Monday, March 30, 2009

Pencil Me In

When last we left our intrepid Sheepie, she was recovering from a two day search for the Perfect Pencil.  She found the one she sought, but questioned her purchase.  She then decided to snag another package of pencils which, while made by the same company, were slightly less expensive.  Both would accept the gi-normous .9 lead of which she is so fond, though.  She planned to test drive these writing instruments and see who won the prized spot as The Best Pencil Ever...or at least until the next "best one" comes along.

It is entirely possible that Sheepie has too much time on her hands, but we are not here to discuss that right now and I'll thank you to use your judgement for more important things like corporate corruption and kittens with big, sad eyes who need homes.

The pricier pencil had the advantage of being of durable construction.  It was also yellow and who doesn't love a yellow pencil?  They are so much harder to lose that way.  However, its diameter was skimpy and Sheepie likes her pencils on the fat side.  She would need to forever use this pencil with a sparkly, plastic gripper thingy which, while not necessarily a bad thing, doesn't always project the image of a Very Serious Writer Of Very Important Things.

The less expensive pencil was not as hefty as the first, in spite of it being more gifted with girth.  It did not come in yellow, but offered the writer the choice of a blue or black housing.  (The leads are the same color no matter what)  It also sported an eraser, something its vivid competitor did not.  I'm not married to the idea of an eraser, truth be told.  I actually don't erase when composing drafts longhand.  Sometimes the best stuff is the stuff you didn't appreciate the first time around.  It's kind of like yard sales...if you look hard enough you find treasures in the cast-offs. I cross out, but I almost never erase.  

Still, it was nice to be given the option to do so should the urge to wipe out my horrific misspellings overtake my creative rules...

In the end, I planned on keeping both pencils.  I did, after all, go to great lengths to obtain them.  But one was going to be the winner.  Would it be the luxury pencil, bright of hue and sturdy of make?  Or would it be the economy class pencil, forgiving of mistakes and rotund enough to make sparkly grippy things unnecessary?

It was a quandary.  But in the end, only one could claim victory.


It was the cheaper pencil who belted out that ululating victory cry.


I threw some knitting in there so that people wouldn't forget that this is still something of a knitting blog.  As you can plainly see, I knit several rounds while riding the little exercise bike today.  Plus it sort of provides a little bit of scale for the mighty pencil who has so thoroughly consumed my time for days and days on end.  

I seriously do need to examine my life a bit, I think.  It is certainly possible that I have lost just a little bit of perspective...

SA

14 comments:

Mouse said...

Did the winning pencil scream "there can be only one" while chopping the other one to bits?? No? Well.. that would have made it all the more entertaining. *sigh* apparently I need a life.

=Tamar said...

May the thicker pencil continue to win. My "telephone table pen" is there only because the barrel is so thick and grippy that it can't get casually shoved into a pocket. No, it grabs at the fabric and you can almost hear it screaming to be left by the telephone pad in peace. It has worked for years.

Kath said...

You know, I just love it when the less expensive thing turns out to be better than the expensive one. Somehow that just thrills me to the core of my cheap...errr...I mean "thrifty" soul.

verification word is "bingist". Yayyy - I think I should take that as a compliment and go eat more cookies!

Anonymous said...

I do believe that The Great Pencil Quest has exposed you as a geek of the first order. Only a geek would spend that much time and energy to get the perfect [fill in the blank]. I do not mean this as a criticism; I am a geek, as well. We geeks rule the world, or at least our little corners of it.

Diana said...

You may (or may not) be a pencil geek, but you definitely have taste when it comes to pencils. Your choice happens to be my favorite pencil in the world. Now you just have to hold onto it because as soon as anyone else tries it out it will magically disappear.

Knitting Linguist said...

Definitely not. Pencils are important. And actually, that's the exact same pencil that I have and love. I approve. Life would be very sad without very good pencils...

PICAdrienne said...

As a former accountant, I know my Pentel pencils. I believe if you pull off the silver cap at the non-business end of your more expensive pencil you will find an eraser hidden there, for huge emergencies. The former accountant in me still loves her Pentel, although mine was the black .5 mm version. Love the fine line for a nice, neat column of numbers.

Donna Lee said...

I have been searching for the perfect black pen. I used to get some made by RoseArt at the dollar (2 for a dollar!) and I loved them. They were dark and smooth and perfect. RoseArt stopped making them and the search begun. It seems like everytime I find one I can live with, the store stops carrying it. Pens are important tools!

Anne P said...

okay - THAT is a pencil. Capital "P" - Pencil. Nice.

Karen said...

It's nice to see the winner and the knitting.

Cursing Mama said...

I don't know - pencils are pretty important tools; I can't see any reason to think this has "gone too far"

sheep#100 said...

trek is reminded of Remy's self-introduction:

"This is me. I think it’s apparent I
need to rethink my life a little
bit. What’s my problem? First of
all-- I am a


Teacher Sheep

which means life is hard. And secondly-- I have a highly developed sense of

what consitutes a great pencil.

So what’s wrong with having highly developed senses?

Your blog readers start to wonder how it is that you can amuse us with three posts about pencils. :o)

Jeanne said...

I'm in harmony with the perfect pencil quest. For me, it's the perfect pen, and the perfect spiral-bound notebook. I love writing journals (in addition to blogs, I know!). I especially love writing by hand in college-ruled notebooks. My pen of choice is the Pil*t Better Retractable Fine Point Black 0.7mm pen. I've tried gels, medium points, and other brands, but none feel as right as my cheapo Pil*ts. As for the perfect notebook, Me*d (rhymes with weed) seems to have the nicest paperstock.

crzjane said...

Hooray for lack of prospective! It is really overrated.
I hope you have lots of fun with your new pencil. It looks really sharp.
Nice beginning of a sock there too.