Monday, May 5, 2008

The Pen is Mightier

I don't consider myself a snob about too many things. Maybe snob isn't the right word... I have certain things in my life that have specific preferences. Including but not limited to: greeting cards, hair product, soccer cleats, chapstick, Italian restaurants, and PENS!


I think my obsession with the Pen started in high school and may have been a result of the increase in amount of time that I spent writing. Journals, love notes, etc. I remember days when my BFF Erica and I would go through her dad's desk drawers and try out every pen to see which ones were the best. There are serious differences in pens my friends.

My preferences and opinions regarding the Pen have changed over the years. I used to be a strictly ball point type of girl. I also absolutely refused to use a blue Pen. All of my writing was in black. Now, in the legal world, anything I sign/notarize is in blue ink to differentiate between originals and copies. I'm ok with it now. I have embraced the blue ink as well as the gel ink b/c it's smoother and thicker to sign with. One tradition that has remained is my complete aversion to the pencil - unless expressly required (i.e. scantron sheets, mini-golf score cards). Pencils are ridiculous. Way too much effort involved for such a temporary result.

Over the years, I have evolved, maybe even matured, in my Pen of choice. In high school, it was the RSVP pen in fine point and black (obviously). In college it was the BIC-Ultra Stic Grip (I was poor and they still wrote like a charm for a ball point). I also had a run with the Zebra brand for a time. Since college I have found my Pen of choice for work and elsewhere. It is the Pilot G-2 in fine point. I mostly use the blue (b/c I'm constantly signing things) but the other colors are pretty amazing. It is the perfect gel-ness and writes much easier than any ball point I have. Not to mention the clicky-pen feature. I am spoiled by its convenience.

The Pen I use also depends on what I am writing. The quill is reserved for my handwritten letters on parchment paper and wax-sealed envelopes. My journal pen is always the best pen. It can't be ball point but also can't be too heavy and inky. The balance between the ball point Pen and the gel/heavy ink type Pens is a battle I have been fighting for many years. If you get a gel Pen that is too heavy, it shows through on the other side of the paper and also tends to blend letters together if you write too quickly creating a dreadful cursive effect. Needless to say I'm one of the only people in my office that makes specific Pen requests when our receptionists orders supplies. So maybe I am a Pen snob....

4 comments:

  1. My most favorite pens are of the fountain variety. They just write so beautifully. I worked in an office supply before I moved back here and my favorite spot was the pen section... I would buy like one or two pens here and there just to see which was best. I'm glad to know I'm not alone in my love for pens.

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  2. I carry the Pilot G-2 in my purse.

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  3. She gets the pen fetish from me, along with her beauty, great hair, good legs and many other positive attributes:)

    I get VERY annoyed if someone moves my pen from it alloted spot in my kitchen desk, that is the drawer under the keyboard for anyone who finds themselves sitting at my kitchen desk:)

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  4. I remember my senior year in high school my piano teacher left a Pilot G-2 at my house and I felt really guilty when I brought it to school to take notes but it wrote so well. I don't think my teacher got that pen back because I used all the ink.

    I hate pencils too. I scoff at people who use them to take notes in college. Don't they know it will just rub off?

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