The scholar is back … from stumbling onto stationery in San Diego
A heart-felt thank you to everyone who reached out to share congratulations and/or to check in with me these past two weeks. I’m grateful.
And I’m excited to get back into my weekly reflections.
I wrote far less than I’d planned for. A welcome change. The past two weeks evolved into time spent with loved ones. And sleeping. And lots of pool-time. And quite a bit of reading.
And discovering new stationery shops.
Stationery by the cove in La Jolla. Halfway through the honeymoon, we drove out to San Diego. The city offered a quicker pace than desert living.
Even their cards seem fast
My partner researched a small stationery shop in La Jolla. Warwick’s is a blended bookshop, gift shop, and stationery shop. Their fountain pen inventory spanned a full third of the store.
Their “pen person” is named Gustavo. He was eager to talk shop, and knowledgeable. Notably, he ran into the back to show us additional models of Benu pens that weren’t yet on display. Chatting with him was a blast.
I was sorely tempted to take the new green Pilot Custom 74 home with me. However, Warwick’s didn’t have an EF nib in stock. I did myself proud and waited for exactly the nib I’m looking for.
Surprises on Coronado Island. My family and I walked Coronado’s downtown sidewalks. We stumbled onto a small shop: Seaside Papery.
Nestled within the gift items and “chuckle stationery” sat cases of Kaweco pens and pencils, some Lamy pens, and a sprinkling from Pilot.
Again, I was sorely tempted to walk away with a grey Kaweco Sport. The absence of an EF nib soured me on making a pen purchase.
I visited two shops without adding a pen to my collection. Evidence that I’ve settled into the “honing” phase of my relationship with stationery. I’m refining my pen options. The widespread experimentation phase may be waning.
And refining is a happy new adventure.
This week’s Inked Tines update includes my most recent currently inked writing tools.
Toolset
Pens. Two pairings share the standout combination title this week: the Kaweco Sport in (Stealth) Fox and the TWSBI Eco-T. Both put in hours as my pocket carry throughout the honeymoon getaway. Each always wrote. Both worked on receipt and pocket notebook paper. And both pens do so for around $30. Take a bow.
Victory formation
Kaweco Sport (EF) — Feed. Sturdy and consistent. Wrote every time, even in 120º F weather. The EF nib kept feathering to a minimum on pocket notebook paper. The black furniture and nib kept me reaching for this combo. Pocket carry.
TWSBI Eco-T (EF) — 1/5. Oyster Grey and this EF nib are fast friends. The Eco withstood the rigors of desert heat without complaint or hiccups. Pocket carry, even on two plane rides.
TWSBI Vac (F CSI) — 1/5. A plane-safe combination. Trust me. I opened the pen on a plane. Leak and burp free so long as you wait until the cabin is fully pressurized before writing.
TWSBI 580-AL (B) — 1/2. The wet B nib and feed keeps Fireopal at its moodiest brown. Dries out a bit after writing quickly for a half-page, which brings out Fireopal’s great shading. A M nib might bring out more of the contrasting orange.
Pelikan m805 (F Architect) — 1/2. The Akkerman is wet enough to smooth out the architect’s rough edges. The grind is sharp enough to still show off line variation, while generous enough to still show off Akkerman’s shading. A steady journaling and list-making combo.
Montblanc 146 (EF) — 3/4. A showpiece that intrigued my grandfather. He recognized the white star. And appreciated the sentimental meaning of that wee Petit Prince.
Visconti Homo Sapiens (F) — ??. This combo shows less sheen on Tomoe River than it did on CAL. Palladium writes smoothest with a feather-light touch.
Notebooks. Journal. I finished the Cosmo Air Light notebook just prior to leaving. The first entry is from March 1 of this year. Counting with fingers and toes tells me the CAL journal lasted four months.
I initially bought the notebook to try Cosmo Air Light paper. The fantastic shading and sheen CAL paper encourages made my journaling a lot of fun. A successful addition to my bookshelf.
I reached for my blank Taroko Breeze notebook. This book has pre-printed page numbers and a subtle grey dot grid. It’s cover, binding, and branding are black-on-black-on-black. So: cheery.
So sleek. So seductive.
And the Breeze brings me back into Tomoe River paper. It’s a firm paper to write on. I likely only notice this quality since I’ve spent four months writing on soft CAL.
At present, I’ve added nine pages, across four journal entries.
Commonplace. A5 Elemental Paper Iodine. Most of my writing was housed in the commonplace notebook. I worked solely on the 5-hour plane rides out and back. Nine new pages, ending on page 63.
Grey and teal: the colors of progress
The final two chapters of Stanley’s (2020) How Fascism Works are now recorded and searchable. I’ve also started inserting my notes on Al Gore’s (2007) The Assault on Reason.
I’ve had a few questions about my method for recording reading notes in a commonplace notebook. There’s a tutorial post coming along about that.
Written dry. The piston deities are generous and kind. Every pen and ink combo survived the past two weeks. Ooh-ya.
Newly inked. No newly inked pens this week.
The collection
Incoming / new orders. One new A6 notebook and one new B6 notebook. The A6 is a pale blue Stalogy planner. This may become my next personal bullet journal.
The B6 is a grid layout Midori MD. Midori’s cream colored paper tints ink colors — if slightly. That said, MD paper presents shading and sheen beautifully. I return to MD notebooks time and again.
The size is new for me. A6 has proven a tad small for my journaling. B6 sits in-between A6 and A5. The Midori will make for a worthwhile journaling experiment. Especially following two A5 journals.
Still sporting that new notebook smell
The DC Pen Show is only three weeks away. I’m growing a wish list — and a budget line. No new stationery for moi until after le show.
Outgoing / trades or sales. The Parker Vacumatic continues to sit patiently for its trip to a repair shop.
Currently reading and listening
Fiction. Nearly all of my reading over the honeymoon hiatus (hooray alliteration) sits in the realm of fiction. Poolside high fantasy. Classy.
Swanky.
I’m now 72 chapters into Sanderson’s Rhythm of War. The storytelling grows dark, and then sits in the darkness. Akin to Empire Strikes Back. Characters become trapped. And the “bad folks” successfully creep in from the margins.
I deeply appreciate the presence of major characters who are grappling — realistically — with depression and anxiety. I can’t recall another fantasy book series that incorporates depression the multidimensional way Sanderson does. Flex on, Mr. Sanderson.
Nonfiction. I close-read Dunbar-Ortiz’s (2014) An Indigenous People’s History of the United States on the plane rides out. 236 pages are now annotated and highlighted.
Margin notes for the win
This reading is part of my preparations for next school year.
I am substituting a new unit into my history class next school year. My unit contrasting Martin Luther King, Jr.’s accounts of the Birmingham campaign against those of the FBI and the local white clergy is dropping out. More pointedly, the unit’s primary sources are shifting to a colleague’s higher level history class.
The replacement unit will contrast students’ accounts of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School against records from the United States’ Office of Indian Affairs and Captain Pratt’s own accounts. It’s a powerful narrative accounting of fights over whose cultures should matter in the United States.
Dunbar-Ortiz’ powerful history is best consumed by a sober heart. I was glad for my partner’s — sleepy — hand while I read.
I began Gessen’s (2020) Surviving Autocracy on the five-hour plane ride back. I’m still only on my skim-read. The goal is to figure out her argument. Details on specific examples and evidence are for a future close-read.
Music. The honeymoon soundtrack was saturated with Spotify’s Dope Lemon Mix. The playlist seems to change each day. Populated by a compliment of mellow, understated vocals against energetic tempos.
This mix makes for a fantastic background ambiance while reading.
My partner calls this playlist the “lemon-lime playlist” since it heavily features both Dope Lemon and Lime Cordiale.
Fin.
