Filofaxes

I have just read my sister's blog for the first time (shame on me) and love that she has bought a Filofax.  I must admit I am shocked it has taken her so long to discover the seductive nature of the truly remarkable Filofax, but alas, she is now a member of the club. And to think - all in the digital age too. In celebration of this - I took mine out of its special place (home to all special things - my little blue suitcase) and began to flick through it.  To my horror I discovered that since the arrival of my Blackberry, I haven't much used my Filofax.  It's beautiful green material Eden exterior, hardly touched in about 4 months. I realised I had been unfaithful! SHOCK.  So. In celebration of these two rediscoveries in one week (the other was the soup) I will describe, in homage, to my sister's blog, the contents of my Filofax. You know though - I'm sure this is against some secret code...

The BEGINNING:

Personal info and calendar... nothing special about that.  The date that is bookmarked is 22nd May 2010. There's nothing written on this page unfortunately. That might have been interesting - some clue to a fabulous and exciting life. Not to be.

Past the calendar is the mighty tube map. Ah London - you blissful smokey scrawl of gorgeousness.  A world map follows that.

Then - the NOTEPAPER:

There are two pages detailing in bullet points the prerequisites to getting a job at Net-A-Porter as a) a Photographic Retoucher, and b) as a Photographer.  I can't remember when I wrote these out. When I copied them down in my handwritten blotches from their website. Promise in my pen, and a belief in my eyes that I could do this. Bless.  Such a young fool.

After this I have a page describing how f-stops work and the depths of field from using different lenses.. My downfall at uni was always the numbers.  The technical information and the damn numbers.

Next is a quote from an interview with Damian Hirst about Butterflies.  I remember reading this and thinking it was beautiful. I recently read another article about Hirst and his butterflies. It was about plagiarism. Next... A description of a typical Beat Bohemian.  What they wear, how they act, how they think.  When I read this in a book called The Bohemian Manifesto, I fell into it head first, realised it was describing me and I felt alive with a raging sweet bitterness; torn between thinking how annoyed that I wasn't unique, and also warmed by the feeling that after all this, I wasn't alone.  I was going through some major changes in my head, and my life was tripping.  With this new found belonging, it all felt ok to be me.

Next... Haiku's.  Not long after this revelation, I discovered that there were too many words in my head, and I also realised I felt much more comfortable with a few rules and strictness.  Haiku's found me as much as I found them.  Using the 5,7,5 rule, I had to fit in words which described a feeling, a season or a setting, and a meaning.  These haiku's grew longer, and I broke free from the structure, I simply had too many words, but then as I learned more about this ancient art, I found that in the beginning, Renga, how it all started, didn't have such a tight structure, and they actually had many verses.  This I liked, and so I continued my practice > I have now been writing 'Haiku' for 4 years. These two are from this year.  My earlier scribings are in a black notebook in my blue suitcase...

The last thing to show you of any importance - and before you drift off to sleep, is a business card from a restaurant in Volubilis, Morocco.  I went there in 2008 with a good friend, and we had the most awesome trip I could ever have imagined.  I would go back tomorrow, for a lifetime.  If only I knew it would be s good.

I hope you liked visiting my Filofax... and I promise I will use it more.  I will also write my blog more too - now I've started writing - I actually can't stop. Damn! Where's twitter... let me blow some minds...