In last week's Trail Log I mentioned that I was getting tired of transcribing while on my second page. By Wednesday I was restless on the first page and just wanted it done. I only made it through that first page because I had problems with the Pilot Custom 823. The 823 is a solid writer, problems are unheard of until now. The nib just dried up. And yes, the plunger was open to allow ink to reach the nib. I was able to prime the feed, which is a thrill on a vacuum filler. Ultimately it was mess free. That gave me an incentive to at least finish the page in order to test the pen. The 823 was also problem free when I used it again on Saturday.

I didn't even attempt any transcription when Thursday rolled around. I'd been transcribing every morning so by then morning writing had become an enjoyable habit, at least until recently. So I kept writing every morning. My journaling has increased a couple pages every morning. I've also been making progress on my next pen review by writing one or two pages each morning. Both these tasks have me using my pens while doing something I consider productive, unlike transcribing.

I've been using my pens more frequently. As the Fountain Pen Companion screenshot (below) shows, all my pens had been used in the last two days. Part of this is because I've been writing in smaller A5 notebooks rather than the large writing pad. In addition, at least for the review, I use proper paragraphs when writing. For my journal and transcription, I just write a wall of words.

Current Reads, Watches & Listens

Read: A Gambling Man by David Balducci. Book two of the Archer series. I finished this one in short order. Like all Balducci books, the crimes tend to sprawl over time. Overall, I like this series better than the Memory Man books. But, I've only read two of these, so they haven't had a chance to become repetitive. I like the post-WWII setting, which reads as realistic. (I'm not so old that I can judge based on personal experience.) I give this 4 out of 5 stars. The next book in series isn't due out until next month.

Listening: Nemesis Games by James S.A. Corey. Book five of The Expanse. A little progress this week. I'm still enjoying it, but my time available for audiobooks has been limited. I'm just over two-thirds of the way through it.

Reading: Dutch Girl by Robert Matzen. A biography of Audrey Hepburn during the five years of the Nazi Occupation. The book got off to a slow start. A lot of words were used to cover her family history. Then it spends considerable time covering the initial German Invasion and Netherlands' life in general. I set it aside, I just didn't find it that engrossing. So far it's been more about the extended family and town's people than Audrey herself. Not unexpected since she was only 11 when Germany invaded Holland. I do plan to work my way through it. Some people complained that it was a Bait & Switch since Audrey is a minor character in the story. I don't agree with the Bait & Switch. But, it's not a Audrey Hepburn focused memoir, at least not yet. It does cover events that certainly affected her life. Such as the brutal execution of her favorite uncle in retaliation for an underground sabotage attempt, even though he had already been locked up as a hostage when it occurred.

Reading: Zero Day by David Baldacci. Yes, another Baldacci novel. This is volume one in his Puller series. I just started, so I don't have an opinion, just expectations.

Out of Rotation

  1. Kanilea Kona Cherry (EF): I filled this with Montblanc Bordeaux back on January 12th. It was primarily used as my journaling pen for the last month, and it took awhile to write dry.

Into Rotation

None

Links

Deciding what I want in a new gel or ballpoint pen — mnmlscholar and The 'last inked' column is pretty dope — mnmlscholar

The unburdening – Pam Alison Knits

State of the collection: March 2022 | UK fountain pens

Blogiversary – Chronicles of a Fountain Pen

Baltimore Pen Show 2022 Recap: This Time, It Felt Like Pen Shows Might Be Back — The Gentleman Stationer

Consult the Doctor Episode 43 | Hey there! SBREBrown // I generally don't watch videos, but I've always like Stephen's videos. I don't watch too many of his videos anymore, but the first question intrigued me. His answer lined up with my views.

Another Shade of Green: Welcoming a New Pelikan – Chicana Writes

1935 Parker Challenger – Chronicles of a Fountain Pen

2022 Baltimore Pen Show Recap and Report Card — The Pen Addict

Travel Carry, Part II — The Gentleman Stationer

Fountain Pens From My Collection: Namiki Vanishing Point | Fountain Pen Love

State of the Collection: My Franklin-Christoph Fountain Pens after Baltimore — The Gentleman Stationer

canetas e coisas: PILOT

Paper – Goodwriterspens's Blog

Off-Topic:xkcd: Consensus Time : Sounds like it could be fun. Let time we tried permanent DST, in the 70's, and eliminated it a year before the experiment was to end, it was so unpopular. Personally, I like the idea. But, I don't have kids or head out to work in the morning. I like writing in the quiet and darkness of early morning and having daylight to get outside once I'm done with work for the day.