Those in the know are aware I am still a fledgling driver, having only earned my license back in December of this past year (for the record: I’m twenty-five, and I’m still not ashamed I’d not gotten my license until that point).  After a terribly slow day at work, I’d made up my mind to go on an adventure to Barnes & Noble.  I call it an adventure because it’s a fair distance from my house, and I’d never actually driven there alone before (or at all, for that matter).

The adventure was a tremendous success, which can be accounted for by my spending about two hours meandering around Barnes & Noble, and I considered my adventure officially concluded with a slice of red velvet cheesecake to the sounds of this year’s first official thunderstorm.  I’d like to play up how I really searched for the just-right book to make this outing special, but, in reality, I spent an unreasonably long amount of time denying myself another Moleskine notebook.  Those of you in the know are presently, or should presently be, smirking at this dilemma, because I have a love affair with Moleskine notebooks that borders onto obsessive.  Incidentally, if any of the wonderful people at Moleskine happen to stumble upon this and think, “Hey, I’d like to further encourage Phil’s writing antics in the form of providing him with more of these amazing products*,” I wouldn’t protest at all.  Not even a little.

On a writerly note, I’ve decided to table “Joshua’s Nightmares” for a few days because I can’t look at it without feeling frustrated.  In its place, I’m busying myself with my latest addiction (as of, say, February or so): the Your Story Competition on the Writer’s Digest web site.  It’s a bimonthly competition, and they’re certainly worth the effort as it provides a chance to have your work featured on their site, and/or their magazine, both of which are seen by loads upon loads of people.

I’ve loved Writer’s Digest since my early days in Edinboro, when I would obtain copies from the English Department lounge (sorry, guys, that was me stealing those; I’m not actually sorry, though), so a natural extension is getting more into their contests and so on.  What I’d really love is to win one of those contests.  Or, you know, become an author featured among their prestigious pages.

One step at a time, I suppose.  For the sake of adventure!

* Moleskine notebooks ARE amazing.  Some day I may even think of something worthy of writing in my The Hobbit edition one.  The point is I just really love their notebooks.