Before I get to the formspring post, I just wanted to say how surprised I am at everyone’s high optimism for Sungkyunkwan Scandal, haha. I figure I’m just not in a very happy TV mood lately what with real life obligations starting up again, but I’ll stick around and will probably blog more about Song Joong-ki or Yoo Ah-in the episodes in the future.

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Anyhoo, someone on formspring asked me:

I don’t want to use binders and bulky school supplies for junior year. do you have any good school organization ideas? what school supplies did you buy to stay organized?

I’m not the most organized person but I am a good stationery buyer if anything. I swear it’s my true calling in life, and whaddyaknow, such jobs do exist!

So what I suggest are Japanese-style notebooks:

I don’t have industry-related knowledge on how big the stationery market in the West is, but I’m willing to bet it’s nothing compared to Asia’s, which is why I think you’ll find superior products from Asia. Because there is such a demand for stationery in Asia, a lot of companies compete to put out good products and thus offering a large selection of options for the customer. The downside is that this leads to super saturation of the market with a lot of crappy quality products and maybe way too many things to choose from, but trust me, as a customer from America, all this variety is good :P

I’ve deviated from my point, but I like these super thin notebooks because I don’t think I’ve ever filled up a regular American-style spiral notebook up with notes for any class ever. Switching over to these notebooks was a lifesaver because of how much lighter they are. They weigh next to nothing and they can fill up with so much. So why not carry a lighter notebook as opposed to carrying a much larger, heavier one?

If access to a Japanese bookstore is a problem, Muji is a great alternative and has a great online store. Their products are handsome, minimal, and cheap. Best place ever??

Another stationery-OCD of mine is that I have to write on really tiny rule, so this wide-ruled business does not fly with me, and even American college-ruled lines are not small enough. Most of the above pictured notebooks are 6mm tall, which is generally categorized as the B5 rule in Japan. (I just bought a 5mm-ruled notebook. I feel like I’m playing with nerdy fire. Cackles.)

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I’ve decidedly become a sticker connoisseur. Bubbly stickers are cute, but they never last, and their colors are never sharp enough for me. The designs and patterns don’t tend to be intricate. Flat stickers like the ones above are the best. Look at the amazingness of the detail of the ones on the left!

Caved and bought a daily planner for next year even though I swore I wouldn’t get another Moleskine planner. Apparently they’ve come out with a bite-sized daily in different colors. I saw it, drooled all over myself, and then bought it. Sigh. I guess the good thing is that it’ll be like carrying around a small stack of post-its. Dated post-its.

Moleskine Milan headquarter visit:

(via freshngood)

Tell me this is not the funniest thing ever:

It’s a stamp that’s got 7 belts of 20 symbols, which when combined give you the chance to create up to 2000 different emoticons.

If this crazy piece of work didn’t cost upwards of a HUNDRED US dollars, I’d be buying it before you can even say “WTF?”

(Reminder: I’m still taking entries for the giveaway. I’m closing comments tomorrow night at midnight EST. Good luck!)

Picked up something today and thought it’d be nice to give away to a reader.

To enter, just leave a comment with your name and what makes you geek out. For me, as if it isn’t already obvious, it’s Japanese stationery. They-make-that-for-that??, sometimes impractical, but always pretty and ingenious. I’ll take entries up til a week from today on April 29, midnight New York time. I will ship anywhere :)

You can check out MT tape’s site here.

(via flickr)