The Notebook

We all get a little specific sometimes in searching for particular things. We have our own standards in deciding something seemingly important like choosing a new phone, choosing where to live, choosing our partner, job, or maybe something as trivial as deciding lunch based on our whim that morning.

Recently I've been looking for a new notebook to replace my old one, because my trusty notebook is getting full of my notes. And what do you know, I apparently have particular specifications for something that seems so trivial. My last notebook was a great companion in which it checks off all the list of requirements I never thought I had in me before.

Notebooks in retrospect seem so trivial. They're just simple notebooks that you write stuffs in. As long as it contains papers, fit in your bag and can be written on (general characteristics that almost all notebooks have), it shouldn't be a problem, right?

Wrong.

The standards that I set for my notebook are crucial that they could be the make-or-break of my next idea, for they affect my muse. 

Upon browsing for new notebook in the bookstore, I found that they didn't really match what I want in a notebook. They are either too large, too tacky, having a cover and binding that's too flimsy, trying too hard with the paper designs, or too expensive, etc etc. I just wanted a small (A6) notebook with simple paper design, with hard cover and ring-binded to fit a pen to write with.

My last notebook was just that. Red hard-cover ring-binded, perfect pocket size and paper design that is neither too tacky or too whitely colored for me to write on. It can also fit a thin pen so they'd come in set as I pulled it out of my purse, ready for me to write my next best idea. And the best thing? It didn't even cost me 20k rupiah. 

Le old trusty notebook

Since I was running out of notebook pages already, I had to settle for the best in between available choices in the bookstore. I had to compromise from my initially (apparently) high standards. So I found this guy Moko-nya. It is kinda larger than I wanted, and the paper design was a bit childish, but it has hard cover and ring bind I could fit my pen in, and didn't cost as much as other alternatives (I just found out notebooks are either too costly or too tacky there was no inbetween). The design *is* a *bit* childish but it was relatively cute and better than other design (either that or Spider-Man or Elsa Frozen).

my new MOKONYA companion

Side comparison

A helluva rant for just a notebook, innit?

I kinda wonder whether my standards are just unmet demands in the niche market of writer's notebook, or whether I was just seeking in the wrong place. I'm sure some of you can relate with the fascination towards a particular type of stationery. I talked about this with a close friend of mine, and even she had a more advanced requirement of the paper color shouldn't be too "white", while recommending pens that are a few mili-milimeter thinner than normal pens. I guess stationery does matter.