both for use with my moleskine, and probably other writing material too. 

Adieu Moleskine - Hello Parchment

Here is my poor moleskine, which has put up with me for 6 months, with my thoughts and moans and experimental pens which left smudges. And I even made it fat. And now our journey together is ended, though it shall forever be a treasure.

And this is Journal 17. A handmade journal with hand decorated paper. I bought this quite a while ago - at least a year, probably longer - but couldn't use myself to write on these lovely pages. Sometimes, I get that with journals. For some of them, I just need to wait until I am ready to use them. But I am ready now.

Compared to moleskine it's got a lot less pages, and also I am writing much more into journal now, so I don't expect this to last long, but looking forward to filling it.

On practical matters:


Because it is handmade, it would not take the battering as well as the moleskine, so I shall not be carrying it everywhere.

Pages are very good quality, and thick, so all those pens that bled through in plain moleskine work well here. After a little test (it comes with a square piece with a note about the journal, but the back is blank so a good place to try out different pens.

Pentel Gel Pen and Zebra liquid Ink Roller Ball, as well as Gel Pens will be my preferred choice for this journal. They write well, don't bleed through, and liquid ink doesn't smudge on the page.
Parker and Watermen Fountain pens don't work so well, because the ink doesn't come out dark enough on these pages.

It is a very light journal, so it would be easy to carry it around if I wanted to. While it is not as flexible as moleskine in terms of just leaving it open, it is comfortable enough to write in.

Naming my Moleskine

When I first started keeping a diary, I used to start with traditional "Dear Diary". Then as my diaries became journals, I stopped doing it. It just felt silly to start with a "Dear Diary" so I just start with a date.

I don't usually name objects (except Teddy bears obviously), but when I got my netbook, I knew *he* had to have a name. He is Finn, and that's how I refer to him, and I totally adore him.

Anne Frank calls her diary, Kitty. She has turned her diary into an actual person, and she writes as if confiding into one friend she can trust with her innermost thoughts. It made me wonder if I should give my journals name(s). I don't share all my thoughts with anyone. Never have, and I doubt I ever will. In journals, I try to be as honest as possible, but sometime there is automatic censorship. So I wondered, would it make a difference, if I felt I was writing to a friend?

My journals are extremely important to me, so I certainly don't see them as mere objects. But to name them would be to personalise them. Anne consistently called her diaries "Kitty" because she was actually writing letters to a friend. But I see each of my journal as individual entities, though connected. It would feel totally wrong to call them all by same names, and yet you can't get close to many different friends.

So as I was writing in my current moleskine that I use for private journaling yesterday, I wondered if *she* should have a name. I haven't decided yet. Perhaps it is easier to write to a journal than a person, even if fictional. I don't know.

How about you? Do you ever name your journals? Does it make the experience of sharing your soul any easier?