Lamy, Lamy, Hobonichi

Gift certificate redemption time! I love ink colors that are almost standard blue/black, but also definitely not. Also, this one is a minor player in the kerfluffle that (finally) made the Eye of NYT turn to fountain pen nerds.

The only reason there are no fingerprints on this page: I had to get up and wash my inky hands after I filled the pen directly from the bottle. I usually know what I did wrong when that happens, but not this time. LAMY bottles are very much designed for direct fills. The paper that winds around the bottle, that you tear off like a tiny piece of toilet paper? It’s for wiping off the submerged portion of the pen when you’re done filling it. It’s impressively absorbent, but also less than half an inch wide.

I have two other bottles of LAMY ink, and both of those have the name of the color printed on the box. Nowhere, on this box or bottle, does it say that it’s Violet Blackberry. I’m assuming it’s Violet Blackberry because that’s what I ordered, and there’s nothing else it could be. It’s not like we’re talking about Diamine here, you know?

I’ve been doing a lot of writing, but…ehh. It’s not a good time to be me, and it’s not a good time to be the kind of writer that I currently am.1 I’ve written and deleted so much here about it that Google Chrome offered to help me write this paragraph but then the offer disappeared when I clicked on it. As the kids used to say, this definitely tracks.

So what’s up otherwise? I’ve largely dropped out of social media2, I’ve picked up printmaking3, and I’m trying to re-up my reading4. Rereading Jenny Offill’s novels5 turned out to be a great start. I’m making my way through Kafka’s diaries6 now, and trying to decide on Roxy & Coco7 or the Wigleaf 50 for June’s Writer Camp. In the end, that choice will boil down to timing — it always does.

I’m going to the city tomorrow and while I really should not be spending money because I’m still unemployed and trying to find a job has been so awful that among other things, I put a Google Voice phone number on my resume because there are too many scam calls8? I’ll probably drop by Kinokuniya, or maybe try to get out to Yoseka in person finally, or head down to FPH, or fog up the windows at the brand stores. We’ll see.

Until next time,

E