What's in my Moleskine?

Pictured here is a Moleskine notebook. I own about ten of them and always have one with me so I can take notes when I have the urge. I write about all manner of things in it, from planning notes to observations to things I want to write about later, whether here or elsewhere. I typically finish using one notebook before I move on to another, but sometimes I find myself grabbing a half-filled Moleskine when switching bags or something, so I end up with a mishmash of non-sequential notes.

While flying from Dallas to Oklahoma City this afternoon, I found myself flipping curiously through the Moleskine in my purse to see what is in it. I was amused by the random assortment of things I found and thought you might be as well. These items offer some insight about me, sort of like Kell's lists of 25 things.

Here's what you would find in my Moleskine:

• planning information for my Christmas trip to Paris;
• notes I took regarding my time in Paris, including what I did and saw and my thoughts and feelings, such as "I ask to have my passport stamped at the Charles DeGaulle customs desk, and le police rolls his eyes as if fulfilling my request will sap his last bit of life force";
• a "things I hate about airline travel" list, drafted at an unknown time;
• the U2 line, "You've got yourself stuck in a moment and you can't get out of it";
• biographical information on a guy I would like to work for at the ACLU;
• notes from my trip to Austin in February 2006, which begin with "'Read a Fucking Book' is written on the serious-looking coffee drinker's black t-shirt";
• a reminder to myself to buy computer screen cleaner;
• planning information for my March 2006 trip to Phoenix for Cubs spring training and a Sedona visit;
  
• notes taken during a March 20, 2006 immigration policy speech given by the Senator from Texas John Cornyn at a luncheon in Dallas, in which I observe that Cornyn is trying to convince us that the Mexican people pose a huge risk for smuggling WMD's across our Southern border, and with this note about the man sitting across from me at my table, who is the longtime head of the Dallas County Republican Party: "avuncular, with white hair, tucked into his salad immediately upon sitting without introducing himself to anyone else at the table, ate his entire entree and dessert in the time it took the rest of us at the table to eat the first few bites of our entrees";
• notes taken during my March 2006 trip to Phoenix and Sedona;
• notes taken during a March 28, 2006, talk by author Azar Nafisi, who wrote "Reading Lolita in Tehran" and spoke at an Arts and Letters Live gathering sponsored by the Dallas Museum of Art--she said, among other things: "When you write, you need to put yourself in the place of those you despise because then you understand their vulnerabilities and your own strengths";
• notes taken during my April 2006 trip to Chicago;
• notes taken on April 21, 2006, regarding some thoughts I had while sitting in a courtroom waiting for my case to be called;
• notes taken on April 22, 2006, regarding thoughts on Americans that occurred to me while waiting at a car wash, including, "two old men sitting on a bench are talking about the current Administration and one said, 'anything would be better than what we've got now,' just before they both climbed into a huge, gas-guzzling dark green Chevy truck and drove away";
• a March 31, 2006, note about a Southwest Airlines operations agent who had a Bush/Cheney sticker and a "Terrorist Hunting Permit" sticker on the clipboard he holds out for all passengers to see as they board;
• a (sadly) unintelligible story that a little girl wrote for me on a flight to Austin, along with a picture of a boat that she drew;
• notes from the April 2006 ACLU Human Rights Conference I attended;
• notes from a David Sedaris talk, including this quote: "I think there is a difference between filth generated by the writer and that observed";
• notes from the Ken Lay cross examination I watched at the federal court in Houston;
• notes taken during my flight to San Diego, which reflect my belief that the guy sitting near me was a federal air marshal and, if that is true, my concern about the fact that he was so removed from modern life that he asked about my IPOD, saying "I never saw one before, but heard about them on Michael Reagan's AM radio show because he has podcasts," just before he pulled out a can of chewing tobacco and placed a pinch between his cheek and gum;
• notes from work-related calls I made while traveling;
• my review of the movie "Friends With Money";
• a quote I liked in a Dallas Observer article by Richie Whitt: "It's not the heat, it's the lack of humility . . . ";
• planning notes and thoughts I had while in NYC this July;
  
• contact information for a lawyer I met who is trying to save Washington Square Park in NYC from misguided changes;
• notes from the Volvo service waiting area, which I turned into a post for this blog; and
• the business card of a guy I met while waiting for my flight back to Dallas last Friday night.

After reading this list, you may fear for my sanity . . .