WHAT: Third draft of short story “A Mighty Fortress is Our God,” and a start on the first draft of “Laundry Night”.

HOW MUCH: The former finished up at 4,012 words, of which about 20 got written today; I did a little chopping on it last night. The latter gets eight manuscript pages, which feels pretty good.

HOW LONG: About 55 min.

Today’s pen: Parker “51”
Today’s ink: Diamine Sargasso

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WHAT: Third draft of short story “A Mighty Fortress is Our God.”

HOW MUCH: 978 words.  Half a page, maybe a full page to go.

HOW LONG: About 55 min.

Today’s pen: Waterman Carène
Today’s ink:  Diamine Denim

WHAT: Third draft of short story “A Mighty Fortress is Our God.”

HOW MUCH: 786 words.

HOW LONG: About 45 min.

Today’s pen: Parker “51” (a 1948 burgundy UK Vacumatic I apparently have still no picture of)
Today’s ink: Diamine Sargasso

WHAT: I’ll say it’s the third draft of a story I recently unearthed, and which I wrote initially while extremely angry about The Previous Job, at least seven years ago. This run at it has actually got a title– “A Mighty Fortress is Our God.” The previous incarnation went under “[Insert Title]” which probably suggests my state of mind at the time.

HOW MUCH: 996 words.

HOW LONG: About 50 min.

Today’s pen: Sheaffer Sovereign II
Today’s ink: Herbin’s Lis de Thé

Another Person’s Dreams

That than which, we hear, there is nothing more tedious to hear recounted.  Well… here’s mine, in vivid, moving colour: living in a place so rich in fountain pens, so saturated in them, that setting up walk-in clinics for their resuscitation is a viable effort.

All I need to do is master a new language, defeat one of the most contrary immigration policies in the northern hemisphere, and take in a lot more training than my self-directed studies have provided.  And also arrange for my family to also be able to move with me and thrive into the bargain (although my son showed last weekend an unexpected fondness for sushi…).  Those things aside, there’s a job waiting for me!

Today’s pen: Parker Vacumatic
Today’s ink: Diamine Evergreen

Trauma, When a Toe

I speak, of course, of stubbing.  Those whose memories extend to the earliest days of this item will remember that this is a practice that I’m not entirely a fan of.  Like all humans, I’m an inconsistent creature, and have committed stubbing upon some of my own pens, and even bragged about the results, and which I continue to enjoy.

Well, on Monday I returned some pens to a client upon which I had also practiced grindery.  These were not the first I had done this to, but in previous examples the stakes were relatively low.  This most recent batch were different in that it was a pair of Montblanc 149s and a Pelikan 800; not inexpensive pens, and pens which I can’t afford to replace any part of, let alone the points.  Those who are familiar with Richard III may have some doubts, but when I say I had to be talked into doing the work, I really mean it.  However, I’m pleased with the results.

As ever, I sound off prematurely, as I have yet to hear from the client if this pleasure lies at both ends of the transaction.  I may be setting myself up for a retraction (at least), but I’m pretty seriously critical of myself.  That interior critic being grudgingly content with the performance, I’ve finally decided to admit to the world in general (and not just you few who look in here) that I’ll do this sort of thing.  For money.  The Services page of my site is even now whispering it into the ear of Google.

On a brief side note which is probably connected, I spent a bit of this morning questioning my sanity.  A very skinny youth on a skateboard drifted past the window here at The Regular Job.  Almost instantly, this came into my head.

Attenuated skateboard dude,
I hope you will not think me rude,
If I observe that it’s quite crude,
for you to do that in the nude.

…which he was not, I hasten to point out.  Now, it has been… , wow, thirty years since I set aside my psychology studies, but I do recall spontaneous rhyming as showing up somewhere in the DSM, and it wasn’t in the “nothing to worry about” section.

That little tremor of concern ties in with another recent aberration.  A friend’s visit last week had me actually looking into the face of Pinterest, and while I can’t say I quite grasp the utility of it (lots of pictures, not much information), I have decided to give it a little time.  Anyone looking at the site will find that all my pictures are now ready and willing to be pinned, for whatever joy that may bring the pinners.  I’ve scored some pretty pictures, of pens and of other things, like the Art Deco infestation of Napier, New Zealand.  In theory, my life is somehow richer.

I suppose it’s something to do with the connection between writers and nuttiness.  Perhaps I should go down the Hemingway path and drink myself sane.  That worked out well for him, right?

Today’s pen: Waterman Carène (the same pen two days in a row!  He’s gone completely round the bend!)
Today’s ink:  Diamine Denim

WHAT: Second draft of  “Yard Light”.

HOW MUCH: 342 words, for a finished total of 7,126.  The math-inclined will probably find that this is not what previous reports add up to; without commenting on scurrilous rumours of illicit typing, I will mention that not all efforts are recorded here.  Just the ones that keep me too busy to do anything more interesting over my lunch break with this space, and most of the running counts and totals you’ve seen here won’t quite jibe.

This is not meant to be a challenge, either.  You need not go back and count for yourself.

HOW LONG: About 25 min.

Today’s pen: Waterman Carène
Today’s ink:  Diamine Denim

WHAT: Second draft of  “Yard Light”.

HOW MUCH: 905 words, or as I like to call it, very nearly done.  If I can find some slack in the afternoon’s duties, I may do some illicit typing and put this thing to bed.

HOW LONG: About 50 min.

Today’s pen: Parker Vacumatic
Today’s ink: Diamine Evergreen

WHAT: Second draft of “Yard Light”.

HOW MUCH: 700 words.  As if I’d planned it that way (which I did not).

HOW LONG: About 30 min.

Today’s pen: Sheaffer Sovereign II
Today’s ink: Herbin’s Lis de Thé

And Now For Something Completely Different.

In honour of the Monty Python reunion tour, I’m going to present something that has absolutely nothing whatever to do with them for the Filched Friday Film.  Here, then, is a large lizard and an elderly man.

Two notes– first, although the full sequence doesn’t appear in this bit, I love the attitude of the cop who gets gobbled up at about the 3:45 point as he approaches the problematical beast; I try to emulate him, at least inwardly, whenever faced with something that is probably insurmountable.  Second, did anyone else notice the dip-well on the radio announcer’s desk around 4:30?  I want to say it’s a Sengbusch, but that’s probably not right.

Today’s pen: Pilot Vanishing Point
Today’s ink: Montblanc Royal Blue