As the Deer

I did small calligraphy project for a friend's birthday. I asked her what her favorite Scripture was and she wasn't sure. As I was running and meditating, the Song As the Deer written by Marty Nystrom kept "playing" in my head. So that was it, just the first 2 lines.

It is based on Psalm 42:1 in the Bible. I looked up the Scripture and found many translations. Who speaks like those people in the King James versioneth? But when written nicely on a nice sheet of paper, all of a sudden those "eths" "thuses" and "thees" start to look better than if written in the modern translations.

But in the King James, it is written "As the hart"...what's a hart? So I stuck to Marty's choice of words since it seemed more poetic.

I wasn't happy with the finished project, I never am. I look at how uneven my letters are. Sometimes there's a smudge. I form the letters incorrect. But if I keep trying to write a perfect piece I'll never ever finish anything. However if step back and take a look at the overall finished project. Not too shabby!

Besides that's the beauty of the human touch, the imperfections! Not perfect like a computer generated font filled inkjet printed word checked piece of "art" if you can call it that. I hope she likes it.

Happy Birthday Kim!

Just a Note to Say

I'm quite passionate about handwritten correspondence. I carry a fountain pen and some blank folding note cards from Papryus with me almost all the time. The plan was to write spontaneous handwritten notes when I'm out and about. Just to say thank you, or have a nice day. Nothing long-winded. I want to encourage people.

Never did!

Something bothers me and I know it's silly, I feel "funny" just thinking about it. How would it be accepted? Would a guy feel weird? Would a wahine think I'm trying to hit on her? I bet some people are not as enthusiastic about pens, paper and handwriting like I am.

No fancy script. No flexible nib though I'll use a fountain pen with character. I'll use fun ink colors.

What do you think?

Do I think too much?

Well this is...



Have a great day!

Old Man Winter

I can't believe I bought this bottle of Namiki Iroshizoku Fuyu-syogun last year and have only just now opened it.



Namiki also calls it "Old Man Winter". Now it's a gray ink, and Winters here in Hawaii are generally green, but I think I know why the association with gray and Winter. I had wanted to do this blog post during Winter but it just didn't happen, sorry it's a bit tardy!

When I ordered the ink from the Honolulu Pen Shop, I knew exactly which pen I would use. It's a gray vintage Waterman fountain pen with a decent flexible nib.



I'm not a pen person so I don't know the details about the pen, but I believe it is circa 1930s. I also have another vintage Waterman that really got me started writing the way I do. That's for another post!

Well I've recently learned to resac fountain pens and finally resacced this pen using a silicone sac instead of the normal latex. I also finally found the time to put a video together.



I'm new to creating videos so excuse the rather shaky quality of it. In fact this was the first time I used iMovie and was learning on the fly.

Oh and next time I may get a manicure before filming!

I'd like to thank D. Shoji Nakamoto for giving me permission to use the track Avalon from his album Field of Stones. I prefer not to use copyrighted music without permission and I also would like to try and support local artists especially since I'm a bit of a musician myself. Anyway if you're on Oahu, you can check D. Shoji Nakamoto out at a few of the Farmers Markets presented by the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation.



So I thank you for reading my blog, and until next time, I will always be...

Yours truly!

Yet Another Journal

I have written a post about how I like to "collect" journals a while back. Oh I intended to use them when I purchased them but almost never do. I do carry a Moleskine around with me, I guess that's my mobile journal. But I've longed to have one main journal that will stay at home for my thoughts and ideas.

I've been struggling with some lifestyle issues, that's why I haven't been blogging here (among a lot of other things) as often as I'd like to. Without going into detail, I have a bad habit that I've had for a long time and it is spiraling downward and getting worse. I've consulted with a life coach for the past 5 months to help get me out of this rut and get my life back in balance, but I'm still not there yet. However I feel that he has given me enough insight that I can work my way out of this, and I believe and hope that journaling will help!

So I found myself again at Barnes and Noble looking for yet another journal.



There were a lot of nice ones. I was looking for one with a pen loop but there were none. Then I decided to splurge and get a leather covered journal made in Italy. I opened and looked at a few, and this one stood out so I bought it!



What I really liked about this particular journal are the deckle edge pages. Well they're not real deckle edges but perhaps, faux deckle edges. Still it stood out and caught my interest!



I think this mark shows that it is Fabriano paper or journal insert, but I'm not 100% sure.



Of course now I have to "pair" a pen to it. I was not about to buy a new pen but instead choose one from my existing collection. Here is where I stuggle, do I write in a nice hand, or do I just write and focus on composition? It should be a no brainer since I'm the only one who will read the journal so it doesn't mater how it looks.

If I wanted to write in a nice script I would choose a nice vintage flexible nib fountain pen. But for me to write in a nice script, I need to have proper posture, preferably sit at a desk, and also I have a hard time writing (actually lettering) on a surace that is not flat. This will discourage me from writing and move my focus toward "lettering" and away from composition.

So writing in a nice script is out!

Now do I want to use a ballpoint pen? I can write "pretty nice" with a good ballpoint pen...but didn't I just decide not to try and make it look nice? Besides there is no character, no feeling, no "sabao" when writing with a ballpoint or rollerball pen.

Fountain pen it is! I love big fat pens. I thought about it and decided to use my Mont Blanc 149 and ink it with Mont Blanc Oyster Grey ink.



I just love the Mont Blanc ink bottles!



I wanted to secure the pen to the journal, that's why I was looking for one with a pen loop. I was hoping I could secure the pen under the closure strap, but there is simply no way the 149 would fit.



I tried a bunch other pens, even the "skinny" ones and none fit.

Then I remembered I had bought pen holders from a craft fair last year with the intention of giving them away as Christmas gifts...



...it never happened!

So I may as well use them, I won't be able to secure the pen to the journal but at least it'll be protected in a nice cover. I thought they were simple pouches to cover pens, I hadn't opened the packaging until now and I was floored when I saw the entire product.



A perfect fit!



Have you ever noticed that when you write something down, there's a pretty good chance that it will get done?


Many years ago I read a book titled Put Your Heart on Paper by Henriette Anne Klauser. There was a chapter titled "Write It Down: Make It Happen". I see now she has an entire book with that title. Well I just purchased that book and add it to my little library of "make you feel good" books!

Anyway hopefully for now, I am on my journey to the life I want to live!



Oh by the way, when I was at the cashier paying for my journal, I saw this, it looked so cool and even came with a small pen. I just had to buy it!



Sigh...yet another journal!

The Art of Coffee

I try to keep this blog about art, and today I'm doing a post about the art of coffee! I've been hearing about a coffee shop on Twitter named Beach Bum Cafe in Downtown Honolulu. I love coffee and everything about coffee so I really wanted to check it out. I rarely venture into downtown, but since my wife wanted to go to nearby Chinatown, I had her drop me off and I went looking for Beach Bum Cafe,

I found Beach Bum Cafe. Here's the window in front, nothing fancy.



I walked in and was greeted by owner Dennis McQuoid.



Very nice clean open space.



There were two customers seated enjoying their coffee. I overheard that one of them drove over all the way from Kailua, Oahu just for the coffee there. That may not be far in miles especially for non Hawaii people reading this, but it is pretty far by Hawaii standards. Not just the distance but having to drive up and through the Ko`oloau Mountains to get to Honolulu

I asked Dennis to select my coffee, kind of like asking a sommelier to choose your wine. By the way I don't drink!

He suggested Red Caturra.



I also let him choose how my coffee was to be brewed and he suggested brewing with a vaccum pot. I've heard of this but have never actually experienced it. Pretty cool stuff!









I had to savor the finished brew in a paper cup because I still needed to walk over and meet my family in Chinatown. My first impression was that it was very smooth. But after I left and finished my cup, I realized that it tasted like any other cup of good coffee. I confirmed what I already knew that I am not a coffee expert, connoisseur, aficionado, etc. I don't experience fancy stuff like finish, fruity, etc like those wine experts.

It was good coffee, but I did not get the "thunder and lightning with angelic choir singing" experience I thought I would.

I then realized that because I love coffee so much, I almost always drink good coffee. No Folgers instant coffee or Sanka from a bottle. I always buy good quality coffee, and prepare it in the best of my abilities. Out and about I try to choose good brewed coffee preferably from independent "coffee houses" rather than the big box places. But heck even McDonalds here serves a Hawaiian blend coffee. So experiencing a good quality microbrewed coffee was not too much beyond my ordinary cup of coffee.

It was then that I had the revelation I needed. This what is meant in the proverbial "Focus on the journey not the destination". Oh the end product, a good cup of coffee, is important and I would say is the goal or destination. But I realize now that I also enjoy the journey of preparing or choosing the best brewed retail cup of coffee as much if not more than I enjoy drinking it. I love the term "from the bean to the cup".

I won't roast my own beans, but I'll purchase the best roasted beans I can find, and there are a lot of good roasters of Hawaiian Coffee here.

I may look into organic coffee.

I will look into better storage for my beans so they stay as fresh as possible.

I will grind only the amount of beans I need at a time. After talking to Dennis I will now look into a burr grinder and get rid of my blade grinder.

I will also weigh my beans instead of using that little scoop.

I currently use a French Press but I will look into a pour over brewer for a change of pace. Yes I love coffee toys!

I even have coffee music to listen to as I savor my cup of coffee.



I plan to go back to Beach Bum Cafe and try some good Espresso from this impressive Italian Espresso machine.





These coffee tampers remind me of the wax seals I use to seal my letters.



Shamefully I have reverted to the use of a Keurig K-Cup brewer for convenience, it does brew pretty good coffee! But from now on when I do have the time to prepare a really good cup of coffee, I will enjoy the prepping of my coffee just as much as drinking the coffee itself. From choosing the roasted beans to storing them properly to measuring and grinding to brewing...

I will enjoy the journey!

My First Time and a Pleasant Surprise

This is the first time I have replaced the ink sac on a vintage fountain pen.

So what did you think I was talking about???

I am not a "pen person", I'm a pen fancier and user. I don't know much about the pens I own, most were chosen and all maintained by a late friend. When I needed a pen resacced I would just hand him the pen and he'd fix it for free. Well he's been gone for over 3 years now and all of my lever fill fountain pens do not work and I did not know how to replace the ink sac.

I had to do something so I got advice from some Twitter pen friends and a local pen collector. I bought a bunch of new sacs and some tools and materials I need to resac a pen. So here I go...

I have 2 old fountain pens that I kinda forgot where I got them from. But I believe I found them when my wife's grandparents were moving out of their large home in Nu`uanu into a 2 bedroom apartment in an assisted living facility. I assumed they were inexpensive Sheaffers.

So I took them apart. I didn't take any pictures because I didn't think I was going to blog about this. I did take a picture with my iPhone when I broke the vent tube inside of the old sac.



I removed the left over section of the tube and reinserted the longer broken piece. I don't even know if this pen could write, I was primarily learning to resac a pen.

Anyway I cut off the old sac and cleaned the barrel, applied shellac and installed a new latex sac. It was not as easy as I thought it would be, it took some doing but I got the new sac on. I was going to make a joke about another latex product procedure that this reminded me of but I so won't go there!



When I was polishing the pen I noticed that it was an Eversharp and not a Sheaffer.



I looked at the nib with a loupe and found that the nib is 14k solid gold.



After letting the shellac dry overnight I filled it with Private Reserve Cosmic Cobalt.

And here was my pleasant suprise!

There was nice amount of flex to the nib and it wrote really smooth and soft. It's not a fine nib so it doesn't have the line variations I like, but it's a really nice writer.



This is a nice pen I can use to write, not letter or do "calligraphy". If I can write without worrying about ascenders, descenders, ovals, etc...I hope the words will flow from the writer in me on to the paper!

Being that it was Kung Kung's pen, I think there's a bit of mana with it too!

Two of My Favorite Things, Bikes and Pens

I started this blog to write primarily about pens and writing. I got started on Twitter primarily because of bicycling. Lance Armstrong was the very first person I followed. After seeing a blog post by a Twitter friend in Sweden @lady_dandelion "pairing" her yellow Lamy Safari to her yellow bicycle... I thought, I can do that!

But I have a bike with a carbon fiber frame! Well I have a pen with a carbon fiber body, it's a Retro 51 Roller Ball. I prefer fountain pens and bought the pen simply because of the carbon fiber. There are carbon fiber fountain pens but I haven't pursued one yet. My main road bike is a Giant OCR C3.



I have a black and white Scott Speedster road bike. I paired it with my Mont Blanc 149 fountain pen!



I have a yellow Specialized Hardrock mountain bike I keep mainly to ride with my sons. I had a yellow Lamy that I was not using and gave it up for adoption and is now in a good home. But I do have a yellow Aurora fountain pen to pair with the Specialized.







On a side note I got this non stick yellow covered saucepan for cooking hot cereal. A vacation buy from Ross and yes, Rachel Ray!



Ahem...


Check out Lady Dandelion's blog, she takes a lot of nice pictures on her rides. Something I'm too lazy to do!

Oh that Aurora has a steel nib and is filled wth Private Reserve Orange Crush. I bought it because I was told there is a bit of flex in the nib even though it's steel. I got into a Twitter discussion once with someone who said there are no flex steel nibs. There is some flex in this one...



Just not as soft and cushy as a nice vintage solid gold nib...much like the soft feathery ride on a carbon fiber road bike!