My friend Nicole.

[Intro] Good day, Accurate time keeper, my co-debaters, and esteemed audience. Today, I’m here to make a case that offline, in-person shopping is better than online. I’m going to do that using my friend Nicole’s story.

At the top of the year, Nicole decided that she was going to expand her journaling practice to ward off the tiredness she feels from her typical notes app journaling. Nicole thought a new medium might be just the fix.

She wanted something physical. Something she could touch and refer to. Something that, years from now, her nieces, nephews, and young friends could find - with her handwriting, memories, tears, errors, fears, and triumphs. Nicole, grandiose in her thinking, wanted something that would allow her to be a bit more creative - prints of stuff, receipts from memorable days, pictures, stamps - you name it.

Her mind was set on a Moleskine. She’d never used one, but the colours and the paper called to her. January brings with it a lot of vim, and Nicole had a roll of papyrus long list of new undertakings for the year - gift wrapping, photography, and reading. She decided that before making financial commitments to any of these endeavours, she’d do a trial period. Consistency, work with what was available, and see if she enjoyed it enough to back it with euros. As you can see, Nicole is prudent and dislikes stuff.

For journaling, it meant making do with the journal she received for Valentine's a few years ago. She would get the Moleskine only if she fills it.

My dear listeners, it took her all of 4months, but she did fill it.

Life had taken an unexpected shape for her, and going to the bookstore to get the journal rather than ordering online was a welcome opportunity for some cheer. An opportunity to be surrounded by books, stationery, and vinyls. Her idea of a good time. Days crawled into weeks, and she was unable to carve out time to pay the bookstore a visit. She succumbed and checked online a few times, but was unsettled.

Two days to her first trip of the year, she’s at Alexa looking for an item for the trip when she stumbled on a bookstore, Thalia. If her memory serves, she has a Thalia gift card she got for Valentine's Day with a bit of money in it. She walks in to check for the notebook. Naturally, she’s spoilt for choice - rows and rows of pretty colours and prints. She’s pulled to the right by what she will find are notebooks as well, but with the most unique, antique, vintage designs.

She loves the different iterations of them and falls more in love with the cover origin behind it. The paper inside is great too, and before she knows it, she’s moved completely away from the Moleskine stand to the Paperblanks.

She just finished the journal. Like its predecessor, it had a 4-month life. This one left the house a lot, soaking up memories from country to country.

Had Nicole shopped online, never would she have stumbled on these journals she enjoys so much. Even if she searched notebooks, I doubt the online results would have been that convincing. Sure, she would have been happy with her Moleskine, but she would have missed this experience and little discovery.

[Outro] I hope with these few points of mine, I have been able to convince and hopefully not confuse you on why you shouldn’t look for me inside, as I will be outside.

What baby's listening to:

Honestly, nothing. I needed all my focus for rewrites. But I will recommend a song anyway because, truthfully, that's the primary reason for this blog. The album cover reminds me of myself last week, gazing at the magic that was the lunar eclipse.