Editing The Pen Addict 301/transcript (section)

== Pen Use ==


'''Brad Dowdy:''' It's very individual dependent. I think the main way to answer the question is trying to understand what you want to do. How do you use your pens? Do you use your pens as a daily writer? Do you buy pens because you have a favorite brand and you collect them? Like I put in the show notes that me and you are the wrong people to ask. I was going to say, like, we are bad people to answer this question. But we're actually perfect people because we had a live follow-up question to that too, which I'll get to in a minute. So I would say, you know, and I don't want to speak for you, but I think I can in the case of Retro 51, Myke, Free Square, that you buy them for multiple reasons. You love the style. You love using them. Also, it's cool to have a collection of these really neat pens. And that's kind of how I look at it too. Like I don't quite have the Retro 51 problem that Myke has, but like I enjoy my Sailor pens, right? So I've already looked at this Ocean pen that we just talked about. I'm going to buy that pen, you know, if it turns out to be the color that I want it to be when I see it in person. And I have a billion other Sailor pens. I just enjoy it. And I enjoy getting that updated model. And I still use all my old models. So as long as I'm not buying pens to sit there and collect dust, I'm okay with owning multiple models. I actually have a harder time with that on the lower end now with, you know, like Safaris or Twisbees. You know, I don't collect all the colors of Lamy's. I don't collect all the colors of Twisbees because I don't use those pens as much anymore, right? I used to buy several. I used to buy, you know, one a year or something like that. Or, you know, if the Twisbee came out with a cool color, I would buy it. But I've stopped buying those completely because I don't use them anymore. So you have to understand the reasons, your personal reasons for making a purchase. For me, it's use. I'll buy multiple pens if I know I'm going to use them. From a Safari to an Akaya, it doesn't matter. So I don't think it's crazy as long as you're going to use them. I'm very adamant about spending your money wisely. And I don't want people to waste their money just because they think they have to catch them all, right? And I think that's very important when you're thinking about making a purchase. You know, I know a lot of people have gotten in trouble for buying too many pens. And that credit card bill comes. And I just hate that. It's certainly an unavoidable thing. And we walk a fine line from, like, collecting and spending and hobby and use and all these things. So it's really, you know, it's definitely a personal thing.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' And the way I look at it is from usability. If I'm going to use the pen, I'm going to be in. And sometimes I slip. Sometimes I slip up with purchases. You know, sometimes you get caught up in the moment. And the good thing about fountain pens is you can get out of some of your purchases, maybe at a small loss. You know, it's not like a total loss. You know, if you kind of get caught in the heat of the moment, you can. There is a pretty good resale market for fountain pens. But I never buy anything to actually, like, resell them on purpose. I'll buy it. And maybe it wasn't at the top of my list. And I'll use it for a while and decide, maybe it's not for me. And I can use that money elsewhere. You know, that's kind of how I go about it. Do you have anything to add to that before I go into the live follow-up to that question?

'''Myke Hurley:''' More of the same, really. Like, only buy what you can buy. But I'm totally on board with having a collection. Like, if you find a thing that you like, like a pen or a type of pen that you really like, why not buy more than one of them? You know what I mean? Like, I really love Retro 51s and Sailor pens. Like, I know I love them every time. So, if there is other styles of that same pen that I like, why not get more of them? Like, I don't consider it like a one-and-done situation.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Right. Right. So, yeah, there's a few pens that I do that with Sailor being the primary one for me. So, the follow-up is an important question as well. And we kind of alluded to some of it, but this is from KVerk on Twitter. Maybe talk about the addictive behavior of collecting stuff. How do you guys personally justify owning that many pens? How do you go against logic? P.S. I also have tons of pens and ink and can't justify them. So, I just don't think about it. So, I mean, I giggle, but we all go through this, right? This is addictive behaviors are not good in any way, shape, or form. And it's something I'm very careful on not promoting.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I'm not always the best at that. I certainly don't want to tell people to buy stuff. But the fact is we're in a hobby that costs money. So, it's a matter, we've always approached it from buy what you love and use what you buy. That's kind of always been our approach, our overarching theme on the blog and on the podcast. And when you see us in person, you know, I'm very concerned about addictive behaviors in purchasing. I don't want to see that ever. And I will try to squash that whenever I do. And I've had conversations with people that have gone overboard. And, you know, I don't want to ever, like, play into that behavior. We get caught up in the FOMO, the fear of missing out. And I used to be pretty bad about that a few years ago. Like, I was buying everything left and right. And then, you know, it got to a point where I realized that I'm not using the things I'm buying. So, I stopped buying as many things. But I'm also in a position where I get more things than just about anybody. And don't want to say, oh, you need all these things, you know, that I have. So, it's something I think about all the time. It's something I could probably do a better job of as well in just, you know, promoting the types of behaviors.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' And, you know, like Kayvork says, how do you go against logic, right? It's illogical when, you know, you're saying, like, buy all these things. And we very much try not to do that because you know better. It's a hobby, but you have to manage it. You have to understand your behavioral patterns. You have to understand your budget. You have to understand that this is not as important as food or shelter. You know, this is a fun thing that we do. And, you know, Myke can justify owning a billion Retro 51s because he loves them. And, you know, he loves them and, you know, he uses them. You know, I justify, you know, the three fountain pens I bought because I enjoy writing with them and putting ink in them and getting nibs modified and doing cool things to them.

'''Myke Hurley:''' So, we are both in situations where we can afford what we can buy and everyone is different. And you just have to be really, really mindful of that. Of course, this show is called The Pen Addict and it's called that for a reason because this is an addictive hobby like many hobbies are that involve purchases. But it doesn't have to be dangerous. It shouldn't be dangerous. And we definitely are mindful of that at all times.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, we definitely don't want to promote like crazy spending and, you know, not thinking about your purchases and not being useful and mindful about what you're doing. So, it's a great topic. You know, I love to talk about this thing because being in the position that I'm in, I could see how I could promote that unwittingly. Right? You know, I could just get trapped in like, look at this, look at this, look at this, look at this. And I mean, I understand that it's also my job, but I do try to meter and manage myself in that way. And I try to present things in that type of manner when I'm talking about things. And I'm definitely careful to not go overboard. Like, I don't, I really try not to over promote anything, even though I'm sure I've, you know, done it many times. And I could probably get an example from someone from yesterday. But I'm really careful about that. But I try to keep it, you know, fact-based and reality-based and usage-based and those type of things. So, it's a tough, it's a tough line sometimes. But I do really, really consider it because that's how I try to live my life. So, I want it to come through in my work and my hobbies as well. So, you know, and if anyone ever wants to talk about this stuff, hit me up on Twitter. You know, y'all know how to get me. And if you, you know, if you think you have an issue where you can't stop buying things, please talk to me. You know, I'll be glad to have a conversation. You know, it's a serious conversation. So, no judgments ever.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I did not complete a bingo card today.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I told you I had to put mine down or else I would cheat. My line is if you talk about another stationary podcast whilst crying.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I don't think that's going to happen today. Although, yeah, although we do have, I think we're going to hold Ask TPA for next week. I have a bunch and we'll add to more. But I am going to hit one so you can fill out your bingo card. Sarah from the BYOB podcast. See, there you go. Asked one very, well, two very important questions. These are running themes on the BYOB podcast. There's Team Cake and Team Pie. But we need to know other specifics, Myke. So, let's wrap it up on this. So, we have two questions. First one is waffles or pancakes?

'''Myke Hurley:''' Pancakes.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. So, it's pancakes for me. Unfortunately, the real answer is French toast. But between waffle and pancake, it's definitely pancake. So, I'm Team French toast if that's my choice. But it'll always be pancake greater than waffle. All right. On the ice cream front, Myke, this is a very important question. This is a challenge. This is harder than the previous question. Sugar cone, cake cone, or waffle cone?