One Typed Page
There’s a website, onetypedpage.com, which is just that. Each day people submit a photo of their typed page and it gets hosted on this blog. I’ve known about it for a long time but only recently started going back to it. There appears to be some comments about moderation and conflict, but as far as I ever saw it was a quiet enjoyable site to read through with a cup of tea.
This morning I decided I’d submit a post to it. It’s not there yet but maybe later today or tomorrow it will be. It’s mostly a letter about nothing. Here it is:
I struggled with the ink spooling and that then made a mess. But that’s the joy.
A new writing nook
I have to admit my previous one has become overwhelmed with things that there is no longer anywhere to write. It is now home to radio books and magazines, a few other books I keep meaning to read, a Hobonichi I’ve yet to write in, and more. I keep meaning to tidy it up.
We recently inherited a nice bureau from my wife’s grandparents, and her mum kindly brought it up to our house. We also got various little knick-knacks, house items, recipe books and consumable things like notepads and sewing stuff. Still to find homes for it all but the first thing I wanted to test out was the bureau.
I’d actually forgotten it had drawers at the bottom, which is slightly disappointing as I can’t tuck a chair under it when not in use, but they are very handy for storing paper and notebooks etc. I even think I could store the Olivetti in one. That would be ideal. Even though I like having the typewriter out in the office on the desk, it does take up a lot of space.
By far the most exciting part is all those cubbies for trinkets and mysteries! My nanna used to have a bureau in her house, and as a child I remember finding it open some days and just poking about in all the little sections. There were so many things packed into it. It also contained all her correspondence and home admin, just nothing was organised, at least not how any of us could see. It was in the dining room, and so when it was dinner time she could just close it up and everything looked tidy, even though behind that door was a mess of papers and objects.
Hopefully we’ll keep ours a little tidier than that!
The office refurb we did was, and still is, great. There is so much desk space available for all sorts of things at the same time. However, it’s where the computer sits and boy is it hard for me to sit down in the office and NOT go on the computer. It really takes a lot of effort to write with a pen or the typewriter and I’ve essentially done none in a long time. Amateur radio has also been a big cause of doing nothing else but amateur radio, but even before that I was doing very little. My best periods of writing where when we were on holiday this summer, where I wrote everyday. There, I’m out of my routine and there’s no autopilot sit on the computer.
Now with this new writing nook, away from the computer, my intent is that I will reestablish my routine. The only issue is that it’s in the hallway, and so everyone will hear the typewriter, but that’s a minor detail I can work around…probably by getting everyone some ear plugs for christmas.
Hobonichi - for those that want to be told what to do
I’ve looked at them a few times over the years but never bought one. They are pretty expensive - I guess from import duties etc. from Japan - and, you know, it’s just a notebook. However, I saw that the 2H 2022 ones were up for pre-order at a local online store and so I went for it. Being half the year means that it was maybe half the price.
Look on reddit or forums or wherever and people rave about the quality and paper and how nice they feel. Again, something I didn’t really buy when reading about it online. However, I’m now in that camp of “ermahgard this is the nicest notebook I’ve ever had.”
The paper feels smooth and is remarkably well suited to just about any pen and ink type you have. Even the cover feels nice. A lot of people get covers and holders for their technos, which do offer benefits such as pen holders and extra pockets for cards or tickets etc., but the vanilla notebook seems durable enough to keep it bare.
It comes in A6, which I initially thought would be too small, but now I appreciate the small size, as it makes it easy to bring back and forth to work or anywhere else I want to take it.
The biggest difference to most other notebooks, even ones with fancy paper and covers, is the prescribed layout inside. There are a lot of sections inside it. It’s similar to a diary but there’s more than just days of the week. There’s a year index, a month calendar, the individual days, a timetable, a top 100 list, favourites list, contacts, and probably a few other things I’ve forgotten. The individual days have the date, the moon phase, time slots, a meal journal, and a todo list part. There’s just so much in it but it’s all very well organised and laid out.
Whilst there’s a general way to use each section, you do have the freedom to do what you want. I like using the yearly index for a habit tracker, and the top 100 list for a book tracker. I’ve only just got mine so I might change these or find other uses.
I could do all this with a blank notebook, and one at the fraction of the price. However, I quite like being told what to do. Like the defaults in software, good ones are well thought out and you’d be wise to at least try it that way.
My half year doesn’t start until 1st July, so I’m only partially using it right now. I’ll see how I get one once the month rolls around. I think it could be just what I’m looking for, or it could be that I’m romanticising a heap of paper.