When the Notebook was in NC...

(Yes, I'm changing the posting date. I'm writing this on 10/23, but for my own OCD-related reasons, I want this to show up before Dani announces she has it. Because I'm anal like that. True story.)

I promised Graceless that I would update the blog, but things have been utterly crazy in my world. So... better late than never, ja? Here we go...

The Red Notebook arrived sometime while I was on vacation in Florida. But when I returned on October 1st, it was in the mailbox waiting for me. As soon as I saw the package, I knew exactly what it was, and was beyond excited. I decided to forgo unpacking, and read the notebook instead.

I had told Graceless I would try to keep the turnover rate to a week. I've had months and months to think about everything. So I was ready to go! But as I started working my way through the notebook, and soaking up the awesomeness within, I realized I couldn't be done with it in merely a week! That was impossible!


At one point, I was going to send it to her. But then it told me it wasn't ready to leave yet. There was a touch bit more awesomeness to add. So I listened, and I did. 

I kept it for two weeks before sending it along to Dani.

I followed some of the missions. And I want to post all about my experiences and such. But I can't. Mostly because I don't want to leave any spoilers. I DO plan on a larger update, after the notebook is back with Graceless. Then I won't feel bad about sharing, because the surprise won't be ruined.

On a bit of a side note... I'm completely bewildered over something that may or may not have happened. I could have sworn that on my first day with the notebook I had read a cookie recipe, and had planned on following the instructions attached. But when I went back - TWICE! - to find the recipe so I could go along with it, I couldn't find it again. Did I hallucinate it being there in the first place? Or did I really manage to overlook it several times over again?

 PS - I wanted to take pictures of my cats with the notebook, too. But they opted to shy away from it.

This.

"But most importantly, try to surround yourself with people you like and make cool stuff with them. In the end, at least in my experience, what you do isn’t going to be nearly as interesting or as important as who you do it with." 
- John Green

Found in today's post

A bundle of awesome

...still going....

In the almost exactly two months since I last posted, the notebook has made its way to Daniel in Brooklyn, Shelley in New Hampshire, and Iron Matron in Maine. Today, IM mailed it to Mia in North Carolina.

Three more conspirators to go (Mia, Dani, Danielle).

...And I really need to redye the stripe in my hair.

What the red notebook conspiracy means to me

The red notebook left my hands back at the beginning of January. I caught some glimpses of it here and there as it was passed from one friend to the next, and even got to sneak a decent peek at it before delivering it to Ben for his wedding back in May.

I originally hoped it would be back to me by early March, then by late March, then I was just focused on getting it to Ben for his wedding. For a while now, I’ve been saying, “I think I’ll have it back by August, maybe September.” …And now I’m hoping to have it by October.

So it goes.

I’ve tried to let the notebook take its own course. I had to rearrange the list of conspirators in order to get it to Ben’s wedding, and then I added a couple of conspirators, but otherwise, I put the notebook into the world and trusted that my friends would use it to make awesome.

It’s not easy being awesome. I got the letters DFTBA tattooed to my right wrist so that I’d have a constant reminder, “Don’t forget to be awesome.” (But I still do. I forget all the time. Sometimes, even when I remember, I still don’t quite accomplish “awesome” – maybe “fabulous” but that’s not the same thing at all.)

Above all else, this wacky project was supposed to be fun. For me, for the conspirators, for the random others who got sucked in along the way. (And, it makes me really sad to discover that it hasn’t been for a couple of people….)

Interestingly, it’s also become more than that.

Blue is and has always been my favorite color. But red has taken on a whole new meaning for me. These days, I associate red with challenging myself to do something brave, to step outside my comfort zone, for daring to be something more, something different, something awesome.

On Friday, Emer (conspirator # 16) and I went to Church of Love and Ruin. It was my idea to go, but Emer’s idea for me to wear one of my tutus. I picked the red one, partly because I don’t have as many opportunities to wear that one these days and partly because it matched my hair.

But here’s the thing: I don’t dance. (Not quite “never” but pretty damn close. Like, maybe once every 5-10 years. Like a prison sentence or something.) I have no rhythm whatsoever (side complaint: why can’t everything be in 4/4 time? I might be much more capable of playing music if it were….) and let’s just say that I am called “Graceless” for very good reason.

We got to the show, and there I was in my red tutu, and I was terrified. Not just because I don’t dance, but because there were LOTS of people in a very small space. (Such situations often make me freak out and want to run and hide. Or cry. The only thing that makes such things bearable for me is having a buddy.)

I danced a little bit, but I was exceptionally self-conscious and freaked out by the people. Then Emer got me to climb up on a bench along the side wall. IT WAS LIKE MAGIC. Being above and away from the crowd was cooler temperature-wise, made me feel like I was all by myself (even when the bench was crowded with three or four people, all dancing), and made me not care what was going on except that there was music and I was wearing a swishy tutu. (I really love tutus.)

I danced enough that my bad knee felt like it had Rice Krispies in it for two days (y’know, snapping, crackling, popping, and just generally feeling full of grit). I even chose to stay up on the bench and continue dancing when Emer decided to go up front by the stage. (Note that buddy separation is usually the fastest way to get me to cry and freak out when I’m anxious.)

It. Was. Awesome.

Tonight, I’m going to see Of Monsters and Men with Kate (conspirator # 6). I’m wearing my fancy red dress (the one I wore for Operation Flowers, for my birthday, for Ben’s wedding), because it’s long and swishy and makes me feel pretty. Because it makes me feel brave and capable of awesome things -- all because of a red Moleskine notebook that is being passed around the country from one incredible person who means something to me to the next.

Yup, my hair is still red

Well, you know, part of it, anyway. (Next time I say something like, "Oh, I'll keep a red stripe in my hair for the duration of the project" PLEASE remind me how much longer this took than I thought it would.)

It's been more than a month since Em posted to the blog. In that time, the notebook made its way to California to hang out with Sam, then all the way back across the country to New York to spend some time with Kim. It is currently in Amy's able hands and will soon (I hope) be passed on to Daniel. (Daniel accepted the invite to post to the blog, so I'll make sure he gives an update on his time with the notebook when he's done.)

After Daniel, the notebook will go to Shelley, then IM, then Mia, then Dani, and finally to our last conspirator, Danielle.

I think I might be able to stop dying my hair sometime in September. (And, I'd really like to have the notebook back in my possession before October. Come on, guys, WE CAN DO THIS.)

?

Any updates on the whereabouts of The Red Notebook? Haven't heard anything in a while, or seen any updates...