Handwritten Thoughts by a Man Around Town

I have decided to make this week's edition of the Thursday Diaries a little bit different than I've done in previous weeks. Because unlike other entries in which I have really thought about what I have wanted to say and worded it accordingly, this time around will be a little more...raw.

Confused? Keep reading. You'll see what I mean.

April 4, 2013

Hey, everyone! I know that last Thursday, I was going to talk about an appendix to the post that I wrote about the “Nucleus of Negativity”, but I've decided to hold off on that for one week.

I got inspired to do something this week, and I thought that I would share my inspiration with all of you out there reading this.

I have gotten the feeling that maybe I haven't been exposing myself to all of you as much as I wanted to in this space. After all, a diary is supposed to hold all of one's most confidential and secret truths about oneself.

(Though, admittedly, I'm kind of making those truths an “open” secret, defeating the whole definition of the word diary. But, I digress.)

Anyway, I thought that I'd use today to really showcase just what kind of crazy things go through my mind, and what inspires me to write about almost anything. So yesterday afternoon, I decided to walk downtown, bought a notebook and a four-colour pen at the local dollar store, a drink to sip on during the whole escapade, and jotted down everything that went through my mind as I walked through the city of Brockville, Ontario.

And, rather than type it all out neatly and spell checked and edited and wrapped with a nice red bow, I've instead decided to scan every page that I wrote on to post within this space in my own unfiltered words...in my own handwriting.

I'm a little nervous doing this, because I worry about how it will be received. But, you'll never have a better opportunity to witness who I really am by me posting my words on my blog. It's kind of like walking down a busy city street in nothing but my underwear. It's a little bit scary to have people looking at you when you're at your most vulnerable, but sometimes it's necessary for you to feel better about yourself, letting it all hang out.

Though, I will offer up a disclaimer. I will never be seen strolling through town in my boxer briefs. I would not only get arrested, but frostbite as well. Canada is still freakin' cold in April.

As always, I'll be providing pictures with the hand-written notes...and because I like to wear my iPod when I go out on walks, you'll even hear the songs that I was listening to while I was writing down my thoughts! So, feel free to give me either a thumbs up or a mocking laugh at my musical tastes. I can take it!

Okay, so the first destination that I went to was beautiful Block House Island. First, the song that I was listening to at the time.

And, now, my thoughts in ball-point pen. I warn you that because I used a four-colour pen, I experimented with colours, and not all of them might scan as well as I thought. If I do this again, I'll just stick with blue or black ink (though clicking on the images will blow them up to make them easier to read).

(Okay, just a little pause in between. I'm not kidding about the flock of Canada geese. There were literally a dozen of them hanging around Block House Island at the time I was writing this note. And, when I wrote that paragraph that contained the word “eek” in it, that was the precise moment in which I turned my head and saw a Canada goose literally parked right beside the bench I was sitting at staring at me. Right then, I knew it was time to take off.)

So, after the geese freaked me out, I took off to nearby Hardy Park, which took just a few minutes to get to. But, if you thought my experiences with the birds had ended...think again. To get in the mood, the song that was playing as I wrote part two of my journey.

(Again, you're gonna have to blow it up to read it with my promise that I will NEVER use green ink again.)

And, finally, we reach a part of my journey that takes place indoors. And, it is here that I come to a rather interesting conclusion about what I need to do. What's funny is that when I listen to my iPod, I always set it to “shuffle mode”, so you never know what songs you'll get. It's only fitting that as I jotted the last part of my journey down, this song came on.

And, with that, we go live from the 1000 Islands Mall (though that is an old picture, the Christmas decorations are long gone now...).

So, what do you think? Would you like to see more of the man around town feature? I'm thinking of trying this out once a month. Maybe I'll even go somewhere in town that I've never been before, and just write about it. But, of course, I would need some input from all of you first. Good idea? Bad idea? Please let me know!

And, I promise that next time, I'll solely use dark coloured ink. :)