Iʻm Not Crazy (I Just Like What I Like) . . . With Illustrations

I have pens all over the house. You can ask Shani, and maybe sheʻll remember, that for much of my life, Iʻve been on the constant prowl for the perfect reading chair and for the perfect pen.

Let me explain (although itʻs actually quite simple).

The perfect reading chair. Well, duh. One ought to read in comfort. To me this means that I can enjoy different positions-- whether it be seated upright, slouched, cross-legged, legs over the arm rests, or semi-prone-- without having to get up. Obviously, it must be conducive to naps because letʻs face it: sometimes "Iʻm going to read" is synonymous with *snore*. This chair shouldnʻt be too smushy or too rigid, may or may not recline, and should function without extra accessories such as pillows.

This one comes pretty close, but minus all those damn pillows

I donʻt ask for much.

Now, I canʻt go around buying up random chairs-- I canʻt fill my house with every chair that I see in a store that may fit the bill. I just canʻt. No room. But I can buy just about any and every pen I lay eyes on at Fisher. And if you thought my demands of furniture seem unreasonable (or at least unattainable), get ready for this ridiculousness.

Throughout the course of my life, Iʻve written. Iʻve written a lot, mostly epistolary. And before you get too impressed, weʻre not talking Jane Austen. More like Diary of a Wimpy Kid with fewer illustrations. As a child, I had only pencils, so my journals were all written in bold but fading grey scratches. It wasnʻt until freshman year of high school that I credit my BFF, Shani, with bringing me into The Adulthood of Writing Implements. She had a brown leather backpack with what seemed like endless pockets of pens. I didnʻt know pens could so interesting!

Iʻve always liked bold markings, so in the early years I really had to have roller ball pens. My preferred pen was this:

It glided across the paper and left behind bold lines, which made it easy to write quickly and permanently. The body of the pen made it easy to see how much ink you had left so you had a good idea of when to go back to Longs and get a replacement.

Later, I was infatuated with these:

They, too, left behind bold strokes and they also glided over the page, but they were also retractable! Amazing! And their points could be had in different thickness! How could you lose?

But finally, my tastes have simplified:

Pilot Easytouch fine-tipped retractable pens in blue or black, though I tend to gravitate toward the blue more often than not. These are perfect for my bullet journaling and for the daily crossword puzzles. They may not slide as gracefully as a roller ball, but they make crisp lines that donʻt bleed into one another. Theyʻre incredibly affordable (they were on sale for $0.69 a piece for Back to School), so I bought a truckload and theyʻre all over the house. On my nightstand, next to the couch, on my desk, on my dresser. Thereʻs one in my wallet, at least two in each backpack, one in each purse, and a few in my pencil pouch. I even have a few at school, and everyone at the Theatre knows which is the good pen (as evidenced by one of my coworkers labelling an individual pen with her station number to ensure it never walked away! And yes, in an office filled with a million pens, thereʻs only one of these at each station!). Thatʻs not even counting the pens I have in reserve.

Because you can never know when youʻll be inspired to write a haiku or jot down an errand you must  remember do by the end of the day. You never know when someone will say, "Kanani, try look at todayʻs crossword. Whatʻs 5 down?" You never know when your child will need that field trip form signed two minutes before you leave for work.

You can rest assured, world, that I am ready for your crosswords, To Do lists, and field trip forms. Iʻm ready.