Serious Journal Writers

[Charles Skinner]

If you are a serious journal writer, tell us what you wrote about today. I wrote about an operation I had last week, ---- and worry about a Granddaughter, --- about my wife shopping for "hours" and is still not back home yet, ---- about my worry about my fountain pen habit, or hobby, or sickness, --- about church tomorrow, --- about how many more years I may have left "on this old earth," --- about how it seems that everybody has a lot of money these days, ---- about my poor spelling.---

 

What have you written about today?

 

Share.

 

C. S.

[Venator]

Sounds like you have a lot on your mind. I hope you and your granddaughter are both well.

 

In the morning I went through what I wanted to get done today, how nice the weather was, how everything seemed to go wrong yesterday and talked myself out of buying another pen. In the evening I wrote about how I didn't get any of the things done that I wanted to, then made some notes on a long poem that I'm working on. Late at night I wrote about how I'm not making the kind of progress I want to be, how it was ridiculous that my partner recently finished her Master's of science and I have been unemployed for too long. I wrote for a long time, sorting through what I really want to do and in what order I want to do it in, finally deciding on returning to study next semester so I can enter a career that I actually care about.

[Paddler]

I made an entry in my garden journal (with homemade black walnut ink -- la, la, la). Posted a finished account of our latest music gig in the music journal. I only did this today because it was raining outside. Otherwise, I would be too busy in the yard to write in the journal books.

[delano]

Charles, I think you and I are on the same page as far as hournaling goes. Mine serves as a brain dump, where my feelings are sorted out and decisions are clarified. I'll write more when I get back to the computer (typing on phone now) because I really like this topic. One thing I do, though, and it always gets a rise when I say it, is that I trash my journals when they are filled. They usually don't contain things I want to keep for posterity.

[ethernautrix]

I use my notebook as a brain dump and to copy down excerpts from books or articles that interest me.

 

Maybe I'll burn my notebooks one day. Don't know.

[drv1913]

The past few pages are filled with the tale of a juvenile crow that got stuck in my back yard. High drama! I think he finally managed to fly out; I haven't seen him for a day and a half.

[mtnbiker62]

I wrote about the thoughts and feelings I experienced while giving a talk in church. I also wrote about how conflicted my wife and I are about liquidating her mother's estate. Once we do that, she will be living in a care center for the rest of her life, and it is a difficult and emotional time for all of us, her included.

[inkstainedruth]

I wasn't able to write for a couple of days, because on Saturday and Sunday I had to get up around 6 AM and be out the door before 7:30 AM (and before breakfast).

So today, I was able to get back to "normal". I wrote about how the weekend went (pros and cons) and also about how I felt with having to basically dope slap someone last night about something that person said which was, IMO, extremely prejudiced and bigoted, and how I'm waiting on how to respond to the possible ramifications (which I think would be better served by private, rather than public discussion).

In one respect I had previously considered whether what the person said was true or not, which is certainly a possibility; and, mind you, there are times when the individual under discussion has made comments for which my immediate gut response was "Where's a brick -- or a large book (and a very *specific* large book, in hardcover) -- to slap you upside the head with?" But I felt compelled by the person's tone to treat it as not as a joke (however well intentioned to have been said as a joke) but as Really Pretty Offensive and certainly Not Funny. And I also consider it to be less a defense of the person being discussed, but more as defending another party (whose innocuous comment triggered what I considered an overblown and uncalled for response from the person needing the dressing down). And so I took it upon myself and did some dressing down. And would do it again. And not find it completely contradictory to want to dope slap the individual under discussion should the occasion ever arrive.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[AAAndrew]

Wow, Ruth, that's a lot of dope slapping. Too few times do those kinds of comments, however "unintentional" or meant "as a joke" get called out. Good on ya'.

 

Right now I'm keeping my journal to the basic facts of the day. I started to keep a journal to dump emotions way back early in our marriage when I was going through a tough time figuring out who I was and wanted from life. My wife one day picked it up and wondered what the book was, so she started to read it.

 

We're still married, but I don't do that anymore. Especially since she's currently go through menopause hell and I still very much her. The goal at the moment is low-drama. (I say this out of complete compassion for the hormonal hell that afflicts some women, including my wife) So, for right now, just the facts, just the facts.

[inkstainedruth]

Wow, Ruth, that's a lot of dope slapping. Too few times do those kinds of comments, however "unintentional" or meant "as a joke" get called out. Good on ya'.

Yeah, well, I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, as it were.

The upside was that I wrote a poem about it after finishing up my journal entry.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Charles Skinner]

This morning, I wrote about Dinner Club that met and ate last night. My order was for a fish dish which was to be served with collard greens. I LOVE collards greens, but when the fish came to my table, there were only five or six tiny pieces of collards greens in some kind of "soup" in which the fish set. But, over all, I enjoyed the meal even though I was disappointed with the tiny, tiny serving of collards greens. I have notice that collards greens and grits was becoming common at "high dollar" places. Really strange, but I welcome the trend. I have cheese grits from breakfast two or three times a week.

 

"Girts, -- not just the main course anymore!"

 

C, S.

[Charles Rice]

Mainly just BS, and a record of where I was "on the night of" so when they knock on the door I don't have to play dumb. (Unless of course if I really did do it)

[bassmannate]

This morning, I wrote about Dinner Club that met and ate last night. My order was for a fish dish which was to be served with collard greens. I LOVE collards greens, but when the fish came to my table, there were only five or six tiny pieces of collards greens in some kind of "soup" in which the fish set. But, over all, I enjoyed the meal even though I was disappointed with the tiny, tiny serving of collards greens. I have notice that collards greens and grits was becoming common at "high dollar" places. Really strange, but I welcome the trend. I have cheese grits from breakfast two or three times a week.

 

"Girts, -- not just the main course anymore!"

 

C, S.

Man, tell me what it's like to order grits in a restaurant. Since I moved north, I haven't seen grits on a menu at all!

[AAAndrew]

This morning, I wrote about Dinner Club that met and ate last night. My order was for a fish dish which was to be served with collard greens. I LOVE collards greens, but when the fish came to my table, there were only five or six tiny pieces of collards greens in some kind of "soup" in which the fish set. But, over all, I enjoyed the meal even though I was disappointed with the tiny, tiny serving of collards greens. I have notice that collards greens and grits was becoming common at "high dollar" places. Really strange, but I welcome the trend. I have cheese grits from breakfast two or three times a week.

 

"Girts, -- not just the main course anymore!"

 

C, S.

Not to derail, but if you like collards, I just found these when the owner was giving out samples at a local Whole Foods. I also love collards, and these are, without competition, the best collards I've ever had. Get some however you can. http://kwcollards.com

 

Back on topic, since I do the cooking, I also write what we had for dinner each night in my journal.

[Hobbitgate]

I write almost daily to highlight happenings from the previous day. It's a way of clearing my mind and helping me make sense of things. For example, like some of you, i'm in the position of having to deal with moving elderly parents...one to an apartment and one to a care facility, and all the family emotions and struggles that are on me to resolve. I've just recently chosen to retire and I'm writing about some of the feelings and day to day changes that has brought about. I write about the blessings that i need to remind myself to be thankful for and the need to keep myself focused on the positive things that happen to me every day. I also write to remind myself that life is a transition and the things that overwhelmed me at times have passed, And, I guess I write to just try and make sense of things by putting them down on paper where I can see them more clearly. This helps me to keep perspective.

In case that all sounds too heavy, I do also write about lots of things that were just plain funny, quirky or stupid and made me happy....I have a respectable amount of laugh lines on my face. ;-)

Edited June 1, 2015 by Hobbitgate

[Ligaya30]

Today I wrote about my what I did today: chores, date day with husband, hanging out with parents, etc. I typically try to maintain my journal on a daily basis. If I forget to write an entry in or was not in the mood for writing, I try to write in my journal within three days since the last entry lest I start to forget about minute details whether mundane or exceptional. I started to notice that I tend to not write on days that I had a really great day so I'm trying to be more proactive by writing in my journal right before I go to sleep.

[Gloucesterman]

I have been keeping a journal for about 20 years and think I have well in excess of about 10-12,000 pages. I use different types, sizes and style books. Although I started using ball point and then went to gel, the last ten to twelve years (at least) have been in fountain pen (and perhaps a dip pen too), usually a different color shows up for each new daily entry - which is noted by day, date, time and location.

 

As for content... whatever I feel like writing about. Often there might be emotional issues (as when I was married and going through some tough times. Interestingly enough, I did not write excessively when I went through a "c" experience seven years ago. Sometimes it might be some daily content about where I was and who I was with and what happened. And, on occasion, I will focus on a topic or question from a book I am reading or something someone has said. Oh yes, poetry and good quotes also make their way onto my journal pages.

 

For me, one of the reasons I do keep a journal is that truly enjoy the process of writing and then seeing the pages filled with the words, the colors and the shapes of this process we refer to as writing.

 

I have kept all of my journals although I very rarely ever go back and reread them. I don't care if someone does read them even if I am still around. A favorite saying of mine is, "what other people think of you is none of your business." And, on top of that, we really don't have any control over what others think of us - at all. ~ just mho!

 

Finally, after I am "gone", if someone wants to use the journals to build a small fire, perhaps they will derive some warmth and pleasure from the fire. Maybe the books can cook a good meal or something -LOL.

[gordonhooker]

If you are a serious journal writer, tell us what you wrote about today. I wrote about an operation I had last week, ---- and worry about a Granddaughter, --- about my wife shopping for "hours" and is still not back home yet, ---- about my worry about my fountain pen habit, or hobby, or sickness, --- about church tomorrow, --- about how many more years I may have left "on this old earth," --- about how it seems that everybody has a lot of money these days, ---- about my poor spelling.---

 

What have you written about today?

 

Share.

 

C. S.

 

Yikes Charles - I didn't realize my collection of pens meant I had a habit or hobby - I must pop over to my writing desk and add a journal entry about that, and reflect on it a while.

Edited June 15, 2015 by GordonOZ

[fountainpenlady]

I wrote about joy. Felt giddy today and could not do without writing about it, capturing it on paper with one of my favorite fountain pens filled with red ink. Wrote about what my next adventure might be. The beginning of the planning stages. Wrote about how I love butterflies, dragonflies, ladybugs, and bees. What a simple life they lead. Even in their brevity of living they seem to live more than we as humans do. Wrote about a project I am contemplating working on which involves guiding in grief. That is the gist of what I wrote about only today.

[Paddler]

I wrote about 1970 and my first duty station and my first experience as a sentry . . . at night . . . in a blizzard.

 

Wait! Would that be a journal entry or just a true story? How current must a story be to qualify as a journal entry?

Edited June 15, 2015 by Paddler