i'll explain my job later but today i want to share a list-serv item from work. there was a nation-wide request for town slogans. my coworker submitted one -- Hereford "Town without a Toothache" Texas. I asked why and he responded that there was a high amount of naturally-occurring fluoride in the local water. for some reason i found this fascinating and wanted to share.

pens and pencils are extremely important to people who have been through architecture school. with advancements in computer-aided drafting, i don' t know how much time colleges spend teaching hand-lettering these days but in my day...a semester was spent learning how to draft and provide uniform lettering. even now when i'm taking notes and come to a break, i'll letter the alphabet at the bottom of my page. it's a habit that comes from years of searching for the perfect lettering style. and although the learning process began with lead, you eventually moved onto ink, which opened up a whole new can of worms. once i left school, i found out that most architectural firms used all-caps but other than that...you had options. are the caps at a slant? are they squatty and round, or are they narrow and tall? you had the power to choose!

another powerful choice at my feet was pen/pencil selection. now...this has become an obsession that rules me. no nasty bic pen is going to cut it! no messy after-use ink build-up that you have to scrape off on the side of your paper! no, no, my friend...gel ink vs. felt tip, thin housing vs. thick, .5 vs. .7mm thickness...just the thought of the options excite me. and lest you think i'm insane, speak to anyone who has been through architecture school. ask them if they have a preference in pen-choice and i guarantee the answer will last, at minimum, 5 minutes.

what brings this to mind? i've started a new job and have access to a whole new drawer of pens. i just can't tell you what that means to me. and, it has already reunited me with old friends - the ROCKET family of pens! have you not seen, have you not heard of ROCKET pens? well, i used to have a thick green one that has long since passed on to a lesser place in the universe. but today...right at this very moment...i am the proud new owner of a red ROCKET F-6000 pen made right here in the US-of-A. it has a thinner appearance and line than my trusty old green one but it brings the same fluid satisfaction when used. it has a more compact design than the green one, and yet...still marks like a dream.

I changed offices this week and now have a lovely view of the historic church building next door. There is a small, shaded courtyard area between my building and the church, and people often stop (as I’m finding out) to sit at the courtyard picnic table for a rest.

The sidewalk of the courtyard is up against my building (and my office) and the picnic table is about 8 feet away from my window. The odd thing is that even though people are a short distance away from me, they rarely realize that a person (me) is just on the other side of the window. They stare off into space, laugh at the squirrels, etc. and all of this I see -- my desk faces the window. It’s no “Rear Window” but a girl can hope.

A man just came by and sat (facing me) at the bench of the table but he never looked up. He looked as though he using pencil and paper to figure something out. He stayed for about 20 minutes and probably never realized that I was on the other side of the window.

What I find funny about this is that after 10 minutes, I forgot he was there. All of the sudden I look up and see him…and wonder what I've been doing during that time. Have I been singing along to the music on my computer? Picking my teeth? What? What?

yet again, completely drawn into these shows. i rationalize the time spent by ironing while i watch or cleaning the pantry or paying bills...all activities that can be done with a clear view of the tv. tonight i will be watching deadliest catch and dusting the furniture in the living and dining room. really. everything will be lemony-fresh by 10pm.

so i walked to to the post office with my tax return envelope to ensure that i had the correct postage. the envelope says if you have less than 5 pages then your golden but i'm not quite comfortable assuming my return will make the journey.

one stamp was sufficient so i pull a strip of old-school flag stamps (that you must lick to adhere) from my wallet and proceed to lick and stick. the postwoman turns back to me and says, "you don't have to lick those." i respond, "well, i do; they are off a big roll that i bought here, and they have to be licked." she responds, "we don't sell those here, just the kind that stick, and you have to be careful that you don't tear off the sticky stuff."

okay, so this is where a normal person would think, this is the woman that will be responsible for getting your tax return into the right mail cart. not on the floor under it. or in the trash can by her desk. AGREE WITH HER!!!!

i say, "you have to lick these." she then picks at the stamp verifying that it is indeed fully adhered, or at least was until she picked at it. she then laughs and says, "oh, it sticks." i say, "thank you" and leave. april 9th, my friends - a personal record for me.