Do you keep a journal?

[Leisureguy]

I was curious about how many of you keep some sort of journal---not necessarily a daily diary, but just something in which you occasionally record thoughts, events, and the like. It could be special-purpose (cute things said by your kids, descriptions of your golf games and triumphs, and so on) or general-purpose (just daily life from your view).

And it could be handwritten (in a blank book) or on the computer (using a program like The Journal).

So: anyone?

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Michael
My blog

[Minstrel]

I keep a diary, using a database and a home-cooked PHP application running on my own web server. Works fine for me.

[jww]

I have kept a journal most of my adult life - and the past 3 years or so have recorded almost faithfully every week. I include major events and observations of what I see happening around me as well as feelings about what is going on in the world today. My hope is that one day my great-great-grandkids will sit around a room talking about life at the turn of the millemium and how smart great-great-grandad was.

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Wendell

Resident Woolfat Evangelist & anglophiliac. Have you hugged a sheep today?

[tonyespo]

I keep a journal and I write in it with a fountain pen. I write a page every morning and a page every evening. Some days I write more than two pages.

Like Wendell, I have been keeping a journal for many years. I started keeping a journal in Viet Nam.

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Tony Espo ( Lover of Knize )
Go for the GOLD.

Through my will power I dare to do what I want.

[Bob]

I don't keep a diary, but I do carry a pocket journal to record stray thoughts, wine notes, things to remember, gift ideas, etc. I used to use a Moleskine, but I've since switched to a Kompagnon, because it has a built-in pen holder. The construction and paper are as good, or better, than the Moleskine. The downside is the price.

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--Bob--

[wenestvedt]

Funny you should ask: after a liftetime of being encouraged to do so, I started in July. I average one page a day, and I generally write only every couple of days.

I once thought I could maintain a separate journal about each child and some day give it to them, but I finally realized that 1. I wouldn't ever start, and 2. it wouldn't make any sense all split up. Instead I write about what we as a family have done lately, sometimes what we're planning to do, what my family in Minnesota have been doing, etc. Not much about the news, but I have enjoyed writing out memories that I may have forgotten to tell the kids about (in one of my famous Bed Time Stories About When I Was Your Age [1]). And it's not exactly a confessional document, but maybe that will come with practice.

I use a Moleskine and one of several pens (since my fountain pen ink is water-soluble I am experimenting with others, chiefly a Pilot G2 that I find too smudgy); I keep the notebook in my bag so I can write whenever a find time, though that's usually after my wife hits the hay.

- Will
1. I am all of 35, but old to my kids. :7)

[AlbertAnthrax]

This past winter my Aunt sent me excerpts from my Grandfathers journal. He took meticulous notes on significant events such as births, promotions, career changes etc. He even noted most of his major purchases such as; appliances, houses and cars with details including prices and features. It was great to read. January 1st I started my own and write a few pages a week about significant and not so significant events and facts.

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Paul

[PaulSiegel]

I've kept a semi-daily journal for 1.5 years now, first it was poetry but now i record my musings and daily goings-on. Im not sure how interesting my words we'll be 40 years from now (probably like a self absorbed college student) but it'll be good to have. I must improve my handwriting so i can read it when im old!

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"There is more refreshment and stimulation in a nap, even of the briefest, than in all the alcohol ever distilled."

-Ovid

[drumana]

I'm 29 and I've kept journals off and on since about 18 years old. I have them all in a box in storage.

The past few years, not so much. The occasional poem or random thoughts.

I'm starting a dream diary though. I've done this before about 10 years ago and it's really interesting. Immediately when I wake up, I roll over and start writing everything I can remember about my dreams. They don't really make sense - but patterns start to emerge. It's like a journal of your unconcious life as opposed to a journal of your concious life.

Give it a shot. . . you will be intrigued.

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-Andrew-

[Leisureguy]

Interesting finding, if you keep a journal:

[Bowcephalus]

Second the fountain pen......Nothing gives a person a greater insight into his own mind than to read his own words from years past....The passing of time allows the personal thoughts to sort of reveal things uncluttered by the emotions present at the time of the writing......The greatest immediate impediment to personal objectivity seems to me to be emotion.....You can also see how much you change over the years in your perceptions and passions in life....Cause for careful consideration concerning decisions whose consequences impact one's whole lifetime.....What your parents failed to impress upon you from their experience in a meaningful way is usually validated with the occaisional glance back at one's own written words from the past.....