Last Minute Gifts

Still rushing around on Christmas Eve, trying to find that last-minute gift? May I suggest the gift of writing. If you are near a bookstore, you will likely find Moleskine or other brand journals in various sizes and colors. The small journals make great stocking stuffers!

Pens make great gifts, too. A nice quality writing instrument is not only practical, it can become a family heirloom. (I still use a Mont Blanc my father passed along to me a number of years ago.) Check out some of the office supply stores - the nicer pens are usually kept separately from the standard issue pens. But hey! If your budget doesn't allow you to purchase an expensive pen, consider a Pilot Varsity or Lamy Safari to nudge that special someone into writing with a fountain pen. For the stocking, how about a multi-pack of Pilot or Uni-ball gel ink pens, or perhaps an assortment of Sharpie markers!

But whatever you do, better get moving!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Last Minute Gifts

Go-to Writing Tools of 2009

Looking back on 2009, it's interesting (to me, anyway) how I have gravitated toward certain tools for writing. My selections were not planned in advance, instead, they came about because of overall utility (portability, affordability, quality, and consistency). So, with no further fanfare, here are my go-to writing instruments for 2009:

Fountain pen: Lamy Safari. In fact, I currently have three that I keep in constant use at my desk. Sure, I have other (and more expensive) fountain pens that I use, but my first inclination is to grab one of the Safaris. They write smoothly and they fit my hand well.

Pocket pen: I do not usually carry a fountain pen in my pocket. Instead, I go for a smooth-writing gel-ink pen. This year, my go-to pocket pen has been a Uni-ball Signo 207. (Sorry Pilot G-2, you ran a close second!) I love the Signo for the smooth lines I can lay down and for the tamper-proof ink.

Pencil: Truth be told, I seldom use a pencil. I'm one of those that does cross-word puzzles in ink. Still, there are occasions where a pencil is required and I grab a Rotring Mechanical pencil that my wife gave me several years ago. It has a nice, heavy feel, with my name engraved on the side. What's not to like?

Small notebook: I started the year alternating between a Doane Paper notebook, a Moleskine Cahier and the Field Notes memo-book. As the year progressed, I began to carry the Field Notes memo-book exclusively. (Maybe the new cover colors pushed it over the top?). I love the paper that Field Notes uses - not too heavy, not too light. Plus, it tends to stay closed on its own where the Doane Paper notebook would spring open and the Cahier simply lacked personality.

Large notebook: I have filled four Moleskine lined hard cover notebooks. Yes, I have tried and like similar offerings by Quo Vadis and Piccadilly. Why did I stick with the Moleskine? I can't give you a clear answer. The paper isn't superior to the other offerings, nor is the cover better or the elastic binder of higher quality. Maybe in this case I'm just a traditionalist, set in my ways. Or perhaps I've simply bought into the whole Moleskine marketing mystique. Meh, probably not.

Day planning notebook: I really, really tried to like the Moleskine planner. I read several reviews and hacks that intrigued me. There was a lot I liked about it (one in that it made a nice "partner" to my Moleskine notebook), but I guess I've been in the Franklin-Covey camp too long to change. I have remained with my spiral bound Franklin-Covey Compass day planner. At least I bought a new (actually used)tan leather cover to update it a little.

Do I anticipate any changes for 2010? That's hard to say. I already have my Franklin-Covey 2010 planner ready to go and a good supply of Field-Notes memo books. Still, there are always new and intriguing possibilities . . .

How about you? What were your go-to writing tools this past year?

Go-to Writing Tools of 2009

Veterans' Day

For those of you who have served in our country's armed forces - Thank you.
For those of you who wear the scars of battle - Thank you.
For those of you who have lost sons and daughters, husbands, wives, or parents as they served our country - Thank you.
For my father who served in the Pacific Theater as a young sailor during World War II - Thank you.
For my father-in-law who served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War - Thank you.

Have a happy Veterans' Day!

Veterans' Day

National Coffee Day

We interrupt our regularly scheduled blog to announce that today is National Coffee Day. I invite you to join me in raising a mug of coffee (in my case, Community Medium Roast) in honor of this auspicious occasion.

Thank you. We now return you to whatever you were doing before I interrupted.

National Coffee Day

What's in Your Desk?

Every now and then, I get the wild notion to clean off my desk and reorganize my desk drawers. I know, I know . . . crazy talk. Still, it makes for an interesting archaeological expedition as I dig through the strata of detritus (Huh! Where did that sandwich come from?)

It has been quite a while since I tackled the main desk drawer - the wide one that's front and center. I keep my good pens in a holder and my not-so-good pens in a not-so-good holder, so the middle drawer is the home of other office (and not-so-office) supplies.

Here's a list of the items that I found, in no particular order:
* A Radio Shack solar-powered calculator I bought in 1986. It quit working just a few weeks ago. :(
* A travel toothbrush and some Crest "Clean Cinnamon" toothpaste.
* A $5 bill! (Lucky find - now in my wallet)
* A Tide instant stain remover pen (Very handy!)
* A tube of Levenger "Aero-clips" (fancy paper clips - I forgot when I bought them)
* Some lemony moist towelettes
* A discount card to some area restaurants, tire stores, etc. (expired)
* Six keys that go to ???
* A few golf tees
* A cherry cough drop, firmly affixed to the drawer.
* Numerous business cards (now in the circular file).
* Paper clips galore. I think they're multiplying.
* An empty Altoids box I've been saving.
* Some dental floss - waxed, minty
* A non-working penlight
* Sticky-note pads from several vendors
* A couple of old wallet-size family photos
* My fishing license (expired)
* two AAA batteries (expired in 2006)
* Assorted pre-inked stamps (faxed, received, file copy)
* an empty tube of Chap-Stick
* Some unidentified meds (now discarded)
* Several cellophane-wrapped toothpicks
* A package of Pilot Fountain Pen ink cartridges (blue)
* A jewelers screwdriver (so THAT's where you've been hiding!)
* A box of chalk. Chalk?
* Numerous scraps of paper, old coupons, highliters, a steel ruler, pencils and dust.

So, what's in YOUR desk?

What's in Your Desk?

Mea Culpa!

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. Here's a list of reasons why I haven't written any reviews or made any comments lately . . .

1. High humidity is causing ink to run on paper, spoiling review results.
2. Hot summer temperatures causing writer's cramp - difficult to test pens.
3. My dog ate my homework.
4. Someone switched out my regular coffee with decaf. Now suffering from narcolep . . . zzzzzzz
5. Huh? Sorry, I must have dozed off.
6. Accidentally mailed last review through Post Office rather than post on-line.
7. Spel annd grammmer chek funcshun fayled, makkin postes unreeduhbul.
8. Can anyone say, "Vacation?!"
9. Missed Lent - gave up posting for Summer Solstice instead.
10. Trying to minimize my carbon footprint by typing reviews into computer with power off. Epic fail.

Okay - they're all lame excuses. Real reason? Just busy with work at church and other "stuff." I do plan on posting a review of Private Reserve's "Orange Crush" ink in a few days . . . once I can find my camera, that is. ;)

Mea Culpa!

Diary of a Sailor

I had a nice visit with my 84 year-old Dad yesterday, (Memorial Day) and had the chance to see some of his mementos from World War II. Of special interest was a diary he kept along with several old black and white photos and a few yellow sheets of V-Mail (Victory Mail) - correspondence between Dad and his girlfriend (later to become his wife - my mother).

Dad joined the Navy in 1942 as a 17 year-old. He had never traveled more than 50 miles from his home in the Mississippi Delta before boarding a train for boot camp at the Great Lakes Naval Training Facility. From there, he served a stint at the Naval Hospital in San Diego with the Shore Patrol before shipping out on a Liberty Ship in 1943 to "island hop" along with the Marines. It was at a base exchange in San Diego that Dad picked up a cloth and cardboard bound journal with a gold anchor embossed on the cover. Technically, it was a violation of wartime regulations to keep a journal in a war-zone, but apparently it was a rule seldom enforced. I enjoyed reading through Dad's old journal, it's navy blue cover somewhat faded, and the pages dog-eared and yellow. The old blue fountain pen ink in Dad's workman-like handwriting still looked sharp, though moisture had caused some feathering on a few pages. Dad said it was hard to keep stuff dry when a ship is caught in a storm - even below-decks.

It's almost surreal to read the accounts from my Dad written when he was only 17 or 18. He wrote of rough seas, bad food and sleeping on the open deck to escape the cloying heat below-decks. Once he wrote of the ship behind them in the convoy going down after being torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. I was amazed at his ability to put down his thoughts so clearly in such a stressful situation.

Many of the entries were humorous. While stationed on one of the Gilbert Islands, he drove an ambulance - transporting wounded Marines to a base hospital. He wrote of a time the ambulance got away from him on a steep down-grade and how he accidentally ran the base commander's Jeep off the narrow road before he regained control. Fortunately for Dad, the Captain never learned who drove the ambulance.

The photos were an added bonus, filling Dad's old journal the way Dr. Henry Jones "Grail Diary" was filled with drawings and notes in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Dad even kept an old rubber band around his journal (though the original rubber band gave up the ghost long ago.) The photos depicted Dad in cut-off khaki shorts and combat boots. He was bare-chested and dark from the tropical sun. Usually he sported aviator sunglasses. I had to smile at a shot of Dad, by himself, dressed in his tropical attire while guarding a group of Japanese prisoners. Dad had struck a fanciful pose, cradling his M-1 Carbine, while the incarcerated Japanese soldiers behind the barbed wire mugged for the camera. Dad said they were happy to be out of the war.

The few surviving pieces of V-Mail are interesting. Most are generic letters from Dad to Mom about how he was doing, etc. Military censors would cut out references to location, weather, ship names, etc., so much of his writing was simply asking Mom about how things were back home. He showed me one V-Mail letter, barely legible, that had been recovered from a cargo plane that had been shot down over the pacific.

When Dad passes on one day, I'll inherit these archives of his past. I hope he realizes how meaningful the old journal and the V-Mail are to me. They give a glimpse into my father's life that I can pass along to my own children. It's a reminder that when we take time to write down our thoughts, we do more than pass the time - we leave a legacy.

Diary of a Sailor