What Do People Say To You When You Whip Out That Pen?

[GabrielleDuVent]

I'm surprised about the clairefontaine and J Herbin not getting along. It must be a misunderstanding. Perhaps you can counsel them. Any ideas why?

 

Well, French are quite individualistic. Clearly they had some philosophical disagreement. I'm guessing it's on the interpretation of Pascal's Pensee.

 

Or maybe they saw a really cute ink eradicator and are fighting over her.

[thedeacon]

 

Well, French are quite individualistic. Clearly they had some philosophical disagreement. I'm guessing it's on the interpretation of Pascal's Pensee.

 

Or maybe they saw a really cute ink eradicator and are fighting over her.

Admittedly, I am not a Francophile. However, I am given to understand they can be quite opinionated. Maybe they disagree on Camus' fight against nihilism?

 

Maybe you should let them know Madam Eradicator will never acknowledge them. She will always remain pristine. It may ease the tension and encourage a bonding experience.

 

Should I be sitting in a Starbucks perfecting my look of disdain yet? I hope not.

 

BTW, I'm starting to think you sleep less than I do.

Edited June 6, 2013 by thedeacon

[GabrielleDuVent]

BTW, I'm starting to think you sleep less than I do.

 

I have periods when all I do is sleep, and then periods when I have so much going on in my head that I can't sleep. It sounds like bipolar disorder phases, except that my lethargy is actually stupor or sleep. During medical school, I lived on 4 hours a day or so until my body said it had enough and decided to call it quits.

 

But this morning, I got in very late after attending a mandatory party. I figured if I go to bed, then I'd wake up in the afternoon and that may throw my sleeping cycle off completely (I have a tendency to stay up at night and sleep during the day, and it's very difficult for me to live like a normal person unless I'm careful about sleeping).

 

I'm considering doing Devil's Dictionary Japanese version, a la Plistumi, but without illustrations, since I can only draw sticks and graphs. My Japanese handwriting stinks and I write slowly in Japanese (about half the speed of English). I'm browsing for journals to do them in, and trying to decide if Moleskine cahier I have would be enough or if I need to get wider-ruled notebook.

 

I'm also dosed up on cappuccinos, double-shot. My flatmate bought an espresso machine that probably only needs clearance to take off, after I got fed up with regular coffee and a very clogged up, "I've never been cleaned before" delonghi espresso machine. So that might be it.

[thedeacon]

 

During medical school, I lived on 4 hours a day or so until my body said it had enough and decided to call it quits.

There in lies the common thread. The cause of insomnia world wide! You learn to live on 3 to 4 hours of sleep for weeks on end, then hit the proverbial brick wall. The only cure? Eight to ten hours of leave me alone, don't touch me, I'm not hungry, yes dear you're beautiful but not tonight sleep. I don't remember sleeping at all during my residency and specialty years. I thought when I "semi-retired" and ventured into a second career my sleep patterns would normalize. That's not true. It's not bipolar, it's ingrained behavior.

 

Glad to see you have an appreciation for a quality espresso machine. People think I'm insane when it comes to that particular obsession.

[Luiz]

They be like whaaaat...

[Nashten]

 

I have periods when all I do is sleep, and then periods when I have so much going on in my head that I can't sleep. It sounds like bipolar disorder phases, except that my lethargy is actually stupor or sleep. During medical school, I lived on 4 hours a day or so until my body said it had enough and decided to call it quits.

 

But this morning, I got in very late after attending a mandatory party. I figured if I go to bed, then I'd wake up in the afternoon and that may throw my sleeping cycle off completely (I have a tendency to stay up at night and sleep during the day, and it's very difficult for me to live like a normal person unless I'm careful about sleeping).

 

It isn't bipolar, as far as I know. Bipolar is classified as having many distinct personalities, like Jekyll and Hyde, or another subset or few of certain psychological dysfunctions and personality quirks. (I'm not a psychologist by any means...) Because if the sleep thing was Bipolar, then I have the worst case of it.

 

Some people are also "naturally" aligned with times of the day as well it seems. My peak hours are from 3 AM until 11 AM, where I am most productive and put out the most work. In school, from the beginning until lunch, work work work work. After that, just downhill until home at 3, then sleep until 6 - 8. Up until 1, sleep to 3, then repeat. (Graduated so hah! Not any more!)

[GabrielleDuVent]

 

It isn't bipolar, as far as I know. Bipolar is classified as having many distinct personalities, like Jekyll and Hyde, or another subset or few of certain psychological dysfunctions and personality quirks. (I'm not a psychologist by any means...) Because if the sleep thing was Bipolar, then I have the worst case of it.

 

Some people are also "naturally" aligned with times of the day as well it seems. My peak hours are from 3 AM until 11 AM, where I am most productive and put out the most work. In school, from the beginning until lunch, work work work work. After that, just downhill until home at 3, then sleep until 6 - 8. Up until 1, sleep to 3, then repeat. (Graduated so hah! Not any more!)

 

I didn't mean I was bipolar, I meant it that it comes in dichotomous phases. I'm currently in the "active" state, but when I'm in lethargy all I do is lie in bed. I know, not very... well, happy picture. I do get a lot of reading done, though, which is a good thing, since reading seems to be almost as frequently done as writing with hand. Some day a generation is going to need a book video-gamed to understand what's going on, and a Siri to dictate a letter. But that generation isn't here yet!

 

I really do wish I can wake up at regular hours. I've been nocturnal since I was about seven, when I started reading intensively and would stay up until dawn reading. That ruined my eyesight and my sleeping patterns permanently, and I've been having vampire-like living rhythms ever since.

 

Coffee and tea don't help, but those are almost as addictive as pens. Cappuccino first thing when waking up, macchiato a few hours later, a few shots of espressos, about half a dozen cups of tea... is probably enough to keep a troll awake.

[Strombomboli]

and I've been having vampire-like living rhythms ever since.

 

I am also living like that. We should open another thread; maybe there is a connection between fountain pen use and living at night.

[GabrielleDuVent]

 

I am also living like that. We should open another thread; maybe there is a connection between fountain pen use and living at night.

 

I've been noticing a few other people on here clearly living like vampires. I'll open another thread.

[GabrielleDuVent]

The sleep topic has been opened.

 

I might write a paper on the philosophical basis of usage of FPs, the public reactions, and the insomnia.

[richardandtracy]

I don't usually get any reaction, but once in a while it's a look that says 'You saddo' or something similar.

 

The most impressive was when I went through security at Marsailles airport last year. The XRay flagged up something odd in my bag and they wanted to inspect it. And found that all the 'suspicious' objects were six kit fountain pens I had made and had in my bag. The instant he saw them, the guard told me they were lovely & where did I get them? On replying that I had made them, he called over the other 4 guards over to stare & comment. It stopped all baggage checks for about 5 minutes while they all felt & tried the pens. It was rather nice!

 

Regards,

 

Richard

[de_pen_dent]

^^ I generally dont get any comments other than a polite "nice pen".

 

But I did have an airport security guard look at my some mid-sized pen I was carrying, nod approvingly and say "that is a big pen". I felt like going to my bag, pulling out my Sailor King of Pen and walking back and saying "no, no... now THIS is a big pen". But that might not have been appropriate.

 

And the only time my pens have been pulled out and inspected was when the steel piston of the TWSBI 700 made someone want to have a closer look.

[queenofpens]

 

I'm in Maryland. My college bookstore only stocks the very cheapest "disposables" (Pilot Plumix, Pilot Varsity, Platinum Preppy). I do eyedropper conversions and use them because that way I don't have to worry about losing them if lent out, so that's usually what my friends have in their hands when it comes up in conversation. Two of them have since bought their own!

 

Preppy will take a standard Platinum converter, so personally I don't consider it a disposable - even though the caps crack if bounced around in the bottom of my business bag. The converter costs more than the pen, though, so you probably wouldn't want to lend it if you had a converter in it.

 

So I would be delighted if I could find them locally instead of ordering. I did find Plumixes at a local Target once.

 

Sorry to sound like an old lady, but I do miss the days when I could buy the old Shaeffer cartridge pens in any bookstore. They were definitely not disposable, being very sturdy, and a lot of good ones are still turning up on Ebay about 20 years after they were discontinued! And they sold for a price that was equivalent to about what a Preppy sells for now!

 

This is wandering from the topic a bit, but so are some of the other posts.

[amberleadavis]

But I did have an airport security guard look at my some mid-sized pen I was carrying, nod approvingly and say "that is a big pen". I felt like going to my bag, pulling out my Sailor King of Pen and walking back and saying "no, no... now THIS is a big pen". But that might not have been appropriate.

 

 

 

Well, uh...I can see lots of ways that might have gone badly...but I'm giggling none the less. I'm just surprised that for a such a BIG pen the KOP doesn't hold more ink. Oh..wait, I can feel more bad jokes waiting to burst forth.

[GabrielleDuVent]

 

Well, uh...I can see lots of ways that might have gone badly...but I'm giggling none the less. I'm just surprised that for a such a BIG pen the KOP doesn't hold more ink. Oh..wait, I can feel more bad jokes waiting to burst forth.

 

This topic has already been debased by the gents constantly quipping about "whipping out" things from their trousers. I've given up on trying to keep this thread moderately appropriate for civility, and have given leave to let men-jokes run loose.

 

In hindsight, I really should have used another phrase.

[dorothynotgale]

 

Preppy will take a standard Platinum converter, so personally I don't consider it a disposable - even though the caps crack if bounced around in the bottom of my business bag. The converter costs more than the pen, though, so you probably wouldn't want to lend it if you had a converter in it.

 

So I would be delighted if I could find them locally instead of ordering. I did find Plumixes at a local Target once.

 

Sorry to sound like an old lady, but I do miss the days when I could buy the old Shaeffer cartridge pens in any bookstore. They were definitely not disposable, being very sturdy, and a lot of good ones are still turning up on Ebay about 20 years after they were discontinued! And they sold for a price that was equivalent to about what a Preppy sells for now!

 

This is wandering from the topic a bit, but so are some of the other posts.

I don't honestly think of them as disposable, either; if I can fill it (I don't use cartridges), I will keep it.

 

Those Sheaffer pens (specifically the "calligraphy" stub sets) were the very first fountain pens I ever owned. Every office supply store had them. I might still have a couple floating around somewhere, but I hate to think what's fossilized in the feeds after fifteen years.

[Strombomboli]

but I hate to think what's fossilized in the feeds after fifteen years.

Try a strong solution of water and baking soda (sodium bicarbonate). I was able to clean an old pen which I had bought on Ebay and which seemed to not have been cleaned for at least fifteen years. It took two days of constant flushing before the last bit of old ink had gone, but now the ink window is clean and I can fill in other inks than black ones.

[Nashten]

 

I didn't mean I was bipolar, I meant it that it comes in dichotomous phases. I'm currently in the "active" state, but when I'm in lethargy all I do is lie in bed. I know, not very... well, happy picture. I do get a lot of reading done, though, which is a good thing, since reading seems to be almost as frequently done as writing with hand. Some day a generation is going to need a book video-gamed to understand what's going on, and a Siri to dictate a letter. But that generation isn't here yet!

 

I really do wish I can wake up at regular hours. I've been nocturnal since I was about seven, when I started reading intensively and would stay up until dawn reading. That ruined my eyesight and my sleeping patterns permanently, and I've been having vampire-like living rhythms ever since.

 

Coffee and tea don't help, but those are almost as addictive as pens. Cappuccino first thing when waking up, macchiato a few hours later, a few shots of espressos, about half a dozen cups of tea... is probably enough to keep a troll awake.

 

Lots and lots of water to keep you getting up and urinating all the time, a very hard and uncomfortable chair and something complex for the mind to do = Best staying up recipe. Throw in some push-ups or other small exercises to get the heart pumping here and there. My motivation to get up more is a bed that, the longer you stay in it, the more your back gets sore.

 

In terms of vampireness, I am there with you. My sleep patterns drift around a bunch. I'll sleep normally for 3 days at max, then I'll find something that keeps me up... then surprise! All out of whack. (I was also being sarcastic about my Bipolar remark )

 

But what always intrigued me to no end was if these sleep patterns are more often shown in people who have a knack for being very creative with art/writing/music and such. Working under lamplight in the quiet of the night brings out the best in people. I have a two friends who are geniuses in writing and art and they stay up through the night all the time and sleep during the day. Their night-day work comparisons are markedly different in a lot of certain areas. Distractions during the day, light differences, etc... It is just... strange.

 

I'm supposed to be studying microarchitecture and computing sciences, not human behaviors!

[GabrielleDuVent]

So can I blame my sleeping patterns (or the lack thereof) on my musicianship and my writing? (I do both. Quite heavily.) Maybe I can go around saying "I'm a genius, see! I don't sleep during the night!"

 

I'm blaming my lack of regular sleeping patterns on my parents. They stay up all night quite often.

[Fernan]

I rarely get any comments, mostly curious stares... I feel most people hesitate starting a conversation on this topic.

 

Once, I did get a question concerning the blotter I was using... wondering what kind of tissue paper it was, and why and what I was doing with it.