Note: I wrote this a few days ago, saved it as a draft and forgot to post. Now I’ve had to revise (almost completely). Oops.

In my current (2007) planner, the August 31st entry reads:

“Purchase 2008 planner.”

By that date, I will have to decide which planner I will purchase. While I’m relatively happy with this year’s planner, I’m not sure if it’s the end-all be-all of planners for me. Is this a mundane life decision to make? Something geeky? Something boring? Something beneath notice and not worthy of time and consideration?

For some people, perhaps. But not for others. I have several friends and co-workers who align themselves with me in this strange obsession or cult. We speak in whispers of it and will email or call each other just to say, “Hey - Target has this year’s new school supplies out.” or “When we’re out of the office for lunch next week, do you want to swing by Staples? I saw some of the new Post-its.” Seriously.

And we are not alone. There are sites. Among them D*I*Y Planner and Lifehacker’s occasional Office Supplies Fetish feature. I’m certain there are more. I’ve just been afraid to reach out to my brethren.

Anyway, I’m debating between the following three at the moment:

• 2008 version of this year’s planner - a Paperblanks Mini format handtooled day planner; I would just have to pick a pleasing cover design since I know I’ve seen more than what’s on the site, and those appear to be slim pickings.

• Pomegranate’s P+ 2008 Calendar

“The Perfect Planner for Anyone in Any Kind of Business” Tab-divided sections! Monthly 2-page calendar grids! Meeting notes pages! To-do list pages! A travel/expenses section! Reference materials, including international holidays and calling codes, weights and measures, and a 2009 mini-calendar! Book flaps hold receipts, napkin notes, and business cards! (All exclamation points mine and despite apparent facetiousness, it looks like a cool-ass planner).

• The hipster accessory of the year, the Moleskine. I have a Moleskine notebook and I love it and it lives up to the hype. It’s durable and the paper quality is vurrrry nice. But I don’t know that I need a Moleskine planner that looks and feels the same.

Decisions, decisions.

Anyway, two videos. The first is a short little feel-good moment for cat people. The second is also, ultimately, a feel-good moment for cat people but it got me all teary-eyed like no amount of fictional death in a Harry Potter book ever did (my friend good naturedly called my a cold-hearted bitch yesterday since I didn’t cry over two specific deaths in the last book).

It’s a tear-jerker in the manner of ASPCA commercials, but there’s no abuse or neglect here. Just an adorable cat with a motor skills disorder.