A funny thing happened when I opened my notebook today...
There are few things in life I enjoy more than a new, quality notebook and a lightweight pen that writes smooth. Because of that, I'm always on the lookout for new products.
For the past few years I've had a love affair with moleskin reporter's notebooks. I like the hard cover (so I can write easily without needing a surface), the pocket in the back cover (that's great for keeping business cards) and I like the higher quality paper inside. I will also readily admit that notebooks like this are over-priced, but it's a luxury for which I'm willing to pay. Also, because they are expensive, I guard them well and use each one -- front to back then back to front -- until the entire thing is full.
But a notebook is just part of the equation. I've got to have a good pen. Now, unlike the notebooks, I'm prone to lose pens. For that reason alone, I don't like to spend a lot of money on them. So, my two primary goals for a pen is that it feels good in my hand (not too thin or too thick) and that it writes smoothly.
Maybe six months ago I bought my first pack of FriXion pens, made by Pilot. Although the lines produced by these pens is a bit more thick than I prefer, I couldn't fault them otherwise. The ink flows well, the size feels good and the grip has just a little bit of "cush" to it.
I was beginning to think I'd found the perfect combination... until I opened my notebook at a health care forum this morning.
When I flipped the cover, my brain was automatically estimating how far back I'd need to flip until I reached a blank page. Because of that, the site of a blank page at the front momentarily confused me. I flipped a few more pages -- all blank. Then I began to look more closely and noticed that there was "something on the pages." It was a very faint indentation of the things I'd previously written there.
Before I get into the absolute panic I felt at this moment, I need to describe how my notebooks function. They are not only filled with interviews gone by, but have notes that I'm likely to need later -- things like phone numbers and e-mail addresses, or information about people that I may need to follow-up with at a later time. That's where I put pretty much everything before it goes into the computer. And, in some respects, my archive serves as a back-up for the computer. I know that I can go back to my notes and find information that might otherwise be difficult to find on the computer -- like the name of a person in a photo I took, or the name of the audio file associated with an interview.
So, when I say that I was in absolute panic at this point, I'm not exaggerating. But I did regain composure, flipped the notebook around and started to take notes at the forum from the opposite end of the book, which I was sure had not been previously used. There was only one problem: Although I knew I was writing with my pen, and could "feel" that ink was coming out, nothing was showing on the page. When I tilted it to catch the light, I could the similar faint indentations like on the other "blank" pages, the only difference being that these also had a brief sheen.
Since I didn't have time to deal with it, I fished out a different pen from my purse and finally began to take notes that I could read.
Long story made a bit shorter, my notes are still "disappeared" and I don't know why. My best guess is that yesterday I received a return phone call while I was out driving. I pulled over, completed the interview and then clipped the pen to the elastic strap on the notebook and tossed both upon the front dash of my car. I had one errand to run, and I left the notebook and pen in the locked car. So, my best guess is that disappearing ink has something to do with heat.
There are few things in life I enjoy more than a new, quality notebook and a lightweight pen that writes smooth. Because of that, I'm always on the lookout for new products. For the past few years I've had a love affair with moleskin reporter's notebooks. I like the hard cover (so I can write easily without needing a surface), the pocket in the back cover (that's great for keeping business cards) and I like the higher quality paper inside. I will also readily admit that notebooks like this are over-priced, but it's a luxury for which I'm willing to pay. Also, because they are expensive, I guard them well and use each one -- front to back then back to front -- until the entire thing is full.
But a notebook is just part of the equation. I've got to have a good pen. Now, unlike the notebooks, I'm prone to lose pens. For that reason alone, I don't like to spend a lot of money on them. So, my two primary goals for a pen is that it feels good in my hand (not too thin or too thick) and that it writes smoothly.
Maybe six months ago I bought my first pack of FriXion pens, made by Pilot. Although the lines produced by these pens is a bit more thick than I prefer, I couldn't fault them otherwise. The ink flows well, the size feels good and the grip has just a little bit of "cush" to it.
I was beginning to think I'd found the perfect combination... until I opened my notebook at a health care forum this morning.
When I flipped the cover, my brain was automatically estimating how far back I'd need to flip until I reached a blank page. Because of that, the site of a blank page at the front momentarily confused me. I flipped a few more pages -- all blank. Then I began to look more closely and noticed that there was "something on the pages." It was a very faint indentation of the things I'd previously written there.
Before I get into the absolute panic I felt at this moment, I need to describe how my notebooks function. They are not only filled with interviews gone by, but have notes that I'm likely to need later -- things like phone numbers and e-mail addresses, or information about people that I may need to follow-up with at a later time. That's where I put pretty much everything before it goes into the computer. And, in some respects, my archive serves as a back-up for the computer. I know that I can go back to my notes and find information that might otherwise be difficult to find on the computer -- like the name of a person in a photo I took, or the name of the audio file associated with an interview.
So, when I say that I was in absolute panic at this point, I'm not exaggerating. But I did regain composure, flipped the notebook around and started to take notes at the forum from the opposite end of the book, which I was sure had not been previously used. There was only one problem: Although I knew I was writing with my pen, and could "feel" that ink was coming out, nothing was showing on the page. When I tilted it to catch the light, I could the similar faint indentations like on the other "blank" pages, the only difference being that these also had a brief sheen.
Since I didn't have time to deal with it, I fished out a different pen from my purse and finally began to take notes that I could read.
Long story made a bit shorter, my notes are still "disappeared" and I don't know why. My best guess is that yesterday I received a return phone call while I was out driving. I pulled over, completed the interview and then clipped the pen to the elastic strap on the notebook and tossed both upon the front dash of my car. I had one errand to run, and I left the notebook and pen in the locked car. So, my best guess is that disappearing ink has something to do with heat.
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