The first thought I had upon arriving at caffeine_sparks was “fabulous background image, now where are the archives?” They appeared to be missing. I spent a few minutes poking around and finally realized what happened. The author has chosen black as her link color. Unfortunately, she has also chosen black as her background color. In order to see the links I had to highlight the text. Obscuring your navigation is a pretty lousy way to greet new readers to your journal.
Once I finally found the archives I began reading. The author is Sparks, a twenty-three year old student from Manila, Philippines. She began the journal in February of this year. Most of her entries are concerned with her love life. At the beginning of caffeine_sparks, she is dealing with a freshly broken heart. As the months go by she enters several new relationships, each just as confusing as the last.
Most of what Sparks details is typical early twenties confusion: dealing with old heartbreaks, new loves, dashed expectations and the various slings and arrows that come along with young adulthood. The most affecting writing she offers deals with the loss of her father and the strained relationship she had with him before his death.
As I read through the entries, I come across more black links against the black background. I found myself highlighting everything to make sure I missed none of the links. Sparks also has the habit of writing completely in lowercase, something I see a lot of on journals and blogs. It’s a minor annoyance, but proper capitalization would make everything a bit more readable. Aside from that, the design itself is fairly attractive. The lovely background image is a nice touch.
Overall, I found caffeine_sparks a fairly typical read. There’s nothing here you won’t find on a hundred other young women’s journals. If you enjoy reading about the ups and downs of young love and can find your way around the obscured navigation, Caffeine Sparks may be worth a peek.
caffeine_sparks