Pen lover

I have always been a lover of pens. The way a good pen feels in my hand as I grade students' essays, write a check, or fill out a form is heaven to me. I have always favored the fine tip version of the Uni-ball Vision Elite. The ink glides across paper without smudges, the pen refuses to leak, and the way it rests in the nook between my thumb and forefinger is divine. Not to mention that it comes in numerous colors (ideal for grading). Nonetheless, no pen is perfect. The Uni-ball Vision Elite is notoriously hard to find with a fine tip and the casing has a tendency to break. Plus, it is a rollerball pen, which means when the ink is beginning to run low it feels as if the pen is dragging across the paper instead of gliding.

Last week, my last colored ink version of my Uni-ball Vision Elite pens dried out: there was no way more orange ink was going to find its way out of that pen. This is why I went to Staples.

Now, I have a new love: Sharpie fine tip pens.

Understand, I didn’t simply toss aside my old love like one may toss aside the photograph of her old boy-friend. No, I was forced to cheat on my fine tipped Uni-ball Vision Elite pens: our Rochester Staples no longer keeps my former love in stock. Needing pens for the pile of mid-quarter grading that grew on my desk, I poured over the shelves trying to decide what pen could ever replace my Uni-ball Vision Elites. I dismissed all rollerball pens because I knew none would ever compare to my former addiction. The gel pens, although stocked in vibrant colors, were not available in a fine tip version. Marker pens, too, wrote too thickly: I would never be able to squeeze all my teacher comments into small spaces with those as my tool. Then, I shrugged and bought what looked the least offensive. A multicolor, four pack of Sharpie fine tip pens.

I will never go back to Uni-ball Vision Elite. I am done. I have learned that they are simply not good for me. My soul mate is made by Sharpie.

Sharpie fine tips glide across the page smoother than any pen with which I have ever written  The ink is vibrant but not glaringly bright, the thin casing rests idyllically in the fold of my thumb, and the whole set of four nests comfortably in the pen loops sewn into my briefcase. Sharpie fine tips were made for me.

Maybe this affair will last forever.

photo credit: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2374/2470148857_9ab7c4d340_b.jpg