A Thing For Pens

People who work with me know I have a thing for pens. I love pens and office supplies in general. If you do a lot of paperwork like I do, a good pen can make the difference between a good day and an average day. A smooth rolling ballpoint that lays down an assertive solid line is very satisfying. Some generous people at work give me pens because they know I like ‘em. Today, a friend gave me a big handful of new pens she acquired at a conference. She gave me at least 10 pens. Two were silver, one was electric purple, one was blue, and one was orange (my favorite color) and had a soft grip but turned out to be a mechanical pencil. I prefer big barrel pens with soft grips and a thicker point. I’m totally spoiled. I doubt I could even work with a plain Paper Mate fine point anymore. A couple months ago I got a pen from another friend that looks like a shot. When you depress the plunger the point clicks out. This shot pen has a pink liquid in the barrel and comes complete with lines on the sides marking the milliliters. That pen is a little too unusual for me to use comfortably. A year ago another friend at work gave me this ergonomic pen that is shaped like a slingshot. You put your pointer finger in the crotch of the slingshot and propel the pen that way. When I write much with it, my finger accidentally hits the button that withdraws the point so I don’t use it very much. Another coworker admired my handful of pens this morning. She showed me her favorite pen - a blue ballpoint with a thick barrel and an antimicrobial surface. I don't know what makes this pen antimicrobial. The surface felt a little sticky. I would expect germs to hang onto that pen. We looked on the box and there was no explanation of what made this pen antimicrobial. Call me a skeptic. Years ago I went to meetings with this one man who had a pen 12 inches long with a 2-inch diameter barrel. He was a large man and he needed a large pen. “Oooh,” I said like Homer Simpson when he sees candy, “Nice pen.”