What is a jotterbook?

Growing up in Singapore, a jotterbook is a synonym for a notepad, except that it's more book than pad. We’d “jot” down our homework and thoughts in these thin books that became unceremoniously thrown out year after year. I have none of my jotterbooks left from when I was 7-12, until Substack came along. “Josiah’s Journal” also sounded too basique, and I’m a sucker for alliterations in titles.

Hello!

I’m Josiah. I don’t know what else (or how else) to populate this page without coming across like a pompous, self-aggrandising asshole. Maybe a bulleted list would work.

• I'm a ‘95 Taurus millennial

• I was born in Singapore 🇸🇬

• I did my degree in journalism in Melbourne 🇦🇺

• I moved to Vancouver for love 🇨🇦

• I drink matcha (almost) every day, with coffee very seldomly

• I’m a very amateur potter (still in my first year of pottery)

• I work on SEO things for The Smart Local Singapore

• I write in British English

• I have two cats, Mrs Poe and Oliver Binks, and you can follow them on Instagram.

• I love Le Labo perfumes (current scent is Vanille 44)

• I also love scented candles (but I don’t light them up because of my cats)

• I’m a League of Legends enjoyer (ARAM only)

• My top 3 musicians are Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, and The Weeknd

• My favourite movies are The Social Network, Mean Girls, and Clueless

• I watch more TV shows than read books (which I want to change)

  • My favourite TV shows are White Collar, Heated Rivalry, and Schitt’s Creek.

    • I also love Hacks, Slow Horses, Downton Abbey, Homeland, and the first 10 seasons of Grey’s Anatomy

  • I have a love-hate relationship with the TV show 9-1-1

Current obsessions:

• Heated Rivalry (Because of course)

• Skincare (I’m trying to minimise my pores)

• Pottery (It has taught me lots about patience and letting go)

• Learning Da Vinci Resolve (I really want to make a fan cam)

Past obsessions:

• Mechanical keyboards

• Baking (I still do it occasionally, just not as often as I used to)

• Matcha (I swear I did not contribute to the Great Matcha Shortage of 2025)

• Team Fortress 2

• Polaroid cameras (They got really expensive to keep up with)

• Ergonomic chairs

• Headphones

• Mahjong (It’s more fun when you have friends to play with)

I hope to be able to keep this list constantly updated as my obsessions change like I change my… nevermind. If my little life has intrigued you, feel free to follow me! I’m still working on my nerves of writing for myself, as too long have I done it for someone else. So keep an eye out for more of my thought dumps (man, I miss the golden era of Thought Catalog) and I hope you stick around to hear me yap.