Today, I

>> wrote a handwritten letter. I have (always had) romantic notions about the handwritten letter; it remains my favorite form of correspondence (despite the speed in both generating and sending e-mail). I have also entertained the idea of writing and sending more handwritten letters, though have yet to fully devote myself to this (lost?) art. A new year approaches with its requisite resolutions, though there is no good reason to defer this until January 1st.

The post office clerk routinely asks if one wants delivery confirmation, signature confirmation, etc. for packages. Of the many things I have sent through the mail in the past six months, this letter is the smallest in physical dimensions and weight, yet is the most important item I have entrusted to the postal service.

>> ate brunch at Coastal Kitchen. The rotating menu now features Basque dishes. I deviated from my usual practice of ordering something off of the rotating menu and instead requested a goat cheese scramble (one of the few items that does not feature alliteration in its name, e.g. “Smokin’ Salmon Scram”, “Sonora Scramble”). A junior resident requested career counseling from me over this meal. I do not want to acknowledge that I am aging.

>> ogled at fountain pens. This is related to my “romantic notions about the handwritten letter”. I am musing with the idea of purchasing a Lamy Safari Fountain Pen. In yellow. (I’m going for function, not aesthetics.)

>> reconsidered my GTD setup. (Allow me to indulge my GTD/office paraphernalia proclivities.) I was using a Levenger pocket briefcase knockoff with index cards (task lists inside the main pocket, an index card as the “inbox” in one pocket, and a calendar in the other pocket). I purposely deviated away from a (Moleskine) notebook, as the linearity of a notebook seemed too rigid and confining for my thinking patterns. However, that system lacked structure (I had difficulty getting items out of the “inbox” into “processing”, etc.).

So now I’m trying this: I have adopted the Planner Hack with a partially used Paperchase notebook to add more structure to the system. A blank index card serves as both a daily “inbox” and as a bookmark for the planner. I now use Google Notebook for my next action lists, projects list, etc.

The recruitment of the planner fulfills my romantic notions (yes, I have a lot of romantic notions) of concretely recording what I do (and do not) accomplish in one physical location. That’s about tactics. Google Notebook organizes my projects and helps provide a view of the “big picture”. That’s about strategy.

That’s what I’m telling myself, anyway.

>> had dinner with Brock and his wife. A few months ago, a fellow blogger had asked (I think in jest) if my weblog serves as a dating service; I replied, no, it does not…

… though it has allowed me to meet friendly and interesting people, such as the well-mannered Brock and his ebullient wife (and the aforementioned blogger, of course). I first met them last year at a tea shop in Bellevue Square (hooray for suburban malls!). This year, we met at the delicious Green Leaf for dinner and then enjoyed bubble tea thereafter… which makes for a lot of caffeine.

The successes of my meetings with other bloggers and readers has sparked the idea of a Medblogger Meet n’ Greet in New York City upon my relocation there (given the seeming greater density of medbloggers on the East Coast), though perhaps that is merely another romantic notion.