[Pen/Pencil Review] Owl Stress Ball Novelty Rerun
Yeah, I know it’s early in the year to be doing a rerun… however, the big event I do for work is at the end of the week plus other random things that have to be done have me coming back to this pen. So now you get to revisit it, too.
I hope one day Walgreens (or someone brings this back – I think I need a flock). It’s all going to be fine (yoga breathing, yoga breathing) but not until Friday afternoon about 3 pm. Until then…have fun with the rerun.
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I love Back-to-School time. It’s one of my Most Wonderful Times of the Year. All the lovely office/school supplies ON SALE. It makes my poor heart flutter. Especially when I can hit a Walgreens or CVS or other store and find some awesome novelty pens. This year was no exception. Walgreens had these amazing Owl Stress Pens for $1.99. I had to buy one for my friend, Meredith (she loves owls) and if she gets one, I get one.
This is a novelty pen, so the expectations are not high with pens like this. This one is top heavy, obviously, there is an owl on top. The pen barrel is a bit short – the whole pen is short, it’s only 6.5†long. There’s a flare to the base of the barrel, so there’s a slight nod to ergonomics. It’s not a pen for long-term writing unless you have a small hand.
The surprising part is the smoothness of the black ballpoint ink. The conical tip is smooth. There’s very little skipping or glopping. The point is on the fine side – like a 0.7mm. Which is AWESOME. Always like when something doesn’t default to 1.0mm or larger.
The selling point is the owl though. It’s a stress “ball†of sorts. Have a co-worker, family member, or random school mate that makes you want to pop someone’s eyes out or pinch their heads like a zit? (Eww, I know, imagery!) This pen lets you DO THAT. Squeeze the owl and the eyes pop out. SO MUCH FUN! And keeps you out of HR or the principal’s office. Win/Win.
The fact you get this in a pen that actually writes decently for $1.99? PRICELESS!
The numbers:
1. How does it work? – 1 It’s works fine, solid ink flow and a decent tip. The therapeutic aspects are just a bonus.
2. Grip and feel – 0.5 – There’s a nod to ergonomics, but it’s short and not well-balanced
3. Material – 1 It’s a cheesy plastic novelty pen. You get what you pay for.
4. Overall Design – 0.5 – The cap doesn’t post – in fact the cap is probably superfluous. It’s short, oddly balanced, but so much fun you can’t quite NOT use it. Though I’m using it for less a pen and more for the stress aspects.
5. Price Point – 1 – It’s not outrageous. It’s $1.99 on at Walgreens. For Back-to-school on a budget, it’s not necessary. For stress-relief that has a functional purpose? $2 is a good price.
4 out of 5 Bronze Pencils
[Write the Story] The Night Before Graduation
Prompt: The Night Before Graduation
Words: obscene, margarita, paradise, story, tempo, truthfully, stonewall, plain, opposite, loan
Story
Vivian’s pulse pounded in her temple in tempo with the band. She sipped at her obscenely large margarita. Probably her last, of at least these. Tomorrow she graduated and would leave this veritable paradise for good.
“What’s your story, Viv? You look like someone died! Come on! Tonight we eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we are adults!” Her friend, Taffy yanked the drink away.
Vivian let herself be pulled into the crush on the club’s dance floor. Taffy was right. She should have one last hurrah. She couldn’t stonewall the future. And truthfully? She didn’t want to. The institute had loaned her out for her post-grad research project, and she was excited to have her ideas wanted and appreciated.
“You’ve gone pensive again. Stop it!”
Vivian wished she could shut out the whirling thoughts and crazy brain weasels as easily as Taffy, but along with the excitement, she was terrified. Her job was at a science facility on the opposite side of the galaxy. She – a plain, ordinary student – selected to go off-world. To go beyond. To be not ordinary. That was terrifying. But that was also tomorrow. Tonight she was determined – or from now on – to be more like Taffy. To eat. To drink. To be merry. For tomorrow – tomorrow would be here soon enough. But there was still time to be young, silly, and still have time to save the world. After graduation.
Word Count: 237
Written: 1/15/18
[Pen/Pencil Review] Pentel EnerGel Clena Retractable – 0.3mm
This week’s pen review goes back to Pentel. It’s the EnerGel Clena Retractable Rollerball in a 0.3mm needle tip from JetPens.com. I was on an uber-fine kick in my last order from them. And, let’s face it, I do a lot of Pentel EnerGels… I doubt I’ll become the collector that Jimmy is with the Pentel 205s – but we do tend to be a Pentel family at heart.
I kind of forgot that I bought this one, and DEFINITELY forgot that it was red ink, or we’d be having this conversation sooner. I’ve been doing editing and such and kept pulling out the black super-fine pens or the multi-function I reviewed last week. This was almost a surprise to me. So yay?
Though I do prefer conical points for solidity, I’ve lost my aversion to needle-point pens. They’ve made them a lot more durably in the last years, especially Pentel. I no longer feel like I’m going to bend/break needle-points. The pen has a great line and ink saturation for a 0.3mm. For red, it’s a good solid color with little skipping or smearling. And the point is smooth, not scratchy like some conical points at this size can be. In the description on JetPens, it calls the ink “dye-based, quick-drying, smear-resistant†– I don’t know what “dye-based†means, but the rest is true. I’ve not had smearing or glopping issues with this pen.
The barrel titles said Red Body – come on, folks, that’s salmon at best with pin-stripe detailing near the clicker and yellow accents. The rubber grip gives some cushion for long use. The plunger and clip are solid metal. The pen is refillable with the Pentel EnerGel LRN3 refill. The pen is 5.8†long and well balanced with a comfortable diameter.
The numbers:
1. How does it work? – 1 It’s decent, especially for the tip size. No frills. The ink is rich and the roller smooth. The ink dries fast, has some of the least smearing.
2. Grip and feel – 1 – It’s an inexpensive, plastic, pen. It has a grip that’s pretty comfortable with a nod to ergonomics. The length and balance are good.
3. Material – 1 It’s plastic, but it has a good mechanism and good ink. It’s also refillable.
4. Overall Design – 1 -It’s a good, solid everyday retractable pen with a very fine point (my favorite) with comfortable dimensions.
5. Price Point – 0.5 It’s $3 and only available online. Which isn’t bad, but it’s not the most economical Pentel EnerGel there is. It is refillable, the refills are $1.25 – that’s not horrible. The pens come in blue, black, and red individually, no multis – and are available in 0.3mm, 0.5mm, and 0.7mm.
4.5 out of 5 Bronze Pencils
[Write the Story] A Camping Trip in Which No One Has Ever Been Camping Before
Prompt: A Camping Trip in Which No One Has Ever Been Camping Before
Words: constellation, ketchup, royal, gear, atmosphere, expand, livid, example
Story
“Why did I let you talk me into this again?†Maureen asked as she pulled gear out of the SUV. “We’re form the city. What do we know about outdoors?â€
“How else are we going to see the constellation?†Royal asked. “Besides, how hard can it be? People do this for fun. We’re here on a mission in the moonlight.â€
Maureen snorted. “Fine, then you start a fire. I’ll try to set up the tent.â€
Royal snorted. “Fine. How hard can it be?â€
Famous last words. Neither were laughing later. Maureen tossed down the tent poles. “I give up. The example in these instructions don’t match the parts.â€
“I hope you like ketchup, because we forgot matches or a lighter. No fire.â€
“The better to see the stars?†Maureen tried to sound positive, as the luminous light of the moon faded behind cloud cover.
Royal spewed forth a sudden stream of livid anger and profanity. Maureen was almost impressed, she certainly had her vocabulary expanded.
“Well, we could enjoy the atmosphere?†She tried to sound cheerful as the wind kicked up and rain started to fall.
Maureen and Royal shoved everything back into the SUV and shivered in wet clothes until the heat caught up. Royal put the car in gear and spun out. They were stuck in the woods once more.
Word Count: 222
Written: 1/04/18
[Pen/Pencil Review] Uni Jetstream 4 & 1 Color 0.38mm – Navy Body
Not too long ago I got on a seriously fine point kick on Jetpens, and today’s multi-function pen caught my eye. This is the Uni Jetstream 4 & 1 Color 0.38mm Ballpoint Multi-Pen plus 0.5mm Pencil. I got the navy barrel. I was intrigued by the fineness of the points, so I had to get it.
This is rapidly becoming a favorite and a “go to†instrument. Especially with my day job where things can spin up quickly. Having the four color AND pencil option in one case is almost a necessity when you might need to change color or medium for whatever reason on the fly. This one turns out to be totally worthwhile – with a touch of a learning curve. I had to show one of the higher ups how to use it on the fly when it was snatched out of my hand in a meeting.
What astonishes me about this is the vibrancy of the ink colors with such a fine point. I keep forgetting this is a BALLPOINT pen and pencil and not a gel ink. The green is strikingly dark for 1) a ballpoint, and 2) a 0.38mm. All the colors are equally robust. The roller in the super fine conical point (not needle – CONICAL) is smooth. They don’t scratch, skip or glop. The clip is the advancer for the pencil. That’s not immediately intuitive, but brilliant to get all the function possible out of one instrument.
I chose the navy barrel because I like the rich color. The matching cap at the top covers the white, refillable eraser that’s a touch crumbly but otherwise good. The grip is a black rubber for a bit of comfort. There’s a rounded metal band between grip and body that smooths out any ridges. It’s a plastic body with metal accents and push plungers for the activators. It’s just over 5.75†long, which makes it a comfortable length.
The barrel is obviously wider than a normal barrel to house the reservoirs, but not so wide as to be uncomfortable. It’s got to be to handle all the reservoirs. This pen is refillable with the Uni SXR-90-30 refill. If this is too fine a point for you – they also come in a 0.5mm and 0.7mm – but is there really such thing as too fine a point? The instrument is refilled by twisting open the barrel and pulling out the reservoir and replacing either ink or lead.
It’s not cheap at the outset, but being refillable and an instrument that could see lots of use? It’s worth the outlay.
The numbers:
1. How does it work? – 1 – It works surprisingly well for a super fine point. The plungers may take a bit of getting used to, especially since the lead mechanism is the clip. You can leave lead advanced while having the point retracted. The lead and ink flow smoothly. The clip is secure.
2. Grip and feel – 1 – For a multi-function, it’s actually comfortable. The diameter is comfortable. There’s very little ridge between grip and barrel to be uncomfortable because of the decorative band. It’s long enough to fit comfortably in the hand. I’m actually surprised by this.
3. Material – 1 – It is plastic and base metal…however with the nice inserts, and sturdy feel, it’s decent. The transparent plastic of the barrel lets you see ink levels. Some might think it’s expensive for plastic and base metal, but it’s environmentally conscious and FIVE good quality writing instruments in one.
4. Overall Design – 0.5 – I am going to knock a half point off here just for the pencil refill. It’s not intuitive. I kept looking for the pencil refill to be through the cap, but it’s not. I had to find out how to do it by looking at another review and trying that and figuring it out. And I had to teach someone how to use it.
5. Price Point – 0.5 – It’s not cheap, but it is SUPER useful. I used it a ton last week when I needed a pencil, and this is what I had. It’s refillable. The ink makes it worth the price. But it’s only available online and at JetPens, it’s $11.25 with refills running $1.55. But for something you might use A LOT? It’s probably worth the investment. This one is one I’m keeping handy – like always in my purse or with a notebook.
That’s 4 of 5 bronze pencils.
[Write the Story] Having the Boss Over for Dinner
Prompt: Having the Boss Over For Dinner
Words: cerulean, chair, joyous, meatloaf, pallid, brioche, monthly, thirteen, forehead, video
Story
“Take the cerulean chair, Mr. Roland. I’ll just go bring in dinner. I hope you like meatloaf.”
Rebecca normally hated the swinging door between the farmer’s kitchen and the formal dining room. But today she was grateful for it.
“Thank you so much for this, Rebecca. It could mean so much for my career.”
“Oh, joyous day, I’m sure, Thomas.” Her tone dripped sarcasm. “Warning would’ve been nice.”
Thomas had the good grace to appear embarrassed, a slight flush to his normally pallid complexion. “I am sorry. I’m not even sure how it happened. We were in a meeting about monthly budgets and before I knew it, I was inviting him to dinner. I didn’t expect him to say yes.”
“Grab the salad.” Rebecca wiped sweat from her forehead. “And the green beans. I’ve got the meatloaf and potatoes. One of us will have to come back for the brioche rolls.” She saw his confused look. “I got the recipe from a cooking video. It’s fine.”
But it wasn’t. It was odd. Mr. Roland ate all of thirteen bites of his dinner. Rebecca couldn’t remember much more than that. She awoke the next morning with a pounding headache and no memory of how the evening progressed. If anything, Thomas seemed even paler. That’s when she felt a burning pain on her neck and vaguely heard.
“You’re fully vested in the company now. I’ll see you for dinner every Thursday night. Red meat is best.”
Word Count: 244
Written: 1/2/18
[Pen/Pencil Review] Pentel Superb Mini Ballpoint Pen – Blue
I’ve written about the RSVP fine point stick pens. They still remain among some of my all time favorites. Today, I’m focusing on a slightly different Pentel stick pen – the Superb MINI. This one is blue.
This is an moderately inexpensive “everyday†pen. The pen is short – hence the “mini†aspect. It’s 4.6†capped and 5.2†posted, which makes it ALMOST the same length posted as a retractable, but not quite. It also not as wide as a RSVP – but along the lines of a traditional stick pen with no ergonomics at all. Straight plastic all around – except for the metal tip.
This one does come with a 0.7mm ink, which is why I decided to try it. The barrel is transparent so you can see your ink level. The blue is a decently dark blue with a smooth action on the conical metal tip. The ink dries quickly and doesn’t tend to glob – which I like about Pentel ink. Sadly, this is one of the few Pentels that is NOT refillable. The clear cap has a solid plastic clip.
The Superb Mini is a good choice for a pocket notebook or journal pen. It’s not uncomfortable for it’s size, but it’s not an all day, every day pen. But it’s good to have for quick notes or a grab and go pen. There’s a goodly reservoir of ink for its size.
The numbers:
1.How does it work? – 1.0 It’s a basic , 0.7mm ballpoint pen that also happens to be short.
2.Grip and feel – 1 – It’s an inexpensive, plastic, no frills pen. The cap posts securely.
3.Material – 1 It’s okay for what it is. But it is what it is. A “knockabout†pen. One that you don’t mind disappearing or breaking.
4.Overall Design – 0.5 – Because the perfect pen doesn’t exist. It’s short and a bit narrow. You can’t refill it.
5.Price Point – 0.5 – It’s just under $2 on JetPens, which is affordable but still not refillable and short. But it writes well and I think is worth the price.
4 out of 5 Bronze Pencils
[Pen/Pencil Review] Pilot Juice Up 04 RT in Violet
I did the first JetPens order for the year a couple of weeks ago. Picked up some 0.4mm tip pens because I like to live dangerously. And because it’s an interesting size – some are really thin and light, some are darker/thicker like the 0.5mm. This one in particular is kind of in the middle. It’s a newer model of a pen I reviewed previously – the is the Pilot Juice Up 04 retractable gel ink pen in violet ink
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The Pilot Juice Up collection are retractable gel ink pens. This line comes in up to 22 colors – both in individual pens and in sets. The pastels come in six color sets, the darker colors come in 10 color sets. These come in 0.38mm and 0.4mm tips – which might not seem like much but can be pretty big difference.
The Juice pens are about 5.5″ long retracted and with point extended. The barrel is black with a violet rubberized grip and a violet accent in the translucent accent at the black plunger. That color-coded accent lets you see if the tip is retracted without looking at the tip. There barrel is as close to seamless as a refillable pen can be. It’s relatively comfortable and a good hand feel.
The tip is a new style Pilot calls “Synergy” which they say “combines the precision of a needle point with the durability of a conical point.” There’s a gasket like seal around the stainless-steel cone and the actual tip that does hold the ink steady. The fine, needle-like point feels solid.
The ink is rich and vibrant for such a thin line with a smooth roller that doesn’t skip or scratch. I enjoy writing with this. I’ve used it for a couple of solid days at work – adding things to a paper calendar and such. It’s a solid working pen – and if you’re doing paper edits, it’s a good fine line for getting edits in between lines. The ink is a water-based pigment ink that’s supposed to be waterproof (I’d likely call it resistant since little is “proof”) and fade-resistant.
I will likely pick up a few more colors over time. I’d like to check things like the red for editing or the blue-black (because there are days I want something traditional but not).
The Numbers.
1. How does it work? – 1 – It’s a slightly fancier than basic, retractable gel in pen in a very fine point. The mechanism is smooth and the ink is rich.
2. Look and feel – 0.5 – It’s not bad for a nearly basic retractable pen. There’s a bit of cushion but it’s more for color and show than actual squish. It’s an attractive look though
3. Material – 1 It’s a decent plastic, retractable pen. It’s not expensive, but not cheap. The advancement in the synergy tip. It’s more solid than the needle tip should be.
4. Overall Design – 1 – This barrel is fine. The clip is good. The mechanism is smooth. The colors are fun and give the pens some nice accents. The tip is what’s really nice.
5. Price Point – 0.5 – These run $3.60 individually on JetPens. Just under $27 for the 10 pack and just under $17 for the 6 pack of pastels. You can only get them by ordering online. They’re not available in US stores. So that makes them a bit more difficult to come by. But they are refillable with the Pilot LP2RF from between $1.50 and $2.25.
4 out of 5 bronze pencils.
[Write the Story] A Babysitter Snoops and Finds Something Unexpected
Prompt: A Babysitter Snoops and Finds Something Unexpected
Words: newspaper, cardinal, cotton, document, tiramisu, blackened, prediction, borderline, freedom, female
Story
“We’ll be home by Midnight. Help yourself to anything in the fridge. The baby’s asleep. You should have an easy night.†Those Famous Last Words rang in Mistie’s ears as she scrapped the last of the tiramisu out of the bowl. But so far, the mental prediction of wailing child hadn’t materialized. Her boredom melting with borderline freedom prompted her to start digging around the posh apartment.
“This is probably a really bad idea.†But something drew Mistie to explore the dark corners of the bedrooms and even the antique wooden chest in the guest room closet.
She teased open the lid and smiled at the blue cotton lining patterned with cardinals. She shuffled through the contents, reveling in the age and character of some pieces of vintage jewelry. She couldn’t help but try on the tiara, a bit dusty but still sparkly. But something else caught her eye.
She gently pulled out the newspaper-wrapped bundle. It was wide, thin, and blackened around the edges. She carefully unwrapped the bundle to find a document folder. She had to keep going now, she’d come too far to leave whatever secret this held.
Inside the folder was something she could barely identify as female…maybe.
“Find what you’re looking for?â€
Mistie jumped, barely keeping from dropping everything. She stammered and apology.
“Now you know.â€
“Know what?†Mistie never got an answer. Everything went black with a hint of newspaper.
Word Count: 236
Written: 12/14/17