I SELL OUT. PROUDLY.

That Brad Pitt, he sure is a sell out. That’s what I thought as my eyes bulged at the ridiculousness of his attempts to get me to buy Chanel No 5 by muttering some smooth lines about it not being a journey but every journey ending but we go on… Sorry Brad, let me just stop you there. What the bejesus are you on about? Do people actually take him seriously and think, do you know what Brad, Chanel No 5 is inevitable. Here I am in Boots and I just have to have me some of that sweet smelling perfume now you’ve mentioned it.

Well, he has got a dozen kids to feed, I counter argued with myself. Can’t blame a man for feeding his kids. He was probably paid a few million for an appearance which serves only to remind me of Lee Mack’s wonderful bit on perfume ads:

But who would turn down a few million quid to stand in a black and white room in a black and white shirt and say some stupid stuff while looking a bit older than I remember him? We only mock him because no one is offering us any money to sell their stuff. I defy anyone to turn down that kind of dollar. I know I wouldn’t. I’d sell out for a lot less.

In fact, forget money, I’d sell out for a new notebook, as it turns out.

When I was asked if I would like a free Evernote Notebook, I said of course I bloody would. I love free stuff. Then I realised the kind old Evernote people were hoping I’d review it. Which is not exactly what Lunacy of Ink is all about, but it took me zero seconds to acknowledge that everyone has their price. Let it be known, I now review stuff.

Fortunately for Evernote, I don’t even have to lie about how great this product is. It’s a tiny bit genius. It even serves a purpose or two, not like Chanel No 5, which serves no purpose at all, except to get up my husband’s nose and have him moaning to me that it makes his asthma hurt. He’s allergic to everything, I tell you. I can’t take him anywhere.

Now, the thing about my husband and I is, we are eons apart when it comes to technology. I still have a filofax. A real, paper filofax. I can’t make plans when I’m out of the house because my diary is at home. I have to scribble on my hand check if you can meet your sister next Friday then come home and hope I don’t wash before I look at my hand again. Actually it’s more like SIS FRI or something which requires code-breaking skills to remember what I was trying to say.

It’s not a great system, I’m the first to admit, but it’s my system. Old i-Gaz over there has a smart phone and a laptop and a tablet and buys new gadgets so often he even lies to me about how much they cost, a bit like a girl might with her new boots that were definitely in the sale (ahem).

He tried his best to set me up with a fancy phone and a joint calendar. Things did not go well. I have our joint calendar on my fancy phone but I don’t go near it. However I do seem to think I’m within my rights when I get annoyed with Gaz for double booking a night when it’s quite clearly displayed in my filofax in the drawer in my desk, that we already have plans.

You can see where we’d have trouble.

Another problem my pen+paper lifestyle has it that I often have brainwaves when I’m out and about (yes really) but scribbling down ideas on the back of a receipt usually results in my losing the scrap of paper before the brainwave has been turned into a new business venture that could have me make my first million before my next birthday.

My new Evernote notebook is the amalgamation of my world (paper. pens. notebooks) and his (the world wide web. technology. gadgets). Because, get this guys, you write in it with a pen, yeah, nothing unusual there…. and then you take a picture of it on your phone and the clever little software uploads your notes straight to your Evernote cloud based account in editable digital format. Cloud based. I just learned what that is. It means my notes are forever, not just for the pub floor my vital scraps of paper are usually destined for. Somewhere out there is a barmaid with a lot of my brainwaves and my first million pounds, damn her.

Now, my brainwaves are mine for keeps and there are no scrawlings on the back of my hand. I can even, months later when I’m thinking to myself ‘what was that idea I had about inventing that thing’ search for key words and Evernote only goes and recognises my handwriting. Which is more than I can say for my own eyes half the time.

This snazzy little product would be especially good for people who can draw really well and want their sketches to jump from page to screen. I am not one of those people. Here is my drawing of an owl.

Actually that’s quite good. But I did copy it off t’internet.
Don’t penalise Brad and me because we sell products. We’re just trying to make a living in a tough old world, aren’t we Brad? At least my product is awesome and my husband isn’t allergic to it.

Now, be good readers and click this link so I get more free stuff to review.