Back in February I bought my first-ever fountain pen. I knew nothing about them, but had always thought they would be cool, so when I encountered a pen shop in a mall in Washington, DC, I was a goner. I ended up with a cheap Retro 51 pen with a nib that was really too wide and that didn’t lay down ink very well at all. But I was hooked.

In May, back in DC, I had done my research, and bought another pen, similar in price to the Retro 51, but far superior in function: a Lamy Safari Al Star. The lightweight aluminum body was stylish and the Fine nib ended up being just to my liking. Along with the pen I purchased an ink adapter and a bottle of blue ink. I really enjoyed that pen.

I use the past tense in the previous sentence because on my trip to Orlando in June I lost it somewhere on an airplane. I was bummed. Not having a lot of disposable income this summer, I knew it would be a good lesson to me to just deal with ballpoint pens again for a while… maybe I’d hold onto the next pen more carefully. (Am I sounding like a parent here? I think I am. Scary.)

A couple weeks ago I was given a very nice gift for playing the organ for a wedding. So as a little gift to myself I went online and ordered a replacement Safari Al Star. It arrived in the mail late last week and I am thoroughly enjoying it. Writing is so much more fun with a pen like this.

Last time I was in that pen shop in DC they were trying hard to sell me a pen that ran about $150. I don’t know that I could ever really understand why I should spend that much for a pen… but I’m sure happy with my $30 cheap-o.