Notebook? Sketchbook?

"Traveler's Notebook" Cedar Park 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/100 sec, ISO3200
“Traveler’s Notebook” Cedar Park 2017

こんばんは。How’s it going?

So, I’ve been getting into the sketchbook/pen scene lately as you may have noticed, and while I love all the “stuff”, I was worried about actually using the items. For instance, now I have a nice notebook and fountain pen, but how will I use them? I mean, I like to use the computer to blog, so using the notebook to journal is redundant.

But then I thought I should just start just putting pen to paper and see what happens. Similar to the spirit of the video in the previous post, I decided not to worry too much about the quality of the content or even the subject matter, and just use the ink.

I’m still early in the notebook “journey”, but I like how it’s going. Basically, the ink has been used to sketch people, eyes, practice hiragana, and take a few notes. Sounds simple and maybe not very productive, but it’s fun and improves my well-being. So it’s worth it!

I hope you had a great day!

またね~

Ink up

"Sailor Ink Bottle" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/8, 1/10 sec, ISO3200
“Sailor Ink Bottle” Cedar Park, 2017

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Today’s photo is of my first ink bottle: Sailor “Souten”. It’s a beautiful blue color, but I don’t think I’ve been able to appreciate it fully yet because my Pilot Metropolitan fountain pen (medium nib) writes in a very fine line. So I’ve only been able to get a hint of what the color looks like. But soon I will have a second pen, a LAMY Safari, with a broad nib and then perhaps the ink will show its “true colors”. 😂

When I was growing up, we had a calligraphy set, which had a couple pens with different nibs and several different colors of ink cartridges. I used to love writing with the nib that would give a really thick line. I guess it was a broad nib, and I was expecting the Pilot Metropolitan pen to give a similar experience and line, but I was disappointed when it was very thin. Hopefully, the new LAMY will give the same line quality that I remember the old pen had. And back then, my favorite color was a turquoise/aqua, which was even more vibrant than the Souten. Would love to get something similar someday! I think it is like the “Yuki-Akari” ink in this image. I think it’s a nice color.

Anyways, the Pilot Metropolitan is a really nice pen, and the thin line is good for writing and sketching on the small passport-sized paper of my Traveler’s Notebook. I’m enjoying using it for practicing hiragana/katakana too!

I love fountain pens and my notebook!

I hope you had a great day.

おやすみ!

Trip to the Ballpark

"Representing" Arlington, 2017
Photo info: Motorola Moto G (4), 2.44mm, f/2.2, 1/620 sec, ISO64
“Representing” Arlington, 2017

Hello! Today, Koa and I drove up to Arlington to catch the Angels play the Rangers. I didn’t have any Angels gear to wear (in support of my brother and his favorite team) so I wore my Dodgers cap. 😀

I was excited to see future Hall-of-Famer Albert Pujols play, but it was a coincidence that Yu Darvish would be pitching for the Rangers. And we got a treat because Pujols cranked a line-drive homer to left field in the first! Other than that, Darvish pitched well, but the Rangers just couldn’t score any runs for him.

We had a good time, and it was worth the long 3-hour drive up to see a major league game.

Play ball!

"Darvish Today" Arlington, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/450 sec, ISO200
“Darvish Today” Arlington, 2017
"Down in Front!" Arlington, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/140 sec, ISO200
“Down in Front!” Arlington, 2017
"Pujols Homer" Arlington, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/680 sec, ISO200
“Pujols Homer” Arlington, 2017

Ramen and Wrong Shipment

"Tamago Transfer" Austin, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/30 sec, ISO3200
“Tamago Transfer” Austin, 2017

Hi there! So today, Koa and I treated ourselves to a Japanese lunch of sushi and ramen! It was so good… we haven’t had Japanese food in a while since Mariko and Bay left for Japan. In the photo above, you can see the “tamago transfer” where Koa gives me his hard-boiled egg. He doesn’t like them in his ramen, so I get double. 😁

In other news, I was eagerly expecting a new fountain pen to use with some blue ink I ordered. When I opened the package, the ink was there, but there was another strange-looking box. I knew I was buying a cheap Chinese pen from a suspicious Amazon.com seller, but I didn’t expect them to package it in box that says “MissKiss Eyelash”.

"Strange Box" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: Motorola Moto G (4), 3.64mm, f/2, 1/30 sec, ISO250
“Strange Box” Cedar Park, 2017

And when I opened the box, sure enough, it was a pair of fake eyelashes… 😠

"Fake Lashes" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: Motorola Moto G (4), 3.64mm, f/2, 1/30 sec, ISO320
“Fake Lashes” Cedar Park, 2017

So I left a poor rating for the seller on Amazon.com and returned the eyelashes. That Chinese pen non-transaction left a bad taste in my mouth… consequently, I’ll not be trying to reorder it, but instead go with another more reputable brand, from a less-suspicious seller.

I hope you had a good day!