I love pens… and watches too.
I think I’ve been fascinated with pens since the 5th or 6th grade when as students, we were promoted from pencils to pens. When, penmanship was an actual thing you got graded on. Now when I was that age, fountain pens were the norm and fountain pens with ink cartridges were the kings. The newish ball point pens were an oddity. Anyway, now I have a real appreciation for pens. I really like fountain pens but I’m not willing to spend hundreds of dollars on one nor am I prejudiced against nice looking ball points or their derivatives.
I’m not sure where the watches obsession comes from. I’ve always been of the opinion that if it keeps accurate time and doesn’t look clunky then it’s fine. I recently got a watch on the street for $5. I figured if it lasted a week, I’d be ahead of the game. So far it’s been 3 months. Still, I’m fascinated by well designed watches that tell accurate time along with exquisite design. I just ordered one from a Herrington catalog. This is more than I normally spend for a watch ($110) and will probably be the highest price I will ever pay…. Oh, BTW, I prefer watches with hands over digital, but appreciate both.
Now the big whisper is that my interest in pens and watches is directly proportional to how stressed I’m feeling. The more stressed, the more my interests turn toward pens and watches.