Numbered my pages last night. Did the first few with a couple of Pilot gel ink pens (my current daily one - Dr. Grip Gel, and a G2). The ink takes a little while to dry on the pages and smears on the facing page if you're not careful. I numbered the rest of the pages with another Pilot that just uses regular ink. I'm not sure if my Dr. Grip is using a fine or extra fine tip. I'm going to buy an extra fine refill and see if the line is thinner (nicer looking and faster drying time, I hope).
Thinking about pens reminded me that the Dr. Grip is only my second favorite pen. My favorite is the Sakura PQ. The first gel ink pen I ever saw that didn't have a kiddie look to it and that had a super fine tip. I always liked the way the gel pens felt while writing, but I like really thin lines, and those things just write way too thick. They say fine, but they don't really mean it.
Sakura discontinued the PQ right after I emptied the one I bought. I think that was the first pen I ever emptied. I usually lose them. Or decide I don't like them anymore and get a new one. Then lose them. I liked the PQ so much that I even looked around and sent emails to Sakura asking what happened to them. They sent replies telling me I was out of luck. Dammit.
From that point on, I was always on the lookout for the survivors. Then a couple of years later, I see something that looks just like a PQ (from Sakura, even, I think) in a Japanese stationery store. It seems like they decided to revive it under a different name. Cool. I got a couple. They're empty now.
I started using the Dr. Grip because it was the only acceptable looking pen available via my work office supply ordering place. It's nice. The wide rubber grip is easier on your hand muscles. I forgot about how much the thicker lines bothered me after a while b/c most of my note taking these days is on a legal pad.
The 3x5 size of the Moleskine (I read somewhere that the pronunciation is mol-a-skeen-a, since it's Italian. I appreciate this and all, but it's kinda pretentious so I'm just gonna pronounce it moleskin. Unless I'm talking to an Italian. No, actually, probably not then either.) made me long for the days when I had a writing instrument I liked that would write nice thin lines. Proportions matter. I think I might go visit another Japanese stationery store soon.
Parenthetically offset paragraphs often interject themselves in the middle of the sentences of my thoughts. I could edit, but then I'd want to edit all over, and brain dumps are just so much easier.
Another thought: writing feels kinda foreign. I type. (Skill-level: between moderately poorly to fair. I taught myself in college using a cheesy Typing Tutor program I picked up from Staples. It helped a lot. I stopped doing the lessons after the alphabet was covered. At the time, I only really needed the letters, semicolon, and parenthesis.) I do take notes by hand at meetings, but since they're just for me and very temporary in nature, I let myself write as sloppily as I want. Writing in a bound notebook makes me want to write more neatly. And at greater length. The muscles in my hand have been spasming recently, this will be good exercise. For the brain, too. I won't be able to try out a spelling to see if it looks right. I could, but there'd be a record of failed attempts.
Posted by kstroke at December 3, 2004 02:17 PM