One of my unwritten resolutions this year was to become more organized, especially at work. One area where I'm completely disorganized is in keeping track of the paper notes I write. I'm notorious for grabbing the nearest loose notebook, scrabbling for a pen, scribbling down notes, and then promptly losing the notebook and usually the pen too.

I decided this year to get something bound to take notes in. I figured if it's bound and I bought it I might keep up with it. So earlier this week I was in a bookstore looking through their journals. I was going through the whole routine: Hmmm. Too girly. Stripes? Too complicated. Why'd they put the brand name on the front? Too big. Flowers? Uh uh. and so on.

Then I saw it: a Moleskine.

You know what a Moleskine is, right?

"For two centuries now Moleskine journals have been the legendary notebook of artists, writers, intellectuals and travelers."

Legendary! It says so right there on the pamphlet that comes with it.

Modo & Modo, the company that now makes them, claims that Vincent Van Gogh and Ernest Hemmingway used them. Of course, those guys may have used something Moleskine-ish, but . . . well I think Modo & Modo are embellishing, although I fell for their marketing scheme hook, line and sinker. I mean, if one of these babies was good enough for Ernest Hemmingway . . . it must be worth the fifteen bucks I paid for it, right?

I bought the "Reporter" style that flips up from the top, for extra coolness. In a meeting yesterday one of my coworkers even commented on my cool notepad. When I've filled this one up I'll probably try the regular notebook (which comes with an added feature: a ribbon bookmark. Nice.)

I'm totally geeked on my Moleskine now. I like everything about it: the elastic band holding it together, the great paper, the simplicity of it all. It rocks.

And I haven't lost it yet. Miraculous . . .

To my chagrin, I notice that the lushes over at the seedy dive down by the docks are also feeling that Moleskine Buzz.