Hi, my name is Melinda. I’m an author and a pen addict. *waves*
My obsession started when I was in high school. At first, it was fun making notes in so many colors. History was purple. Math was green. Journalism was blue. Chemistry was red.
Then I went to college, and the same thing happened.
Next thing I knew, when I was out of college and back home, I had a drawer overflowing with pens. I’m talking 20 different orange pens, 15 different purples, 10 different pinks, etc..
To rectify my pen addict ways, I cleared out my pen stash and took two large Ziploc bags full of pens with me to work and gave them to a co-worker. Figured her daughter might want to start her own stash. ๐
So here I am, seven years later, and I’ve apparently relapsed. I haven’t accumulated as much as I had back then, but I’m *ahem* well on my way.
Oh! And I’m not just a pen addict, I’m a pen thief! If you let me borrow a pen and it’s a smooth talker? Keep an eye on it ’cause it might end up my purse. If I’m in the doctor’s office and I find a drug pen I like, it’s mine (I totally swiped one with Viagra written on it one time ๐ ). Don’t worry about your kids, I really don’t want them. I just wanna abduct your pens! ๐
Just to illustrate my addiction, here’s the stash at my office:



Here’s the stash in my back pack that I carry with me every day:

Here’s my stash at home:

Feeling Frenchy Today ๐

Hmmm … that’s actually not as bad as what I’ve been told. Or maybe I’m in denial?
Your turn! Are you a pen addict? How many pens are lying around in front of you right now? What about hiding in your drawers? Your bag? Your purse? Do we need to start a Pen Addicts Anonymous group? ๐
My addition is Post-It Notes and Post-It Flags. I especially love the Post-It pens and highlights that have flags built into the pen clip, I’ve actually bought a multi-pack of Post-It Highlighters w/Flags before just because they added a new lime green flag highlighter to that pack, and I’d never found the item before in green. I have tons of blue and black flag pens with all colors of flags–even polka dot. In highlighters w/flags I have the standard yellow, pink & blue, as well as the afore mentioned lime green and a neon orange. And don’t even get me started on the bigger notes and tab flags. I should have just bought stock in the company years ago.
LOL! I hear ya on the post-it note addiction! I might be “sorta” on my way to that one, but I’m trying to keep it from getting out of hand like the pens. ๐
Oooo, I haven’t seen the green highliter/flag pen! You may not be able to tell, but in the pick of the stash in my backpack, I’ve got the standard pink/blue/yellow flag/highlighter/pens in there. Those are so awesome to have with you at all times. ๐
Thank you for sharing your post-it note addiction! So amazing to know there are others out there like us. ๐
They come in handy for ‘child bribing’ too. I was in the middle of a booksigning event when a toddler leaned down out of mommy’s arms and scarfed up my signing pen–then started shrieking when we tried to take it back. I grabbed a blue highlighter/flag pen out of my purse and did the “hey! lookee here!” switcheroo and not only got my expensive pen back, but kept the mom from having a nervous breakdown–and best of all, the kid went away happy too. I’m not so sure about the mom’s walls once the family gets home though…
LOL! That’s awesome! Great thinking with good old the switcheroo. ๐
Iโm not so much a pen addict, but rather more of a pen snob. I love uni-ball pens with a fine point. I have them in a whole array of colors. I even buy them for my work because my office is too cheap. I find them stuffed in drawers, in old purses and all over my home office. I canโt help myself. I needs to have them.
Iโm addicted, however, to gardening gloves and spiral bound notebooks. I think own something like 30 pairs of gloves. My husband rolls his eyes every season when I bring a bag of them home. And in the fall, I stock up on the .40 and .50 notebooks at Target. Last year I bought over 30. I donโt have children.
Hi Buffy,
LOL! I completely understand the uni-ball pens. Those are some of the best pens I’ve ever owned. And it’s nice to know that they also prevent check fraud. ๐
Oh, I love that you shared your addiction to gloves and spiral bound notebooks. I hear ya on the notebooks, girl. How can you pass up an awesome back-to-school sale on those things? LOL! Sounds like they’re starting to pile-up like a TBR stack for you. Hey, as long as they’re eventually being used, it’s all good, right? I haven’t ventured into our garden yet, but I can imagine having different pairs of gloves is definitely a necessity. ๐ Yes, I’m an enabler. Haha…
Thank you for stopping by and sharing, Buffy!
I have a pretty paper addiction. Any paper that is unique in some way has to be added to my stash. I never use the pretty paper, though. I have to save it for something important! Maybe we should start stationary addicts, not just pens. Although, nice smooth pens have a habit of appearing in my purse. *smiles*
Melinda P.
Hi Melinda,
Ooo, pretty paper? I haven’t seen pretty papers in years. You’re exactly right about those–the occassion must be special in order to use those babies. I have some pens that are similar to that. Pretty golds and silvers that I can only use when I’m signing birthday/anniversay cards. ๐
Yes, we should just start a stationary addicts anonymous and it’ll include pens, notebooks, highlighters, post-it notes, and pretty paper/stationary. LOL! ๐
Thank you for stopping by and sharing, Melinda!
Oh I SO am. Not to be an enabler, but… have you tried PaperMate’s “InkJoy 100 1.0 M” pen? They write smoothly without being overly inky and they come in such pretty colors!! =)
Hi Annie,
LOL! No, you’re not an enabler at all. And no, I haven’t actually tried those particular pens. And no, I did not just Google them and discover that my local Office Depot has them in stock. ๐
Thank you for stopping by and commenting! ๐