[Write the Story] Five People from Completely Different Backgrounds Seated Together
Prompt: Five People from Completely Different Backgrounds Seated Together
Words: Vietnam, stakes, sequel, club, lens, draft, perpetual, otherwise, groom, hidden
Story
I had no idea what to expect as I approached the hidden door to the club I’d only heard rumors about. But I had been invited twice – one person provided an address, another a password. Above me a camera lens tracked my movements. I looked up and said, “Perpetual sequel.â€
After a long moment I heard a click and a whir and a heavy door swung open. A large hulk of a person gestured me inside and the door clanged shut behind me, fluttering my neck hair with the draft.
I was gestured toward a hostess who led me to a table with two other people. Two more were added a moment later. I never felt more out of place.
“Where are the high stakes tables?†the man to my left asked. His clothes, accent and features said he was from Vietnam.
“There’s gambling here?†I asked.
“There’s everything here, otherwise, what would be the point?†The man to my right drawled in a Texas accent before turning to the woman next to him straight out of Cosmo. “So I said to my groom, that horse has one more race in him, let’s win.â€
“I was out of my depth, and I knew it. But then the lights dimmed and everyone focused on the stage.
“Welcome to Eternity, the last club you’ll ever need.â€
Word Count: 224
Written: 10/15/19
[Pen/Pencil Blog] The Diplomat Traveller Flame
I missed last week because of Day Job stuff, but it’s all starting to wind down a little bit, so here we are. This is one of the really cool pens I picked up in New Orleans a couple of weeks ago (though it feels like it was longer than that). This one was from one of the nicest pen stores in the US, Papier & Plume in New Orleans. This week’s pen is the Diplomat Traveller fountain pen in the Flame coating.
I’ve never had a Diplomat before. I’ve seen and read about them, but never bought one. Mostly because they’re higher end and usually out of my price range. When talking with the good folks at Papier & Plume about something nice but relatively affordable they showed me starting with “now, this one is uniqueâ€. And they are correct. It spoke to me. It came home with me. The Flame line is new to Diplomat and beautifully done.
The Traveller Flame is 4.6†long without the cap; 5.33†capped; and 6.2†with the cap posted. The barrel is metal run through fire and lightly varnished with a strong “snap capâ€. You have to tug HARD to get the cap off this pen, which protects the nib. The sturdy, stainless steel nib is a relatively fine point “Medium†– which I love. It’s also flexible enough to feel agile and doesn’t feel that scratchy. The The shiny metal clip is lovely and strong. The top of the cap has the enameled logo in the top.
The Traveller Flame uses standard ink cartridges or a converter. It will hold two of the short ones in the barrel if one is already seated for use. These are part of my “nice†pen collection. Not super expensive, but not inexpensive – these run $52 retail – so that’s about what you pay at Papier & Plume or Goulet or another type of place. Not so expensive you don’t want to use it, but expensive enough you won’t leave it out on your desk or loan it to a friend.
The numbers:
1. How does it work? – 1 – It works like it’s supposed to. The nib is smooth and solid. The barrel well-balanced with a good feel. The nib feels strong, like it won’t bend if you’re heavy-handed writer. The cap snaps securely – very securely – but the posting is a little iffy.
2. Grip and feel – 1 – They make an effort for ergonomics. Though there’s not any “grippy” parts, it’s all smooth plastic, the grip is designed to fit comfortably in the hand. There’s a small ridge where the grip meets the barrel, but it doesn’t dig in.
3. Material – 1 – It is an amazing metal barrel with a stunning fired finish with a touch of varnish. It’s light but comfortable. The clip is metal with elegant sweeps.
4. Overall Design – 0.5 – So the tiny knock is the cap. It takes significant effort to get the cap off. It does post, but I would like some snap to that that isn’t there on this one, but it still posts.
5. Price Point – 1 – It’s $52. That’s not super cheap but it’s not Bad. It’s just more than some people are willing to pay, but a LOT less than others of this class. Diplomat is one of the “Luxury†lines. This is just one of the ones for the “everyday carry†collectors. And I’m glad I chose it.
That’s 4.5 of 5 bronze pencils.
[Write the Story] The Story Begins at a Funeral
Prompt: The Story Begins at a Funeral
Words: poker, paramount, earlobe, marrow, epic, upgrade, offshoot, chihuahua, episode, icon
Story
You never know who’s going to show up to a funeral. Though the lady wearing poker chips from her ear lobes with a chihuahua in her purse was up there. I followed her – from distance of course – because it’s rude to intrude on grief.
“It’s paramount we settle the upgrades as soon as possible,†she said to another woman with a truly epic hairdo soaring a good foot above her head.
Then another conversation caught my attention. If only the bone marrow transplant had taken. Then maybe we’d still have this icon with us.â€
I went from conversation to conversation until the service started – some generic offshoot of a religious service. Once everyone was gone, I went back downstairs where the others waited.
“You should’ve come with me,†I said. “It was a most interesting episode.â€
“It’s not television! It’s someone’s end of life.â€
I rolled my eyes. “Oh, please, same thing. End of life is an important episode! This one had a dog!â€
“A dog? I miss dogs.â€
“Not this one. It peed on the casket. No one noticed but me.â€
“How long are we going to be like this? Watching people’s funeral’s but never moving on ourselves?â€
I shrugged. How much time do we have?â€
“Forever. We’re dead, too.â€
Word Count: 211
Written: 10/5/2019
[Pen/Pencil Review] New Orleans Trip
I know I missed the story blog this week – good reason, we were on vacation in New Orleans. While there we hit two places that I’ve only heard about on Pen World Magazine – Papier & Plume and Scriptura. Papier Plume is a higher end pen store with some notebooks/stationary. Scriptura is a stationary store with a smaller but nice pen selection. These are beautiful stores. Papier & Plume is in the French Quarter. The Scriptura we went to is more in the Garden District.
At Papier & Plume, I picked up this amazing Diplomat fountain pen with a fired finish and a narrow “medium” point nib. The two notebooks are souvenir notepads showing New Orleans and Papier & Plume. They opened late the day we went, so we basically stalked the store until they opened. It was a lovely place with lovely people.
The Diplomat is a brand I’ve only read about, but never bought. It was relatively affordable for a higher end pen – about $50. And the finish was truly unique. The barrel is a machined metal – likely brass maybe aluminum. I’ll have to do research. It currently has a black international cartridge in it.
On they way out of town, we hit up Scriptura as we checked out the Garden District before heading to see artist friends for dinner. Scriptura is quaint. Mostly stationary – paper, invitations, etc. But they have some pens. And a dog. The dog was sleeping in a corner, so we didn’t get to meet the dog. I did make a new purchase. The Yookers. This is a new brand/type of pen. It’s a felt/fiber tipped pen that takes fountain pen ink. I ended up buying the demo because it was a 0.8mm tip. Everything else they had was a minimum of a 1.0 mm. Then I picked up Vampire Red Private Reserve ink cartridges because we’d just done the Witches, Vampires, Zombies, and Ghosts tour AND Halloween.
I’ll be looking at these pens and the ones from the Dallas Pen Show more in depth over the next few weeks. I also need to do some other things along the way to get other stuff back in focus and moving forward – but now I have some great pens to work on those projects with.
[Pen/Pencil Blog] Pre-Vacation Confessions
I didn’t really plan for this week’s pen blog. There are pens to review – and probably a couple more coming up – but…I have vacation brain. We’re about to take a short one and that’s my goal. Also, I’ve been con-cruddy ever since FenCon — upper respiratory. Maybe bad allergies. Maybe a virus. Recovering, but it’s also eaten my concentration and brain. The Day Job has been…busy…for the month or more and is finally having a breathing space before the next round of projects. I’ve also been Adulting like Nobody’s Business on some personal stuff. So there’s been…distractions.
And, I’ll be complete honest, I’ve struggled with motivation lately as well. This pen blog will continue, but I’ve not been excited about the blog. It’s all been part of the muddle that has been this summer. I think it’s getting better – with the Adulting and the finishing of some thing – but there are more things ahead. It doesn’t get…easier.
But, there are steps being taken to deal with all the things. It’s going to take some time and some work. The vacation will be a step in the right direction.
[Write the Story] Two People who Hate Each Other Have to Cooperate
Prompt: Two People who Hate Each Other Have to Cooperate
Words: kidnap, pinstripe, quagmire, lofty, Adirondack, pinky, aftermath, kernel, legacy, fail
Story
“We have a problem.â€
Kitty cracked open on eye and glared at the lean, blond man in a pinstripe suit settling into the Adirondack chair next to her. Her hand slipped under the towel next to her and curled around the grip of her weapon. “Besides the fact one good splash would ruin that suit?â€
“I hate to admit it, but I need your help, Kitty.â€
That got her attention. “What kind of quagmire have you gotten yourself into, Michel? The last time we saw each other…â€
“Yes, yes, we will go back to mortal enemies soon enough, but right now we have a bigger problem. A common enemy and another common goal.â€
And thus, Kitty ended up working with Michel Poisson—again. But he had been right, and though she never trusted him, the story Michel told her had at least a kernel of truth. She’d run bits of the problem past her boss knowing she would pay for her own partial truths in the aftermath. Now she was atop Legacy Towers, the loftiest building on the Moon Colony, cursing her choices.
“Pinky Ferrell is about a third of the way down. We swoop down, grab Pinky, and get out. No way this can fail.â€
Kitty smacked the back of his head. “Let’s just go kidnap the kidnapper and be done with it. By the way, I’ve rerouted the elevators. We have total control of the cars. No need to repel down.â€
“No fun.â€
“No good reason. Don’t make me regret this mission more.â€
“Just remember. You get Pinky and whatever information he has, I get the prisoner.â€
“I still don’t get why.â€
“Pinky has my sister.â€
Now she had motive and one more piece of information. “Let’s go.â€
Word Count: 290
Written: 10/3/19
[Pen/Pencil Review] Dallas Pen Show 2019
This past weekend was the Dallas Pen Show. I am very grateful for the fact that they moved off FenCon’s weekend. Jimmy and I get to go together. I love the pen show, I do. Though everything about it seems to be getting bigger and bigger — the vendors, the attendees, everything except the space. It has stayed the same. So I wasn’t able to have as much fun as I would like. The aisles were crowded, it was loud. And I wasn’t able to look at all the pretty, pretty pens.
The show did a new thing this year, it gave out bags with the free ink that is normally available but only if you know where to get it. I think Dromgoolie from Houston provides it. This year’s was a beautiful purple called Tanzanite (which is a gemstone color, yes, I know.)
Pen World Magazine is also a sponsor of the show. They were pleased I wore my Pen World t-shirt from last year, and this year I picked up their Retro 51 tornado Pen World rollerball. These are good pens if a bit stubby. This one theoretically glows in the dark, but I haven’t seen that for myself…yet. And in December they’re coming out with a limited edition fountain pen. It’s going to be a Christmas present. 😎
We talked to Lucas from Scribal Workshop. Walked the show. Like I said, it was tight and crowded and it started to trigger some of my crowd claustrophobia. I also wasn’t feeling great. (I had a weird combo of severe allergies and maybe con crud for the last week.) So I wasn’t as tempted to linger as I might’ve been. On the way back out I found my “ah ha!” place – a buy one/get one free place. I got two demonstrators – a black and clear that has an interesting yellow fade on it. And a green and clear with gold accents.
These came with a chose of nibs — of course, I picked fine point. They’re generic but functional with the twist vacuum reservoirs. I currently have the Tanzanite in the black and yellow. It works really well, so far.
I know you were probably expecting this yesterday, but work and life stuff got in the way yesterday.
[Write the Story] The Characters Are Aware That They’re Fictional
Prompt: The Characters Are Aware That They’re Fictional
Words: oil rig, dynasty, lousy, vault, discharge, supreme, migrate, harvest, jaw, pudding
Story
“What idiot puts a vault on a friggin’ oil rig?†Diane whispered as they crept through the dark corridors and pipe structure of Supreme Harvest floating rig. Rings, dings, and hisses covered and sounds of footfalls on the metal grating.
“The better question is why are we even here? The Dynasty is lousy with spies and thieves. We’re…aww, crap. It’s another story. She’s writing again.†Andrew rubbed his jaw. “Can’t you just let us go?†He shouted at the air above him.
Diane nearly pulled him to the deck, head swiveling for discovery. She caught herself when no weapons discharge occurred. “you’re right, Andy. She hasn’t gotten to the fight scene or discovery fail cycle. I don’t feel the urgent need to throw myself into a fight I should have no reason to win. She might be blocked. You?â€
Andrew shook his head. “I think we passed a cafeteria in the last chapter. Let’s go see if they have pudding and see if we can figure out how to migrate into a nice coming of age story or a light romance.â€
Diane thought for a moment. “That’s a thought, but I kind of like being the kick butt heroine. Though I have been whispering in her brain about ditching the tragic backstory. I’d rather be the strong but emotionally stable type.â€
“Have you met our author? Good luck with that.â€
A voice came from above. “Hey, you two, pipe down and get back to work. We have a deadline.â€
Word Count: 249
Written: 9/27/2019
[Pen/Pencil Review] Staples Tru Red Retractable 0.5mm Assorted Colors
Before FenCon, there was an unexpected trip to Staples – because it was a convenient side trip. I picked up a couple of things on sale. One was a 5-pack of their new line Tru Red ™ retractable gel pens. I had to try them, because I am me.
I bought this package because I was in a colorful mood and the “assorted colors†seemed dark considering there was some “light†ink them. These come in Red, Teal, Purple, Orange, Lime Green. The ink is richly pigmented and flows well from the tip – especially with the lighter colors. The gel ink is quick drying – there will always be a few seconds where you can smear it on slick paper, but that’s almost all gel inks. The point is a sturdy conical. It’s also acid-free, which is kind of the norm now, but still a selling point for those who scrapbook. That’s still a thing, right?
The pen is about 5.75″ long, which is slightly longer than typical, and has a decent retraction mechanism. It’s light but well-balanced. The pen is all plastic, but the plunger and clip don’t feel like they will snap off. The barrel is a simple, rubberized single unit. The rubberized barrel is a decent diameter and comfortable on the fingers. There is an ability to refill it, with it tip being where it detaches and refills, but the joins are smooth and there is nothing to dig in.
This is a good workhorse pen that has a decent price point, so if it’s stolen off a desk, it’s no big loss. It’s refillable so you can use them a good long time. If you can find the colors in a refill, that might be an issue. These run about $6.50 for the 5 pens. There are also blue and black versions as well as stick pen versions. These are Staples new “house brandâ€, so if you need bulk, you can also get them in boxes of a dozen.
The Numbers.
1. How does it work? – 1 – This is a solid working pen. The ink is well-pigmented. The point is a solid conical.
2. Look and feel – 1 – It’s a basic retractable pen. There’s a nod to ergonomics with the rubberized barrel, but no extra grip. The clip is plastic.
3. Material – 1 – It’s all plastic all the time. It is what it is, but the colors are pretty.
4. Overall Design – 1 – It’s functional. It’s a slightly longer than average length retractable pen with a decent point and ink.
5. Price Point – 0.5 – If it becomes refillable it’s a steal. Right now, it’s just a pen. They’re running $1.30-ish. And the 0.7mm are about 50¢ LESS, which is distressing. It’s one of the first times I’ve seen point sizes being different prices.
4.5 out of 5 bronze pencils.
[WHOOPS] Murphy’s WEEK
On this, a Full Moon Friday the 13th… I stand before you and admit that this week did NOT go according to plan.
I MEANT to get a pen blog done. I MEANT to get a story done.
Neither one of those things happened. I’ve gotten very little of what I MEANT to do done this week.
Work, FenCon, Technical Difficulties and well, this…
Neil Patrick Harris LIVE!
There are other stressors piling on right now — besides the obvious of FenCon. There’s a LOT. Just a lot. I’m taking some steps to fix that.
Please bear with me as I work it all out.