Uhhhhh.... Can Someone Explain How This Happened?

[MikeyW]

So...... It's a beautiful day here in Brisbane today.

 

Sun is out. Everyone is in a good mood around the office. You get the picture.

 

Well, I went out for my usual late afternoon lunch break; grabbed some excellent sushi..... Everything was going to plan! Everything, that is, until this...... I'm not sure how it happened - I'm not sure exactly what happened - I am reasonably sure however that my girlfriend will kill me because it did happen: Somehow, standing innocently in front of a shop window has led me to become the owner of a new pen!!!!

 

As such, without any further adieu & with great pride - I'd like to introduce you all to the latest part of my small but oh so delightful (to me anyway) collection!!

 

My beautiful new Waterman Phileas Solid Black with Gold Trim (Medium nib) :

 

 

I'm still well & truly getting to grips with it (playing with my new toy is probably more of a fair statement) however I'm already a massive fan of how it writes - it truly does lay down ink superbly. On that note, I also picked up a bottle of Waterman Inspired Blue ink (I'm a firm believer that there is no point going "a little bit" broke!!) which is really interesting in how different it is from my usual "business-like" palette of colours.

 

Anyway, thanks for letting me share!

 

Now, where to hide the receipt?????

 

Cheers everyone!

 

Mike

[Opooh]

Nice pen!

[the_cutter]

Your Waterman Phileas happened.

 

Congrats on your new pen!

[AndrewC]

Don't hide the receipt. Just tell her at least you aren't into cars, smelly cigars, or other women. Soon as you feel you have to hide your pens, everything goes sideways(hmm. Honey, what are those stains on your fingers? Do I smell ink on your pocket?). Just be sure to support her in HER indulgences, (and hope they don't cost more than yours) so you can feel virtuous. Tell her you are practicing pretty writing for love letters.

 

Nice pen. My Phileas was one of my cheapest pens (used), and it writes as nicely (or nicer) as some of my really expensive pens. Enjoy your toy.

[Aramchek]

Considering the topic of this thread, I was a bit worried when I saw the photos and started reading the post - at first I thought this was going to be a tale on how you accidentally broke a beautiful pen, then I thought it would be one about how you accidentally broke your girlfriends beautiful pen

 

When people are agast at the amount of money I spend on pens, I tell them that many other people spend that much on booze and tobacco, and at least I have a physical object to show for it, and don't ruin my health.

[Mesu]

Nice pen. Congratulations

 

 

 

Now, where to hide the receipt?????

 

Paper shredder would be a good place

 

But where will you hide the pen??

Edited August 27, 2013 by Mesu

[Bo Bo Olson]

One should stay away from Sushi....cuttle fish and squid are wasted in it, instead of in an ink bottle.

[Paddler]

You made your first mistake by having lunch in a bait shop. Don't compound it by hiding your new pen from your girlfriend. If she objects, tell her the sushi made you want to buy a new bass boat, but you bought the pen instead.

[heymatthew]

Quick! Send it to me! I won't tell her...

[Cyber6]

Quick! Send it to me! I won't tell her...

 

[Uncle Red]

Very sweet pen. Good luck with the SO.

[PAKMAN]

I agree don't hide it! Mine knows I could have much more expensive hobbies and that I could take a little saunter to the two closets full of shoes and purses and ask about her latest finds. Is that a Coach purse I see hanging on your shoulder?...

[inkstainedruth]

+1 on that!

Considering the topic of this thread, I was a bit worried when I saw the photos and started reading the post - at first I thought this was going to be a tale on how you accidentally broke a beautiful pen, then I thought it would be one about how you accidentally broke your girlfriends beautiful pen

Of course you *could* solve the problem (okay, by compounding the *first* problem ) and buy her some really pretty pen and a nice color of ink just for her. I don't know her tastes, of course, but you could have a look at the thread "Cute pens for us girls" and see if there's something there that she might go for (and while expensive, Yama-budo is a really nice ink -- I haven't been as enamored over the other Iroshihzuku inks I've tried, but that one I was willing to drop the extra cash on in order to get a full bottle.

Personally, I don't tend to do "girly" all that much, but I picked up a lovely little restored Morrison overlay ringtop and a cute little Azure Blue Pearl Parker Vacumatic (a Debutante, I think) at the DCSS a few weeks ago. I have not *quite* let my husband know how much I paid for them (or, for that matter, the Craig ringtop with 14K music nib that Uncle Red spotted for me).... OTOH, Steve got his choice of colors of Esterbrook Js, and once the red one (sigh -- it *would* have to have been that one) gets a new sac put on it he'll get it as a belated birthday present with an EF nib (swapping out the broad stub that was on it when I got the pen).

Oh, by the way -- you have found yourself surrounding by a large number of enablers here. So when you ask "How did this happen?" we will just start trying to look innocent and scuttle away whistling -- but secretly thinking "Mwahahahaha! My job here is done!"

My story about the the Craig and the Morrison, is of course that if I didn't fall on the grenade, as it were, to keep Uncle Red from spending even more money than he did (actually, that's sort of true, because in both cases he said to me "If you don't buy them I will....).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[French]

+ many

 

Don't hide the pen from your girlfriend, it won't end well. While my wife doesn't completely understand my small pen collection, she indulges me and pretends to have interest in my pens. We have an agreement that when the pen cases are full (I have two cheap cases from Micheals Crafts that each hold 8 pens) then a pen needs to go in order for another one to come in. I'm good with that as it allows me to actually use the pens in my collection. After the initial 'accumulate everything' phase ended, the focus on what I like to write with sharpened a bit and now, it is always a choice of what to purge in order to make space for something new and shiny.

 

That, and I don't question my wife's wants.

 

As long as we aren't taking from the bills or college funds to buy stuff, it is OK. Also, she greatly appreciates that my collection can fit on a shelf in my office, and that my vice isn't classic cars, vintage wine or sports memorabilia. Not that there is anything wrong with any of those

[MikeyW]

Ha! Thanks for the great input (and the enabling) guys!

 

She's pretty good about my spending (as long as it's within reason) and you're all spot on - she has more than a few purchases herself.....

 

 

Hahaha HeyMatthew - that's a pretty generous offer of you sir!

 

Ruth - That's a great thought! She keeps saying that she doesn't think fountain pens are her cup of tea (she does love a nice ballpoint though) - any suggestions on a nice 'lady friendly' fountain pen that I could surprise her with?? She likes slimmer pens and she's more of a burgundy girl than a pink girl. She loves vintage/antique and art deco things. Also, and I know this sounds terrible, but considering it's not something she's overly in to I know she'd wind up being more annoyed than impressed if I spent a considerable sum (that and I just recently bought her a brand new Aurora Optima Emerald Marble Ball pen which she loves but doesn't use all that often).

 

Oh and Mesu - Don't worry my friend, the shredder has already been hard at work!!!!

 

Mike

[heymatthew]

Hahaha HeyMatthew - that's a pretty generous offer of you sir!

 

...any suggestions on a nice 'lady friendly' fountain pen that I could surprise her with??

 

Mike

 

No problem! Glad to fall on the grenade for a fellow member. The offer stands.

 

As for a pen for her, how about a restored Esterbrook J? It's small, vintage and you can easily swap the nibs. And you can get one fully restored from the Classifieds here for around $40 or so. Cuter than a Lamy and vintage, too!

[akustyk]

It is a beautiful pen! Congratulations. I was at a pen store recently (Paradise Pen in Minnesota), and ended up buying some gorgeous Iroshizuku ink. Whenever I stop by, I try to buy something to support the store. I do not buy pens because they're all at MSRP, and only with medium nibs, but I do buy ink, pen cases, paper supplies, etc.

 

There's something about the pen store experience, the glass cases, the soft lighting, the glamorous displays, that makes pens irresistible.

 

Enjoy your pen!

[Sandy1]

Quick! Write her a billet doux - a haiku at least ! ! ! (work the sushi connection!!!)

[RMN]

Hi Mikey

 

May I be so bold as to ask you what the receipt said. Now if you bought this NOS at regular shopprices, chances are you paid a good price. If you head over to the Waterman subforum, you will quickly see these pens fetch huge prices on ebay. And I know of a certain artist who will be all shades of green with envy....

 

So you could tell your GF it's an investment..

 

D.ick

 

edited for spelling

Edited August 27, 2013 by RMN

[MikeyW]

It is a beautiful pen! Congratulations. I was at a pen store recently (Paradise Pen in Minnesota), and ended up buying some gorgeous Iroshizuku ink. Whenever I stop by, I try to buy something to support the store. I do not buy pens because they're all at MSRP, and only with medium nibs, but I do buy ink, pen cases, paper supplies, etc.

 

There's something about the pen store experience, the glass cases, the soft lighting, the glamorous displays, that makes pens irresistible.

 

Enjoy your pen!

 

Akustyk - Thank you very much my friend! I couldn't agree with you more - for me, it's a double bonus: you're supporting a local business (and we all know that small businesses need the support these days) and it's a really enjoyable experience. Especially as a younger person, it is so nice to go into a shop that isn't just pushing rubbish rudely across a counter and get real service and be treated like someone with an education!

 

 

 

Hi Mikey

 

May I be so bold as to ask you what the receipt said. Now if you bought this NOS at regular shopprices, chances are you paid a good price. I you head over to the Waterman subforum, you will quickly see these pens fetch huges prices on ebay. And I know of a certain artist who will bee all shades of green with envy....

 

So you could tell your GF it's an investment..

 

D.ick

 

Hi D.ick - For me, the Phileas was a bit of a baffler in regards to a fair price - I've done some digging around and have often heard it referred to as a very cheap, basic model Waterman. However, the new models that are being produced and sold (at least here in Australia) range in price from $179 - $250 and are marketed as anything but entry-level. In saying that, I picked this up from a very small, local, stationery shop which supplies my office with all of our day to day needs so I'm on very good terms with the owner. He's a great guy and passed this on to me for $125 (half his marked price) and threw in a free bottle of Waterman Inspired Blue ink (50ml). He doesn't have walls full of fountain pens, but i've found that the brands he does stock are all for very very reasonable prices (again, by local standards).

 

So I feel, all in all, I got a fairly good deal on this one (I could well be wrong but that's how I'm looking at it at this point).

 

Mike