Fighting the fetish

Ah the paper fetish, oh how strong a curse it is. Those of us who are afflicted know the feeling well; we walk past the office supply aisles of a store and hear the paper calling us. Sure, we have probably walked down that aisle 500 times in the past and know there’s nothing worth buying yet we check again, just in case.

Yesterday I stood in the aisle at my local Target holding a Miquelrius notebook in my hand and staring at the Rhodias sitting a couple shelves lower. I had to work to convince myself not to buy either. The Miquelrius was color coded for subjects and the pages seemed thin so that wasn’t all that hard to put back. The Rhodia, on the other hand, screamed at me to buy it. If they had a better selection, I would have picked something but they only had 2 types: the stapled pad which I dislike, and the reverse notebook which I would have bought if they had anything other than graph lining. I made it out of the store without any paper, quite a feat if I must say so myself.

For me, it’s a constant battle not to buy paper. I don’t know what it is, but every time I’m in physical contact with paper I love or have heard is good, I want to buy it. I literally have to argue with my inner voice to save myself from spending the money. Then I head home, open up the 2 drawers in my desk that are stuffed with empty notebooks and journals, and remind myself that I have enough paper to last me for years.

Ah what a rough life. I can’t wait for the pen buying fetish to start back up, I can feel it in the back of my mind just begging to be let free.