My Solution For Disappearing Pens

A few weeks ago I got a package left on my desk at the office. Just like every other item that I have delivered to me at work, someone inevitably asked what I had ordered. This is especially true when the items arrive from overseas and most of the writing on the envelope, with the exception of the address, is in another language. However, this time, when I responded to the query I received a somewhat blank stare followed by another question of “what is that?”

For much of my working life, I would do to the supply area and pull out a pen or two to keep at my desk… not everything is done on the computer contrary to what some people may say or the younger generation thinks. This has pretty much been a weekly routine as I would either run out of ink or, what was more common, I would leave it in the conference room where someone would inevitably pick it up and bring it back to their own office. These are just disposable pens so it was no big deal to just go get another one from the supply drawer.

However, I have always been one that enjoyed a good pen while at the same time, I don’t want to spend a lot of money on something that I could easily lose. Those aforementioned packages contained something to solve a large part of my problem of going through so many writing instruments (while also saving my hand). What I found out in those simple questions from a younger colleague was that many people are unfamiliar with fountain pens.

I have always been a proponent of fountain pens as I can write almost all day without my hand getting tired and it is easy to replace the ink cartridge in something that I have become used to. What I am finding now is that if I do leave it somewhere, it is brought right back to me. Some of those returns are because people are unfamiliar or uncomfortable using them. It is actually quite amusing when you see someone use a fountain pen for the first time… it is almost like they are learning to write for the first time.

It is a unique pen to carry these days but, for me, it is completely functional as my hands are no longer sore after a long day of taking notes or writing and I know that it will always come back to me should I leave it on the conference room table. And, frankly, I am rather surprised with the quality that I received in these shipments from China given that I spent about two or three dollars (including shipping) on each pen (under a dollar for the disposable ones)… especially when you consider that the prices for the ballpoint and rollerball pens of similar quality are about five times higher. It is nice to enjoy the practicality of the fountain pen even though many may wrongly believe that it is an absurdly outdated writing instrument.

Mail Day

It’s amazing how fast the mail can build up in the mailbox. Between junk mail, bills, and donation solicitations addressed to someone who has never lived in our apartment it makes you wonder how much money is being wasted everyday by some of these people, companies, and organizations. I’m also surprised at how much can be crammed into our little piece of real estate in the mail room.

The real problem with so much mail is not necessarily the volume, it’s the fact that I no longer look forward to the mail. Remember when you were a kid when it was something special to get a letter in the mail. It didn’t have to be anything particularly special it was just the fact that someone sent something to you because after all at that age you are the center of the universe. It was a time when you felt like you were getting your very own speedy delivery.

But now it is just a mass of wasted paper and pleas for money that I am not willing to hand out even if I had the money to give away. There is the occasional card or letter but that is quickly disappearing and morphing into the empty void that is email. Don’t get me wrong, I like email and I use it constantly throughout my day but sometimes you just need to take the time, sit at a desk, and pull out a pen. There is still something to be said for a signature on a white page.

I miss receiving letters from people. I miss having enough space on my desk to write letters to people. I have always enjoyed the act of writing. Not just the formation of thoughts on a page but the fine motor skills involved in the swift flowing motion of a fountain pen as you watch the lines slowly morph into letters, then words, and finally sentences until the thoughts are fully formed and the ideas are bouncing around the margins. Think about it, when is the last time you wrote a letter?

I like seeing the personality in the handwriting. This is something that is completely lost in the quick glance of a perfectly spaced email. And, in some instances, tone can be lost between the ink on the page and the words on the screen. It’s almost like an automatic cooling of the sentiment occurs as soon as technology is put into play.

I guess this is a long way of saying that I like getting a lot of mail as long as there is a personal touch to the correspondences I receive. Maybe the best way to start doing that would be to stop typing so much in my free time, break out the fountain pen, and stain the good paper currently being segregated in the closet. Who knows, maybe some of you will be getting a letter soon and some of you may even read it before shredding.