“Hello. My Name is Healthcare Working Girl and I am a pen addict.”
They fan out across my desk in a veritable rainbow of inky fabulosity. Reds. Blues. Blacks. Greens. Purples. Pens are my weakness. Thanks to the technological age I’ve done less handwriting in my adult life with most of my time spent pecking away at computer keyboards but pens own my heart. I love the way a good pen feels in my hand, the way a well designed pen just screams “write with ME!” and the way my handwriting seems to improve dramatically when switching from a bland pen to one created with folks like me in mind. Folks who know pens, who will stop to examine an unfamiliar pen left at a sign in table, sniff pen tips to check the ink quality, and know the perfect paper to pair with a particular pen. I’ve occasionally, unconsciously, walked off particularly well writing pens in unusual colors laying at such a sign in table! Totally involuntarily! Tragic though, since I will also retrace my steps all across town if I misplace one of my beloved writing tools!
I’ve tried out nearly every pen on the market, transitioning over the years from ball point to gel to roller ball. A few years ago, in my past life as a hotel working girl, the daughter of the CEO of Pilot pens took a job with us as an operator. Besides causing people to think they had dialed a 900-number whenever she answered the phone with her oh-so-seductive tone, she showered me with pens in every color and variety. Even pens that had not yet hit the market! She was a pusher and I was a fiend for any good pen she threw my way! I thought I had died and gone to pen heaven!
Pilots have since been my brand of choice but recently, a co-worker gifted me a brand new, blue Sharpie pen and I haven’t been able to put it down. To me, there’s no greater motivation to sit down and write than a fine writing instrument waiting to make contact with a crisp sheet of paper. Yeah, its archaic at this point and my children will probably never understand the simplistic wonder of a pen but I’ll continue scribbling in notebooks, doodling in meetings and scrawling out my thoughts in ink. How about you? Is handwriting going the way of the dinosaur?
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17 comments:
I completely understand! I go out of my way to take notes at work even when I don't have to, just so I can use my pens. I have eleven (yes ELEVEN) pens in my bag right now. Obsessed? I think so! Currently the Sharpie pens are my favorite, and I just discovered BIC ReAction gel pens. I'm glad I'm not the only one!
I think it's the love of the written word that keeps me writing in a journal when I have a blog. There's something about the feeling of smooth ink on crisp, beautiful paper that just adds weight to the words.
This is my post about the other half of the pen-paper love equation.
http://monsterawr.com/?p=661
Love it! Even though my handwriting has deteriorated over the years due to lack of use, I still try to write by hand as often as possible. I'm partial to the classic papermate ballpoint stick pens--the ones that are all hard plastic in the same color. They write so smooth and are so cheap I won't freak if I lose one.
I think you're right, the next generation will probably have extremely long fingers with flat fingertips to type more efficiently. I bet writing is completely gone in the next 50 years! I've seen 3 year olds playing with DS lites so pens/pencils will someday be in a museum and kids will wonder what the heck we did with them :)
When I got a job at Office Depot, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. I got to play with all the pretty pens. School Supply Shopping was the best part of any school year. I had all my notes color coded and it was glorious.
I have a bunch of different colored pens and everyday is a different color. And lets not forget highlighters.
I swear you wrote this post for me! I'm cracking up. I'm a total pen whore. Everyone makes fun of me for how many pens I own...and the fact that I continue buying more!
Your words resonate with me! I too have a freakish pen obsession. It dates back to early childhood and continues now that I am a teacher and Back to School time is one of my favorite times of the year to see what new and exciting writing utensils will be bestowed upon the public come mid August. Thank you for bringing validity and light to this wonderful "'problem."
No matter how forward we move in the direction of high-tech and online, I feel there's still nothing better than a hardwritten note. I love pens and handwriting, I think it will stand the test of time.
My apartment complex gives us these nice pens every year for Christmas. I cry everytime they run out of it because it's the only pen that helps my penmanship!
I completely have this same problem. I used to love it when I was in school and a new quarter would start, because I would use it as an excuse to buy a brand new set of multi-colored pens. And I swear great pens DO make your handwriting better. :-)
You and I have a similar like here. I love getting new pens and trying them out. I like the way they feel in my hands and love to write notes instead of typing them.
i love writing with pens as well. i have my favourite types as well and refuse to write with any other. i've been trying to find a place that sells fountain pens, but i can't. any tips?
i used to COLLECT pens when i was a kid. all kinds of them. gel pens sign pens. etc etc. literally collecting them. until i grew a little older and realized that pens weren't that much good of an investment! lol... they dry out eventually of course.
on the other side, i grew up in highschool and college never having to write that much. (grew the habit of just borrowing my classmate's notes at the end of the day and photo copy it) ...
its sad because i really have a bad handwriting. .. well i dont really have a handwriting they're just like ms word with various fonts! depends on the pen, the paper, and the mood.
Well, you know me...I am your current "pusher"!! I love pens myself...every color, but definitely have a preference on the tip! The Sharpie Fine Tip is the GREATEST! Everyone should try it!! Purple, green, orange, blue and black. HEAVEN!
OMG-- this is me. I LOVE PENS! My family and co-workers give me so much grief because I have so many pens and always want more. You're right, the new Sharpie pens are amazing (although, I'm not a big fan of the retractable kind-- don't know what happened, but it's weird).
Don't even get me started about cute journals and notebooks!! A great pen deserves a great writing surface! LOL!
I'm so glad to see that I'm not in need of professional help. Penophilia is perfectly natural!
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