This week was a revolving door for stationery. I lent out a second pen. I gave away a bottle of ink. And two new bottles of ink arrived at my doorstep. Breezy.

My favorite part of working in analog – or living within a hobby like stationery – is greeting new experiences. Each new ink you buy offers a novel color option, and a new writing experience with every pen you put it in. Every new pen offers a unique writing experience with each of the inks in your collection.

Add to pen and ink combinations your paper choices. And nib sizes. Permutations of new experiences – and wonderful discoveries.

Most weeks, pen meets paper in my personal journal three or four times. I wrote an entry every night this week. Six entries is double my usual personal writing.

I’ve journaled regularly for three years. Over that time, I’ve fallen into a system of structuring my entries.

Some pens are perfect right out of the box. Others need some love and attention before they write in a way that brings joy. Still others just never bring joy to your writing, despite functioning well. My Monteverde Giant Sequoia was the latter two.