I always have a notebook with me, but I use it ever less often. The one I am using at the moment goes nearly three years back. To be a bit more precise, it was initiated in August 2009. There are nine pages left, and it may take me a couple of months to fill them. Now I use the notebook mainly for accounting purposes. I make sketches for my paintings very rarely at this point. There are many untouched notebooks waiting in my study, but I am starting to wonder about something much more important. One way or another, I am getting really worried about my handwriting. The way I am going, I am likely to lose it in a few short years. What is even worse, I will not be able to sign my name, either. The last time I had to finish a letter with the familiar flourish was only this morning, and it ended up quite wobbly. Nay, outright dodgy. It looked like an inept attempt at forgery. I even thought of printing out the letter one more time so as to come up with a better likeness, but I decided against it in the end. If for no other reason, I will have to use my notebook to practice handwriting. Even better, I will have to practice my signature every so often.

Addendum I (September 4, 2012)

There are seven pages left in my notebook nearly three months later. Put differently, it has taken me more than three months to fill two pages only. At this pace, the notebook may well last me through the middle of next year, which would make it roughly four years old. In the meanwhile, I am becoming ever less sure of my signature. In fact, I dread it. I can never tell what will happen when I get going. It gets mangled often enough, which is why I sometimes practice it for a while before applying it. It is thus time to do something about my handwriting. I have decided to fill out my notebook within a month or two at most. Come what may, I will exercise my handwriting. The next notebook has been prepared already. And I will do whatever I can to fill it out in a year or two. After all, my signature is at stake.

Addendum II (September 20, 2012)

Yesterday I finished with my old notebook. Today I am starting with a new one. In short, things are looking up. And I am getting serious this time around. As an added benefit, I get to write to myself rather than to all and sundry. Much of what goes into the notebook nowadays are personal notes written on the diagonal. Their only title is the date on which they are written. It is these notes that I look forward to in the future. As my handwriting is a bitch, they may well remain mine and only mine for all time. Anyhow, my signature cannot but improve in the meanwhile. Two proverbial birds with one stone.

Addendum III (August 12, 2022)

And how are things an entire decade later? Browsing through the Financial Times this morning, I came across an article by Pilita Clark with a wonderful title: “My Handwriting is Terrible. Should I Be Worried?” The byline delighted me even more: “Years of typing and texting have taken their toll. But studies show that we learn and remember more when we write by hand.” I immediately went from my current notebook, and was stunned by its age. It was initiated in November 2017, but there are fifteen pages left in it still. Alas, chances are that I will not fill them by the end of this year! And my signature is an ever-greater worry for me lately. Whenever I have to sign a document, I first practice on a scrap piece of paper in fear that I will bungle it up. Which will eventually happen, I am pretty sure. Concerning learning and remembering, my only solace is that my writings are always within my reach, as witnessed by this addendum. I learn and remember by reading, that is. Phew!