I had to throw out a pen just now, because it had run out.  Run out of ink.  Dry.  No more writing for you, lady.  It was with a mixture of annoyance and disbelief that I cast the useless piece of plastic into the bin.  In fact I couldn’t recall another time in my life where a pen had simply stopped working.

On further reflection, I realised that I must always lose my pens before they cease to be useful. Or they’re stolen more likely. Probably by the guy at work who’s too stingy to buy the good, fast flowing felt ones…or by the kids whose textas have all run out because they failed to put the lids on, for months.

I have a lovely relationship with pens, and an almost sick-bordering-on-sexual relationship with stationery shops. I’m starting to realise that I may be somehow unconsciously responsible for all those lost pens, just so I can walk into one of those mega-football-field-sized pen shops to get that delicious feeling of…I don’t know what really.  It’s just delicious.  And my pulse races a bit faster every time I do it.  And I feel satiated afterwards. I told you it was sick.

The walls of colourful ones are the best. Lined up with all their promise of potential creation. Eyeshadow shops have the same effect.  I have to hold myself back from eating all those colours, devouring them – even though I wear make-up twice a year and wouldn’t know the first thing about how to apply the stuff. I sometimes buy it just because I love the colour, then cast it into the makeup drawer with all the other unfortunate eye shadows that were unlucky enough for me to pick them up.  Or perhaps they’re the lazy ones, quite happy to sit, whole but basically unused for their entire lives.

But back to the pens…..where do they go?  Are they circulated around and around, lost and found until some unlucky one is stuck with it running out?  Do certain people always run out of ink? (I’m clearly not one of those).  Do people even use pens anymore? Have touch screens ‘disrupted’ the biro industry? Do styluses have the same problem?

Oh…..too many questions, not enough answers. Thank goodness this blog is not hand-written.