So it’s been a very long time since I last posted. I’m hoping to get at least one post up by the end of the month. Not sure what it will be on yet. Since classes start in a week there’s good chance I may not be able to get one posted. Either way,
thanks for checking in, and I hope all of you had a happy new year!
Whew. I’ve had a busy week. I’ve got 3 classes going on right now along with work, and I haven’t had time for myself. I mean, I have, but I’ve been too tired to do anything. Crochet is on hold. Scrapbooking is on hold. Leisure reading is, sadly, also on hold. Of course, I wish I had finished years ago when I was part-time at work and still lived at home.
That’s okay though. This builds character, right? Another wonderful thing is that work provides tuition reimbursement, so that’s another plus. I will be extremely happy [and relieved] once I finish school. I still have a long way to go, so we’ll see if the nervous breakdown or graduation comes first 😉 Hopefully it’s the latter. I would like to be able to update more often, but it just doesn’t look like that will be the case.
With that said, wish me luck and sanity! I’ll still pop in every once in a while on Twitter as Catsjotspot. Happy Friday to you!
Review written on Whitelines A5 paper:
Hi-Tec-C on Whitelines - Click for full-size image
A fellow pen lover [hello Kim!] asked to see what the Pilot Hi-Tec-C in Olive looks like. I’m going to do her one better and review LAVENDER also =) I ordered both pens from Jetpens.com, and they arrived swiftly. Yes. Swiftly! As you can see from the other pictures, both pens have a needlepoint. They write very smoothly, and normally do not skip. For some reason, though, the lavender pen chooses to to skip on this White lines graph paper. [ notice up towards the top where I wrote “Lavender .4 mm”, and in the Y in “very” when I wrote “write very smoothly”. Ironic, no? ] It’s like the dog that chooses not to do tricks when others are watching. The barrel is comfortable to hold; not too thin and not too thick. However, I’m partial to pen grips because my hand fatigues easily when writing. I like the weight of the pens as well. Provides “balance” if you know what I mean…
Although it’s difficult to see where the lavender pen skipped in the review, it’s definitely there. I may end up scanning the review and posting it in hopes of a clearer picture. I think it’s time for a new camera =P
One thing I almost forgot to mention is that I accidentally left the Olive pen uncapped overnight in my backpack. Surprisingly, this wonderful gel pen did not dry out or skip on me. Another reason to consider Hi-Tec-C pens!
Olive on the left, Lavender on the right
Needle close-up
Looking over this post, I can’t tell if this is a shopping blog or a pen blog. I guess it’s a good thing I mention in a couple of places that this is mostly going to be about random things.
Somtime, somehow, I happened to look at a couple of pen and office supply sites: OfficeSupplyGeek and PenAddict . I honestly cannot remember how I heard of them. Probably from a fellow pen freak. Since discovering these sites, I have placed a number of orders through Jet Pens [Thanks a lot, guys!]. This happens to be the order before my last one. I was hoping to review some of these pens, but school, work, and sleep are kind of getting in the way. take precedence over my odd obsessions.
In case you’re wondering what kind of goodies are in this order, here you go:
Kokuyo NeoCritz Transformer Pencil Case – Blue
Pilot Hi-Tec-C Gel Ink Pen – 0.4 mm – Nature Colors – Lavender
Pentel Slicci Gel Ink Pen – 0.4 mm – Purple Ink
Zebra Sarasa Push Clip Gel Ink Pen – 0.4 mm – Light Green
Zebra Sarasa Push Clip Gel Ink Pen – 0.4 mm – Pale Blue
Zebra Sarasa Push Clip Gel Ink Pen – 0.4 mm – Blue Black
Zebra Sarasa Gel Ink Pen – 0.4 mm – Green Black
Pentel Slicci Gel Ink Multi Pen Ink Cartridge – 0.4 mm – Milk Blue
Pentel Slicci Gel Ink Multi Pen Ink Cartridge – 0.4 mm – Lime Green
Pentel Slicci 2 Color Gel Ink Multi Pen – Pen Body – Orange
Kokuyo Capara Mega Pencil Case – Beige
Zebra Sarasa Push Clip Gel Ink Pen – 0.4 mm – Orange
Pilot Hi-Tec-C Gel Ink Pen – 0.4 mm – European Colors – Olive
Pentel Selfit Silicone Gel Grip Ballpoint Pen – 0.7 mm – Orange Grip [I reviewed this pen here]
Love those 40% off coupons for Borders. Not shown in this pic are my Moleskine soft cover daily pocket planner, 2 black cahiers, and a hardcover squared pocket journal. They’re all in my bag =) The large journal to the right is a Picadilly that I got for $3.59 after my coup! I still have some random journals that I’ve picked up here and there from Target and the bookstore.
Gosh. I just counted them up. I have in this picture:
1 Picadilly journal [right side of pic]
4 Rhodia note pads, varying sizes
9 Moleskine cahiers, varying sizes – kraft & red covers
3 Doane utility notebooks
3 Doane notepads
6 Moleskine Volants, varying sizes
2 Moleskine file pockets, Pocket and Large sizes
Haha I think I have a problem!
Doane Paper pads & utility notebooks, Moleskine volant, file pockets, cahiers, Picadilly journal, and Rhodia paper pads
Just last week I ordered the Pentel Selfit .7 mm ballpoint pen from Jet Pens. It has a silicone gel grip with over 4000 gel beads and pieces for a personalized ergonomic grip. The grip bounces back slowly, so if you’re particular about keeping the same grip for a certain amount of time, you may like this pen.
Pentel Selfit in packaging
Reverse side of Pentel Selfit packaging - wish I could read Japanese...
It has a white barrel with colored gel grips and clips. You have the choice of 5 different colors: Cool Gray, Green, Orange, Pink, and Sky Blue. The only refill that is available is black in .7 mm. If you’ll look at the picture below [or click for a larger picture], you’ll see the protrusions on the refill that are supposed to catch onto the spring when you depress the plunger. Personally, I prefer gel pens so I’ll be on the lookout for a refill that fits.
Take note of where the protrusions are on the refill. This should help when trying to find a gel refill for this pen.
Ramblings on a Rhodia Notepad
This pen has a very nice grip. Not too squishy. Not too firm. According to the description on Jet Pens, there are several microbeads that confirm to the shape of your hand.
As you can see, there are ink blobs as I write. This happens to be a ballpoint pen as opposed to a gel ink pen. I did ask Jet Pens if any other refills could be used [like with the Zebra Airfit Jell and Zebra Sarasa clip refills], but they checked the warehouse and could not find refills with the same protrusions on the barrel of the refill. I would like a .5 mm for this.
Even as I write, my hand is getting a little tired. The grip is still very comfortable.
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Now playing: Lenka – Don’t Let Me Fall
via FoxyTunes
It has a white barrel with colored gel grips and clips. You have the choice of 5 different colors: Cool Gray, Green, Orange, Pink, and Sky Blue. The only refil that is available is black in .7 mm. If you’ll lok at the picture below, you’ll see the protrusions on the refill that are supposed to catch onto the spring when you depress the plunger.
Hi all. I just added a new page where I’ll be posting random pictures. Enjoy!
I have a mountain bike that I don’t use nearly as often as I should. When I do, I have a blast. Browsing around YouTube I found this vid:
This video blows me away. I wouldn’t even try half [or any] of the tricks in this video because I’m too chicken. Awesome video though.
I was out and about today and found a few things that might interest some of you.
While at Target, I saw two types of Rhodia products. They had the wirebound Reverse Book in both black and orange. Measurements are 8 1/4 x 8 1/4. If I remember correctly, this was $9.99. They also had the staplebound 8 1/4 x 11 3/4. I’ll be honest, I eyeballed it so it could very well be the 8 1/4 x 12 1/2. I also didn’t check to see if it was lined or graph paper. Whoops. This one is $7.99 at Target. I was in a bit of a rush, so I didn’t get to see if they also carried the smaller notepads. Good to know I can get Rhodia locally, though.
I recently ordered the Uni-Ball Kuru Toga auto lead rotation mechanical pencil [again, I say “whew”]. If you use mechanical pencils, then you’re familiar with the fact that your .5mm lead can go from writing a very fine line to one that is almost .7mm after doodling away for some time. Rotate the pencil in your hand, and you’re back to writing a fine line. Sort of like “paper sharpening.” This pencil does exactly what its name says it does. As you write, a mechanism in the pen rotates the lead so that there is always a paper-sharpened edge of the lead touching the paper. I’m not an artist, but I can still appreciate a sharp line as I write notes. Genius.
Cat's Jot Spot 