Why, you ask, would I let a known substance take such control of me? I'll tell you why. It helps me keep things in my life in order and under control. Believe me, that is difficult for a person who is usually out of order and out of control! One more confession before we continue: I also own a -- you guessed it -- notebook computer! There, I feel better now that it's out in the open!
My habit started years ago when I had trouble keeping all those instruction books that come with all those appliances and such that you purchase. It always seemed that whenever I would look for an instruction book, it just wasn't there. Guarantees seemed to disappear, too. Then the notebook idea took over. I bought a three-hole punch, punched all my booklets and guarantee forms, and bam, I was hooked! Now if I need to check on something, all I need to do is pick up the notebook and there it is, nice and neat. I even put in the receipts so if I need them for the guarantee, I've got it. No more searching in a box or a drawer for papers and such. Even though I am out of control, I now have control! Sad but true.
Can you handle more? Good. My therapist tells me that it helps if I talk more about my addiction. I have a notebook that I use just to keep track of all my investments. I have dividers in it so each investment has its own section. (This, I am told, is probably due to early potty training.) As I get statements in from the various funds that I own, I punch them and then stick them into their section of the notebook. I always keep the last statement so I can see how I am doing. I also keep the record of the first purchase, so I can figure my basis in the investment, too. I keep the yearªend statement to see how I am doing year to date. Nice and neat (and also the result of potty-training).
If I let it, notebooks would take over my life. I could use one to keep track of any loans that are outstanding, and if I had student loans, what better way to keep track of all that paperwork? Bank statements would fit quite nicely into a section of a notebook. If I ordered supplies through the mail, the copy of the older form is made just to fit into you now what. The addiction just goes on and on!
This I have never told anyone. I even have a notebook where I keep ideas that look good to me. I just three-hole punch it and in it goes so I can get to it for future reference. This way, it doesn't just end up as a scrap of paper in the bottom of a file or drawer. Insurance policies? You guessed it! A section for life insurance, disability insurance, homeowners', office coverage, floaters, etc. Each has its own section. As I get endorsements, they go right into their respective sections. No searching for policies or forms. In the front, I keep a summary of them all that I get updated each year. (Potty-training again!)
I am a collector of fountain pens. This addiction has even taken over my hobbies, too. I have a notebook with articles and reference material in it pertaining to my hobby. Will this ever stop? Do you have any old fountain pens just lying around? The owners of Staples and Office Depot smile when they see me enter their stores!
I even keep an inventory of what we have at home and what I have at the office for insurance purposes. Guess where I keep it? When I do seminars, I use slides. I keep these slides in a notebook in special plastic sheets made just for slides and made to fit into a notebook. The outline for my seminars and my lectures are also kept in notebooks. I am in the process of writing a book -- a regular book, not a notebook! As I do each section, the hard copy goes into a notebook so I can move each section around to find where it best fits.
I have even inflicted this addiction on my students and the clients that I consult, too. Misery loves company! If you dare, drop me a line and I can share some additional ideas on what you can do with a notebook. By the way, I even have a notebook with every article that I have ever written for Dynamic Chiropractic! That goes all the way back to April 1988. Need a back copy?
My poor wife has also felt the effects of this affliction. She now keeps all of her favorite recipes in a notebook. She photocopies them onto notebook paper and then into the book they go. When she needs a recipe, it's there in its section with no searching or digging through the kitchen drawers. She still does not admit that she is addicted, but she has agreed to attend the next meeting of N.A. with me. She even feels that I should change the initials after my name. She says that most people don't have a clue what the "RHU" stands for anyway, and that a better description of me would be Stanley B. Greenfield, NBN (notebook nut)!
Stanley B. Greenfield, RHU
Jacksonville Beach, Florida
powerprogm-aol.com
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