graphite (b)rain

Didn't think I could fall in love with a notebook (a Rite in the Rain No370F-MX) again, but I did and here we are writing, happily, away. In PENCIL (a Pentel Kerry 0.7mm) – which I've always preferred to pen: the RIR being the first notebook which allows me, an inveterate leftie, to scritch/scratch away without smearing graphite all over my hand and all over the page. Thank you, RIR, for whatever it is you do to your pages to make them writable when wet. Also: a useful switch from the standard notebooks (and the reMarkable Pro) given that at least half of my day is spent with metal and other dirty oily things instead of keyboards and mental abstractions and words. Considering swapping out the 0.5mm graphite in my CW&T Pencil Type C for 0.5mm blue / no-photo lead for drawing and sketching (I love sketching in that blue speaking of welcome to the mysterious case of what the fuck happened to all of my blue pencils?) and, while I love my Kerry, I would be beyond thrilled if Blackwing made mechanical pencil lead (they don't do they?).

rite in the rain index card wallet

Since switching over from paper journals (and legal pads and whiteboards) to the reMarkable 2, I've shifted away from my still-beloved fountain pens (that the EMR I'm using is Lamy's EMR variation on their AL-Star fountain pen is a big help) to pencils for my non-digital notetakings and processings.

As such, I've been seeking a pocket notebook that both a.) could be used both during running and general leavings of the house, and, b.) didn't overstuff my already-stuffed pockets (read: Herbie the insulin pump). Happily, the Rite In The Rain Index Card Wallet, packed with their waterproof index cards and scribbled upon with my Kaweco Special S 0.7mm mechanical pencil, more than satisfies those requirements.

One hiccup, though: the RIR cards are (more than) a bit expensive - $16-$20 per pack of 100 - so I'm going to do a test with one of the regular, $2/pack of 100 cards that I've got lying all over the place to see if the waterproof part really makes a difference: while I know full well that it does with paper, I'm not certain it matters with cards, especially since I'm using pencil.

Either way, very happy to have solved this particular long-standing quandary.