My Truest Love

Hello friends! Wish you all a very happy World Stationery Day. This is my first post of 2016 and I am so glad that it's about my first and truest love; stationery. I had been longing to write on my love for stationery since a long time but I am a procrastinator. Apologies for that. But, everything has a perfect timing and I found the perfect time that made me sit and write this blog post. I was ecstatic when I found out that there's a day celebrated as world stationery day. I feel proud when I see people who love stationery. I love those people. And I felt proudest when I read about stationery day. Eventually, I got the right day to write about my stationery love.

The truth is that until I began using Instagram, I used to think I am one of those rare people who love stationery. The thing is to whosoever I told that it was pens and notebooks that fascinated me the most, I always got a surprising reaction from them. Some thought I was weird to have such obsession. So, when I began using Instagram, I came across much bigger and serious stationery addicts than I am. They have huge stationery collection and never fail to flaunt them. I feel awkwardly pleasant when I scroll through those pretty journal pictures, when I see study time lapses and when I come across stationery shopping websites. That's my guilty (naah!) pleasure. My Amazon account Wishlist has nothing but books and stationery. Give me a pen or notebook and you can make me happy beyond words, in an instant.

I shop online a lot and that's always either for books or stationery. I have casted my eyes on Moleskine journals now. I have my Indian substitute for them in form of journals from Doodle Collection. They're so very pretty. I own a Red Guitar Doodle Diary with elastic band journal closer, a Floral Pink Diary, and a success doodle diary with magnetic lock. I love those three so much that I am unable to put them to any use because I don't want to scribble on their beautiful pages. Right, the fear of messing up the pages. Is it a phobia or something? I don't know.

Doodle Collection Diaries

Let me now tell you about my first online order and it was not via any online shopping site. I was crazy after a stationery brand (that I am not going to name), and it had somehow stopped its sale in our area. I could not get its products anywhere. Then, fortunately, one day I stumbled upon their website and I jumped with joy when I found their email ID and products catalogue there. All I did was talk to my dad if I could contact those people and ask them to send some stationery to my home and get the required amount. At that time, I had no clue about 'cash on delivery' and it was all cooked up in my mind how I could get them to deliver stationery to my home. Then, I talked to them via emails and they agreed to do as I requested. Kind people. I had sent them a long, I mean very long list of product codes from their catalogue. Maybe they had never received such absurd order because after a day or two, they emailed me to ask if I wanted stationery for myself or for some commercial purpose. I was taken aback a little but I told them that it was for me and we have no stationery store. Embarrassing, right? Who cares as long as you are getting stationery from your favourite brand. 

I still remember the day that order, my first online order, arrived. It was a big box packed with a bundle of stationery products. Dozens of notebooks, 20 boxes of pencils (I had ordered 2 boxes but I received 20. These quantity confusions for every product made them think what I said above. I was happy to see stationery in bulk, anyway), uncountable pretty erasers and geometry boxes, cute sharpeners and what not!! The first sight after opening the box was heaven to my eyes. I have not used even ten percent of those products till now and it's been more than five years. This incident took place in March 2011 (I checked the emails' thread). I even have the bill kept safely with me, as a remembrance. I have treasured them and no one knows where I have hidden all my stationery in the house. I am just possessive for them. Okay, over-possessive. And obsessed. If someone scribbles in any of my notebooks without my permission or harm my stationery, I seriously become a fire breathing dragon and yell at them. 

If I see any stationery contest running on Twitter/Facebook, I simply can't resist taking part in it. Some of my most favourite journals are won through contests. India Today diaries (Twitter) is my favourite account for journal contests. They had sent me a surprising India Today Companion Diary 2016. I loved it specially because it's pages have golden edges, but it became my most special diary when I discovered that its cover had my name embossed on it in gold metallic ink. I had not noticed it on the day I received the diary, but I saw it the next day that it had my name on it. It was a pretty amazing treat to my senses. Other than this one, I won these colour crush (red, orange, green) super cute notebooks from India Today, and one more notebook. By Doodle Collection contests, I won the above Floral Pink Diary from their ethnic collection and the Success journal. I had bought the red guitar Doodle diary from Amazon and I love it.

India Today Companion Diary 2016 

India Today Colour Crush Notebooks (Red and Orange)

I never understood why I had such obsession for diaries and pens. While other kids were charmed with toys and dolls, I was taken to stationery shop when I cried as a child and that made me happy instantly. Whenever people asked me if there's anything I wish to buy, they didn't wait for my answer because they knew it and always said, "oh, you'll say diaries and pens." They asked me why I loves diaries so much. How could I answer? I didn't know the reason myself. I only wanted to scribble all the day. And littlest known fact is that I had my own signs/language for scribbling. Well, it was not language. I simply used to make curves and lines in notebooks, the way cartoon did in the shows, especially Recess. My mom and cousins would say that I am playing doctor-doctor with myself and those weird words were prescriptions in doctor's handwriting. They still say the same if they, by chance, catch me scribbling that way. When I need to vent out, I use that method so that I can empty my enraged mind on a paper without actually writing readable words. Even I don't want to read my upsetting thoughts on paper later. I never understood those scribbled curves and lines. They had no meaning at all. They are nothing more than just a piece of stupidity. A stupidity that I love with all my heart though.

Am I left with anything? I guess not. Thank you for reading this long, confusing post and giving your precious time to my madness. Again wishing you all a super special and fab stationery day. Buy lots of stationery without any guilt because you can never have too much stationery *wink*.

Author Notes:

-I write long posts. I know that for a reader, it's time consuming and it makes me avoid writing more blog posts. Now onwards I will try to write shorter posts. 

-I add more content when I edit instead of cutting down the content because I keep adding what I forgot to write in first draft. 

-I can't insert the photos of all my stationery in this post for two reasons, one, because it's impossible to gather all of them at one place for a click. Second, I don't want to insult them with my bad photography skills.

-I write lesser blog posts but I write a post on Instagram daily. You may follow my write-ups on Instagram at @meetlife240.