Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Pens vs. Pencils

I have never been a pencil enthusiast. I don't care for dull points, breaking lead, or the pencil smear factor. Maybe I'm just prejudiced from the time in Jr. High when a friend accidentally impaled a sharp pencil into my hand. I still have the lead mark under my skin. The doctors did not dare remove the lead since it was so close to a major artery. Okay- the part about having my life in danger from a piece of lead is a total lie, but I really do still carry a lead scar thanks to a pencil.

It drives me crazy when you try to sharpen a pencil and the lead keeps breaking, or you try to erase something but the eraser is worn down so you just end up shredding the paper with the metal end. Even when I have tried using mechanical pencils, it is not uncommon to have the entire piece of lead slide out of the pencil onto your paper.

I'm More of a pen guy. Pencils are like a dot matrix printer and pens are like a laser printer. Pencils are like Robin and pens are like Batman. Pencils are like Jar Jar Binks and Pens are like Qui Gon Jin. They didn't sign the Declaration of Independence with pencils. They used ink and fancy feather pens like real men! You can also disguise spy equipment much easier as a pen than a pencil. I've lost count of how many times using the plastic explosives in my pen have gotten me out of a sticky situation.

I know this might sound kind of corny, but I like the classic medium point 4 color Bic pen, although I hate running out of blue and black ink in them. Why do they even include the lame light green ink? If a pen is inky then I prefer a fine point, but normal ballpoints are best with medium point.

I hate it when you have a pen you like and someone borrows it for just a minute and you never see it again. At an early age, my oldest sister got tired of fellow students always borrowing her pens so she started using a fountain pen. Few people are familiar with or skilled at writing with fountain pens so they stopped borrowing pens from her.

I will admit there is a dark side to pens. Some pens can leak on your clothes if you are not careful. This can be avoided by wearing a pocket protector, but I would rather ruin every shirt I own with leaking ink than ever wear a pocket protector. If you are into pencils I hope I didn't offend you. Leave it to me to be on the edge with my controversial posts.

17 comments:

Everyday Goddess said...

To my mind, there is nothing like the smell of a big fat Sharpie in the morning!

DiPaola Momma said...

dot matrix printer.. HA! I can hear that noise just reading this post! Takes me back and makes me feel even MORE old.. thanks you butthead!

Hey I'm close to 300 followers now. I was thinking of a Chaka-esque hissy fit to hit that magic number.. what do you think?

Eric said...

One of my favorite 'Kids in the Hall' comedy sketches is the one in which the DMV worker guy loans his pen for a second, and the guy walks out with it.

That being said, art drawing is a bit easier with pencil, charcoal, pastel, or conte crayon...

Kristina P. said...

I am very picky about pens. In fact, there's a pen I love at work, that when I leave everyday, I put it in my box so no one else steals it.

LegalMist said...

I agree with you; pens are far superior. Pens say, "I'm confident and secure in my abilities." Pencils say, "I'm so afraid I might screw up, I need a security-blanket / eraser."

Plus, it's easier to read something written in ink.

So far, not much controversy here!

Jeanne Estridge said...

I'm guessing that you're right-handed. If you were a lefty, you'd dislike pens for the way that the ink never comes out until you're on your second or third letter, forcing you to go back and retrace. Plus having the side of your hand turn blue.

Yeah, I'm all about the pencil....

Tom said...

Comedy Goddess-I agree that is a beautiful thing.
Di Paola-Please don't refer to my prior manly threats as a hissy fit.
Eric-Pencils rule if you are artist so I make an exception there.
Jeanne-I never would have known that about the left hand. I'm sorry to hear that.

I love the power of seeing adsense respond and customize to my posts. I feel like the Fed Chair making a decision then wathcing the economy react to it. Except of course there is no money involved when I do it.

Gwen said...

I like them both for different reasons. I am fussy about the aesthetics of everything under the sun so I like that I can erase with a pencil. But I also love the smooth flow that you get from a good felt-tip pen.

I'm such a Gemini.

bonnie jack said...

i hate pencils. i took my ap chemistry test in pen. i get a package of bic pens in my stocking every christmas. crystal bics are the best. :)

Raine said...

Black or blue? Black for me.

Candy's daily Dandy said...

My daughter is a pen and pencil connesuier.(SP?)

She prefers mechanical pencils and has a 3.0 lead preference.

She also has the hots for three ring binders.
We tease her all the time.

Der Grexxie said...

Go Chaka! I favor pens even for crossword puzzles. Today I am using disposable pens with fountain penlike ink richness because fountain pens are not suitable to households with young children. I bet you can get up to 500 readers within the year too.

Beckalita said...

I actually got in trouble with a friend of mine the other day for writing with a red pen. Okay, so I love a red pen. She told me it was not feng shui. Whatever. I referred her to your previous post on that subject.

Cheree said...

So . . . what happened to your subliminal message post? I think it worked, because for some reason or other, I immediately wanted to follow your blog. Weird.

Unknown said...

I have to disagree with a previous comment about being left-handed. Sure, with a pen, you get ink all over your hand. But with a pencil you not only get lead all over your hand (and the way it somehow finds it's way onto every white substance you come in contact with is horrific), but it get's smeared all over your page as well. That is the reason I will always be a pen girl. Plus, you never have to sharpen a pen.

I appreciate the Robin-to-Batman simile. It's perfect. Robin is a whimp.

Lisa Loo said...

I take a BOLD stance for all the pencil lovers of the world. How's that for mixing it up? How about, Pencils are to pens like Mickey is to Donald.
That said, I do LOVE my quad "writing instrument" from Franklin Planner but there is nothing like a Ticondaroga #2 pencil, amen.

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