Graph Paper!

Life would be so empty without graph paper... nothing satisfies my disturbingly obsessive-compulsive need for symmetry and geometry like doodling on it. You can make all your shapes exactly the same size, and your diagonal lines all match up ... ooh, I'm getting goosebumps.

Back when I was about ten I would visit my dad's office and draw armies of Tie Fighters on graph paper, each one exactly the same. Then I'd Xerox the page and --- miracle --- the blue graph lines wouldn't show up, so it'd look just perfect. That was the beginning of the end.

You can also take really great notes on graph paper, because when you indent your bulleted lists they line up right.

Now I'm even kind of scaring myself. Sad but true --- I was jotting down some brainstorming notes on the plane today and realized just how much I love the stuff.