Conquering Pens

This morning I was balancing my checkbook. I always use the same pen, a black fine point rolling ball--not like one of those jenky ball-point pens, but a good inky pen. Even so, I'm not too find of the black fine point rolling ball pen, so I've been making a point to use it often. That way, it'll konk out soon and I can focus on a different, better, more pleasurable pen.

We have about five hundred writing utensils at home. Joe likes to steal them from the office supplies at his work. Then he likes to chew the ends off beyond recognition. I have to keep my own, more special pens in isolation to preserve them.

A house with many pens and pencils is a good place. I wish we went through pens and pencils faster, in fact. Every time you use a pen to the end, it's a little triumph. It's a way to measure how creative and productive you have been. This is why I like to focus on using two or three pens instead of whichever random pen is available at the time. Otherwise, you'll never get to the end of one. And it's such a good feeling.