I’m a unique marketing professional. Since graduating from a renowned liberal arts college a few (okay, eleven) years ago, I’ve either been designing websites, maintaining them, or working alongside the amazing people that make them tick. I prefer to figure out a technical issue before [sheepishly] calling the experts—you can often find me showing the lay of the land to my less technically-savvy friends—I get excited when I hear of a new keyboard shortcut—I own a smartphone—a Mac—a PC. So why, then, is it so difficult for me to let go of my pen and paper?

It’s not like I come from a generation of quill pens and ink wells—I’m a tried and true Gen Xer who can’t live without my computer/s or my BlackBerry. Yet, when it comes to note-taking and scheduling, give me a Mead and a Bic Fine Point, please.

Perhaps it’s a control issue. Knowing that I’m not going to mysteriously lose my notes due to the blue screen of death (BSOD) or the flashing question mark is indeed settling. Sure, my dog could tear the paper to shreds or I could mistakenly spill coffee all over it, but I’d still be able to salvage my precious scrawls.

I’m not asking for acceptance—not at all. I proudly walk into the conference room laden with laptops and plop my notebook (the spiral-bound kind) on the table. My friends now expect that when asked my weekend plans, I’ll fish my DailyPlanner out of my bag and leave the BlackBerry alongside my house keys.

I suppose I just wonder how many folks out there function similarly to me.

Here’s your chance to come clean. When did you toss your spiral-bound in the trash–or are you still tucking it under your pillow at night?