Losing interest in pens

[Ron Sabbagh]

Yes...but it was watch collecting....

 

I'd buy & sell almost everyday until I just bought the 2 watches I really wanted. Once I bought those 2 I was satisfied. Trick is, you need to go through all those pens to educate yourself..and discover what you really want in a pen.

 

I suggest you take some time and really think about which 5 or 10 pens are your favorite...for whatever reason..not just because you think the particular pen may have a high resale value...just pick the pens you like the most and are going to use....ditch the rest and I think you will be happy.

 

I try to narrow my collection to no more than 10 pens....that includes fountains, rollers and ballpoints. If I buy a new one, I have to sell one....that seems to work....

 

Good luck!

[debraji]

I once was obsessed with collecting (not pens) when my 6-year-old son had leukemia. He went through 3 1/2 years of chemotherapy. As soon as he was done, my interest in collecting turned off like someone had flipped a switch.

 

I think it was a form of therapy--well, distraction, more than developing self-knowledge. It gave me something to focus on when times were tough.

 

Sometimes an obsession serves a need, and when that need is over the obsession melts away.

[Parker51]

Perhaps you might want to consider donating some of your pens to the Pen Collector's of America. There are members throughout the United States, so you likely would not have to do anything other than contact them and a member could either meet you at a chosen location, or at your home and accept them. The pens would then be used for a good cause.

[Kabe]

Perhaps you might want to consider donating some of your pens to the Pen Collector's of America

 

Or rather, Pen Collectors of Kabemerica. Send them to me!

[Rotomobees]

Okay, I'm now a little overwhelmed with the response, so allow me to to share how I will proceed.

 

I will try to respond to two requests a day. My schedule doesn't allow me to do more. Remember, I'm trying to simplify and not complicate my life.

 

Many people have offered to make a donation to charity. I will include the address of the charity I would prefer you to support and let you decide how to proceed and how much to give. This is not about money to me. In case you haven't discovered yet, money is not real and it does not bring happiness. It has taken me 40 years to figure out this truth.

 

I ask that you not sell the pen I give you. If you don't like it, give it away. If you do like it, take a picture and share your thoughts with the rest of the FPN community. Of course, if you need money to eat or for medical care, sell the pen. Material things do not hold a candle to a full belly or good health.

 

Also, please do not diagnose me with some disorder. I have no psychological disorders, or at least none that can be found in the DSM. I have lots of hobbies, including fly fishing, origami, beekeeping, doing the NYT crossword, sleeping, waking in the morning, using power tools, listening to NPR, and machining. In fact, what I really want to do is perfect my skills at modifying vanishing points by turning new bodies on my metal lathe. I also want to make more steam engines on my milling machine and lathe. Having all these pens just doesn't support my life agenda.

 

Finally, if you don't hear from me, I am not ignoring you. I will get to all requests in time. Time is the one thing you could give me in exchange for my pens. Unfortunately, I understand that time is not transferable.

[chelydra]

As obsessive compulsions go, collecting stuff is pretty harmless. At worst (unless a heap of old newspapers falls on your head and kills you), it simply postpones indefinitely the onerous task of dealing with whatever psychological issues led you into it in the first place -- and that's not necessarily a bad thing, since the impulse probably comes from something lonely, painful and sad, perhaps best left in the unconscious. I grew up in a house full of clutter, and over 400 antique firearms (mostly cannons). I've accumulated more records than I'll listen to even once in this lifetime, and I too hoard clutter. But my parents were okay people, and I've managed to have a pretty worthwhile life. The most worthwhile times by far, though, have had nothing at all to do with collecting, hoarding, or buying things. So my guess is that you're on an upswing! This isn't the time to seek therapy, but to enjoy being alive and make good use of the energy freed up by your liberation!

 

As for what to do with all those pens -- why not use your imagination and do something life-affirming? They could serve as prizes in a writing contest (handwritten essays only!) - or a penmanship/calligraphy competition - to encourage kids (or old farts) to get off their computers and rediscover handwriting and the kinds of mental activity it stimulates. Perhaps this web site would sponsor such a prize, monthly or annually. Or a pen dealer might.

Edited August 12, 2009 by chelydra

[chelydra]

Okay, I'm now a little overwhelmed with the response, so allow me to to share how I will proceed.

 

I will try to respond to two requests a day...

 

 

This went in while I was trying to post my previous reply. (And I hadn't seen the ones just before it either.) Sounds like we're on the right track!

Edited August 12, 2009 by chelydra

[Lachesis]

It's the same with me and drawing.

 

I love to draw and it has become a great hobby, but as the months go by I'm shocked--I haven't filled a page with doodles or complete drawings, just all unfinished and things like that. I don't hate it...I just don't have the passion I used to have with it. Pen trading and exchanging sounds like a generous, and wonderful idea. It feels heartwarming when I imagine it; some people go through their lives wanting *this* or *that* pen and can't get it, and others just let their dream pen go "for when the budget accepts."

 

It gives others a chance to at least experience writing with that kind of pen at least once, and that makes me happy. I'm always amazed at how appreciative and warm the FPN community is.

 

While I'm at it, if I could I'd request for a pen but I don't have the money to cover shipping costs...so instead, I'd like to subscribe to this thread and to a future thread about the writing experiences and stories people have with his pens, whenever that may be.

 

Alternatively, you could also give them as prizes, like what chelydra said!

[Ghost Plane]

Okay, I'm now a little overwhelmed with the response, so allow me to to share how I will proceed.

 

I will try to respond to two requests a day. My schedule doesn't allow me to do more. Remember, I'm trying to simplify and not complicate my life.

 

Many people have offered to make a donation to charity. I will include the address of the charity I would prefer you to support and let you decide how to proceed and how much to give. This is not about money to me. In case you haven't discovered yet, money is not real and it does not bring happiness. It has taken me 40 years to figure out this truth.

 

I ask that you not sell the pen I give you. If you don't like it, give it away. If you do like it, take a picture and share your thoughts with the rest of the FPN community. Of course, if you need money to eat or for medical care, sell the pen. Material things do not hold a candle to a full belly or good health.

 

Also, please do not diagnose me with some disorder. I have no psychological disorders, or at least none that can be found in the DSM. I have lots of hobbies, including fly fishing, origami, beekeeping, doing the NYT crossword, sleeping, waking in the morning, using power tools, listening to NPR, and machining. In fact, what I really want to do is perfect my skills at modifying vanishing points by turning new bodies on my metal lathe. I also want to make more steam engines on my milling machine and lathe. Having all these pens just doesn't support my life agenda.

 

Finally, if you don't hear from me, I am not ignoring you. I will get to all requests in time. Time is the one thing you could give me in exchange for my pens. Unfortunately, I understand that time is not transferable.

Thank you for clarifying.

[jde]

You are loud and clear! Bravo to you!

[Rotomobees]

Fellow Pentracers,

 

I am in the process in my great pen reduction. I went to Home Depot and post office to pick up boxes and piece of PVC to send out my first two pens. The first pen I selected is a Pelikan 1931 limited edition. It's a pretty pen that should make someone happy. I don't like gold pens, so I don't know why I bought it in the first place.

 

The second pen is an Elysee Cloisonné Edition No. 1

 

I'm sorry for the poor quality of these pictures. I don't really know how to operate my camera. In fact, I'll be surprised if I have inserted them correctly in this post. Maybe someone can enlighten me.

 

I hope those who receive these pens will enjoy them and share their impressions with the FPN.

 

By the way, I made no ground today as I bought the new VP limited edition and the Lamy Dialog 3. Those capless pens . . .

[Rotomobees]

Fellow Pentracers,

 

I am in the process in my great pen reduction. I went to Home Depot and post office to pick up boxes and piece of PVC to send out my first two pens. The first pen I selected is a Pelikan 1931 limited edition. It's a pretty pen that should make someone happy. I don't like gold pens, so I don't know why I bought it in the first place.

 

The second pen is an Elysee Cloisonné Edition No. 1

 

I'm sorry for the poor quality of these pictures. I don't really know how to operate my camera. In fact, I'll be surprised if I have inserted them correctly in this post. Maybe someone can enlighten me.

 

I hope those who receive these pens will enjoy them and share their impressions with the FPN.

 

By the way, I made no ground today as I bought the new VP limited edition and the Lamy Dialog 3. Those capless pens . . .

Edited August 14, 2009 by Rotomobees

[Ghost Plane]

Can't wait to see the pics. This is going to be majorly educational as we get to see pens we normally wouldn't and hear about their adventures.

[pixwriter]

Okay, I'm now a little overwhelmed with the response, so allow me to to share how I will proceed.

 

I will try to respond to two requests a day. My schedule doesn't allow me to do more. Remember, I'm trying to simplify and not complicate my life.

 

Many people have offered to make a donation to charity. I will include the address of the charity I would prefer you to support and let you decide how to proceed and how much to give. This is not about money to me. In case you haven't discovered yet, money is not real and it does not bring happiness. It has taken me 40 years to figure out this truth.

 

I ask that you not sell the pen I give you. If you don't like it, give it away. If you do like it, take a picture and share your thoughts with the rest of the FPN community. Of course, if you need money to eat or for medical care, sell the pen. Material things do not hold a candle to a full belly or good health.

 

Also, please do not diagnose me with some disorder. I have no psychological disorders, or at least none that can be found in the DSM. I have lots of hobbies, including fly fishing, origami, beekeeping, doing the NYT crossword, sleeping, waking in the morning, using power tools, listening to NPR, and machining. In fact, what I really want to do is perfect my skills at modifying vanishing points by turning new bodies on my metal lathe. I also want to make more steam engines on my milling machine and lathe. Having all these pens just doesn't support my life agenda.

 

Finally, if you don't hear from me, I am not ignoring you. I will get to all requests in time. Time is the one thing you could give me in exchange for my pens. Unfortunately, I understand that time is not transferable.

 

It sounds like you have some great hobbies.

I'd love to see a mokume gane or damascus steel VP body. I bet they would look sensational. A VP with a sterling silver overlay?

 

On a different note, we have wondered about beekeeping, most of our garden (UK) is pretty wild (deliberately so) and we have thriving populations of native and wild bees and butterflies. There is a lot of concern about bees in the UK, just as I gather there is the US. A couple of recent documentaries here asked people to keep bees if it were possible, particularly in areas with access to diverse habitats. (which we have too). So we were wondering about taking up beekeeping.... this is drifting off fountain pens, isn't it?

Edited August 14, 2009 by pixwriter

[WendyNC]

While I'm at it, if I could I'd request for a pen but I don't have the money to cover shipping costs...so instead, I'd like to subscribe to this thread and to a future thread about the writing experiences and stories people have with his pens, whenever that may be.

 

I'll pony up and pay for shipping to Lachesis.

[Robert Hughes]

I once was obsessed with collecting (not pens) ... I think it was a form of therapy...

Good point. Perhaps my pen collecting binge last year was also therapeutic (recovering from a divorce). But I still like my pens.

[pyotrkot]

Fellow Pentracers,

 

I am in the process in my great pen reduction. I went to Home Depot and post office to pick up boxes and piece of PVC to send out my first two pens.

 

Good morning,

 

I hope giving some of your pens becomes even more satisfying than collecting them. It is certain that your generosity will bring a great deal of happiness to other enthusiasts; especially those of modest means.

 

Recently I was able to send a pen to someone in the Pay-It-Forward section of this forum. It has been very pleasant to learn they love using it.

 

Best wishes,

[Rotomobees]

deleted

Edited August 14, 2009 by Rotomobees

[Rotomobees]

I encourage everyone to get a beehive. They are very easy to keep. I know there are some excellent bee supply houses in the UK, as well as across Europe. In fact, some of the pioneers of modern beekeeping came from Britain. And it's a relatively cheap hobby too. One can set up a hive for about 150USD. I had seven hives, but I lost two this year. A lot of beekeepers are experience similar losses but on a larger scale -- the so called CCD of colony collapse disorder. But bees are facing many other pressures as well - mites, beetles, loss of habitat, commercial scale beekeeping driving out the little guys, insecticides, maybe global warming. In fact, no one knows what's causing CCD, but the phenomenon has wiped about 25% of colonies. And remember that about 75% of the diversity of fruits and vegetables depend on bees for pollination. Without them, the only thing we'll be eating is corn and wheat. So get a colony next spring after you read about them over the winter. And by the way, bees are not aggressive unless you kick their hive or step on them. I have only been stung about 10 times this year, but that is because I don't like to wear my bee suit.

 

On another note, part of the reason I want to part with some of my pens is that so I have more time for my other hobbies, including beekeeping. I have not been paying enough attention to them this year for lack of time, and I feel very irresponsible for letting my bees down. I think one of my colonies died this year because I didn't look after it well enough. I have concluded that having too much stuff is the root of my problem. With so many things to look after, I don't have the time to look after any of them well.

 

Rob (aka Rotomobees)

 

On a different note, we have wondered about beekeeping, most of our garden (UK) is pretty wild (deliberately so) and we have thriving populations of native and wild bees and butterflies. There is a lot of concern about bees in the UK, just as I gather there is the US. A couple of recent documentaries here asked people to keep bees if it were possible, particularly in areas with access to diverse habitats. (which we have too). So we were wondering about taking up beekeeping.... this is drifting off fountain pens, isn't it?

[pixwriter]

Thanks for the encouragement, It has been great making the garden wildlife friendly. It was lifeless but now it is amazing. We see more and more new species.

Its not just domesticated bees that are troubled either.

If you live in towns it is possible to encourage native bees by putting up home made bee boxes, though you can get the same effect by leaving piles of branches and hay for lots of different wildlife to over-winter in.

We are also planning to put up swift boxes. We have swallows nest on the house already, but this year some swifts sized us up but they didn't find anywhere they liked. In London now, tall buildings have to incorporate special concrete blocks that contain swift friendly nest boxes.

I'll let you know what we decide about the bees. I suppose spring will be the best time now.

 

 

By the way, it sounds to me like you now have your pens versus other things priorities sorted out really well!

All the best.