I have a new fountain pen, and all is right with the world. It's a
Waterman Harmonie with a beautiful red body, some heft, and a fine
tip. It's a joy to write with.

I shopped at both Laywine's near Bay Street and Sears in Eaton Centre
before settling on this pen. The sales staff at both stores were
absolutely wonderful, zeroing on the pens that might fit me. They even
joked about trying out the really expensive Mont Blanc pens (“And if
you look over here we have a really comfortable pen for around $725”)
while helping me find a converter-based pen within my price range. The
sales clerk who pointed me to the perfect pen also warned me that pens
can be an addictive habit: “… then you see another pretty one and
you just have to have it, and before you know it, you're buying a case
to protect and display the pens…”

It's a lot more expensive than the things I'd usually buy (I bought a
$3 plastic tripod from Active Surplus today! =) ), but there's just
something about having a good pen…

I can't find my fountain pen – the burgundy one my father gave me for
Christmas, when he took me shopping the day before I flew back to
Canada. I last wrote with it in the lab. My research notebook is here,
but no pen… Could I have dropped it on the way to the library? But I
wasn't carrying anything except for my ID card and my notebook; I
didn't need to take notes. I've turned my pockets inside out, searched
the pockets of my bag, checked every nook and cranny… I remember
noticing that it wasn't with me when I returned to Graduate House, but
because I didn't have my research notebook then, I thought I might've
left it tucked inside. Waah!

And yes, I know, my fountain pen is one of my guilty pleasures – what
luxury when everyone gets by on ballpens and pencils! – but it has an
old-school charm about it, and I loved using it…

I'll turn my room upside down later, after my paper. If not, I wonder
where I'll be able to find a nice, slim, piston converter pen,
preferably a broad-nibbed pen with a burgundy case and some heft…

Waah.

(And yes, Mark, I'll get back to work on my paper as soon as I get this thing out of my head…)