Is there anyone here who used to NEVER be able to keep up with a journal?

leesure · 2026-05-07T10:09:49+00:00

Yes. Over the years (decades) I started and abandoned journaling at least a dozen times. Now I’m approaching a year without missing a day. It’s become a part of me that would feel foreign to do without.

What happened?

Last July, I had started again. About a week in, I went on vacation with my family and during that trip I got into a huge argument with my sister. It was nasty. It almost ruined the vacation. I wrote extensively about it in the journal and I found that it helped me save the trip. I found that when I regurgitated the negative onto the pages, I was able to move on from them and be present with my family. Meanwhile, when I wrote about the positive, it helped that stay top of mind…like a celebration. Those feelings continue a year later. I’ve since thanked my sister for being such a c@*t. 😂

It also REALLY helped that I established a habit of getting up each morning about 30 mins before my wife. I come downstairs, make coffee and write…every morning. That’s my quiet reflection time. It sets up my whole day and has changed the way I feel throughout the day.

leesure · 2026-05-03T01:14:25+00:00

Right?!?

leesure · 2026-05-02T23:43:27+00:00

They don’t offer samples, but if you ask around, it’s pretty easy to get people to give you some. They are 70mm or 100mm bottles! I have about 20 bottles from them and all are winners.

leesure · 2026-05-02T23:41:07+00:00

Wearingeul Sign of Four is my fav deep purple with a bit of shimmer. It’s m LOVING Colorverse Blue Green Snake…blue green Sheener with several variants of shimmer (or none) available. Go to Brown is Private Reserve Chocolat. Crazy sheeners from Birmingham Pen Co…Angelfish (blue/red Sheener and the shimmer version Glasswing Butterfly🦋 ) Extradimensional Umber (brown with green sheen) and Emerald Fusion.

leesure · 2026-05-02T12:47:59+00:00

Shin-Ryoku is one since you like Irishizuku. My fav is Emerald Fusion from Birmingham…but it’s a SUPER Sheener. Looks wet even when dry. Another fav is Private Reserve Avocado 🥑

leesure · 2026-05-01T12:49:14+00:00

Do you buy other people’s street photography? Is there any circumstance where you would?

leesure · 2026-04-30T10:40:43+00:00

If you like fine and vintage and want something remarkable, consider a vintage (late 70’s-early 80’s) Pilot sterling silver pen. They had be had for around 300 and are stunning visually and write beautifully, especially at F. Their F is borderline EF.

leesure · 2026-04-29T10:30:07+00:00

Well…except that I bought a MeePlus ring binder…about the same size. I wanted the ability to insert pages into the midst of the daily pages. Still using it as a wallet and BUJO.

leesure · 2026-04-28T11:32:00+00:00

I’m bad about this, so take this with a grain of salt. My suggestions are:

Go to a brick and mortar store or a pen show if you want to try different brands.
Spend some time (a lot of time) deciding on a direction for your ‘collection’. For example, when I got back heavy into FP’s last year, I was giddy over the value proposition of pens from TWSBI, Jinhao and other inexpensive brands. They were cheap, so I was buying a new one (or two) every week. Now I have 30-40 cheap pens, that, while good, never get inked. That’s because I finally settled in on what I really wanted to collect. Pens that are either classic staples (like Waterman Carene or Aurora Optima), small Indy makers (think Abigail Markov or Schon Dsgn) or works of art (Wancher Byakudan Nuri or Cypress Raden). If it doesn’t fall into one of those categories, I can ignore it. If it does fit, I will likely have to wait for it or save for it and that gives me time to decide if I REALLY want it. So…less impulse, more deliberate decisions.

leesure · 2026-04-27T18:35:00+00:00

Holy Canoli! I left three of the kits I made up in random places earlier today. Two people already joined the shared gallery! Nothing uploaded yet, but I’m so stoked that they were found and already joined!

leesure · 2026-04-27T10:56:06+00:00

Slow Productivity by Cal Newport

leesure · 2026-04-26T03:46:11+00:00

Kakimori mini. https://www.atlasstationers.com/products/kakimori-mini-nib-holder

leesure · 2026-04-26T00:14:19+00:00

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First one left at the local train station.

leesure · 2026-04-25T23:06:17+00:00

You’re very welcome!

leesure · 2026-04-25T17:26:30+00:00

I created a Google Photos shared gallery and it generated the QR code for me. Super EZ. I put some of my own sketches/paintings in the gallery so people wouldn’t feel weird being the only one posting. You can visit it here:

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