Another Nemosine and a Free Pen!

Tags

amazon, goldspot, jinhao 599a, marketfair stationery, nemosine, singularity, waterman

Way back in January of this year I received two pens in the mail from Amazon. I had placed an order for a Nemosine Singuarity in brown, with a medium nib, and the vendor had sent along a free pen as a “Thanks for Your Business” gift. I wrote about it in this Journal Writing Wednesday post from January 13, and I’m finally getting round to the post!

The vendor was Marketfair Stationery and I had no idea that they were Goldspot pens until I opened the package. Apparently Goldspot was giving away Jinhao 599a pens during the holiday season as thank you gifts. I received a blue demonstrator model, with a fine nib I suspect (it’s not marked).

The pen looks like an homage to the Lamy Safari. The translucency is a nice touch.

Here it is uncapped. The section has flattened sides, which again brings to mind the Lamy Safari. I prefer this one, as it is not as pronounced and seems to fit my hand better. The cap has a black liner for the nib to fit into when capped.

Here’s a closeup of the nib. There is a Goldspot “g” stamped on it but no size anywhere; certainly no “F” that I could find. The barrel is also stamped “goldspot”. The pen came with a cartridge converter and it wrote very quickly after inking. No skips so far so ink flow seems fine. Pretty amazing for a free pen!

And now for the writing sample.

I wrote this in my Rhodia lined pad, and the ink I used was Waterman Serenity Blue. The nib was pretty smooth, with a bit of toothiness. I’m very pleased with this pen. I’d been wanting to order one from ebay so this was a most pleasant surprise from Goldspot.

So that was the free gift that came with my purchase: another Nemosine Singularity, but this time in brown and silver with a medium nib. This is my second Singularity; I wrote about the first in this post, the blue marble finish with a broad nib. I wanted to try the medium nib and I love brown pens, so I ordered it from Amazon on Boxing Day.

This Singularity came with the same box and cartridges as the blue marble one.

Here it is uncapped. The finish is a flat lacquered brown, a little plain as compared to its blue marble cousin.

Once again we see the Nemosine nib, with the distinctive butterfly pattern.

Here is the writing sample with the Nemosine medium, and a comparison between the medium and broad nibs. The medium nib leans more toward fine than medium, in my opinion. There isn’t a huge difference between the broad and medium nibs, at least in this writing sample. The ink in the broad is Waterman Mysterious Blue and the ink in the medium is Waterman Absolute Brown. Both pens wrote instantly after being inked, with no skips or hard starts. Nemosine continues to impress me with its quality.

All three pens are excellent writers, and I would not hesitate to recommend all three as inexpensive every day pens.

Parker Urban in Metallic Brown

Tags

amazon, parker urban, warehouse deals

I was browsing Amazon, as I often do, looking at pens. I came across the Parker Urban in the metallic brown finish, and it was $65, which is the average price for an Urban. But then I noticed a box at the bottom right, under the Wish List box, that said Compare Offers on Amazon. There was another box that said Warehouse Deals and it said Want to buy this pen for $30? See our Warehouse Deal. So I clicked on it and sure enough there was one available, but it was “used”. I googled “Amazon Warehouse Deals” and it said these deals were a part of Amazon that “specializes in offering great deals on returned, warehouse-damaged, used or refurbished products that are in good condition but do not meet Amazon’s rigorous standards as new.”

I had never seen this before so I did some more research. Generally people have had good experiences with these deals so I ordered it. It arrived just as quickly as any other Amazon order, and the pen box was only slightly torn at the corner. The pen itself looked to be in perfect condition. I inked it up and it wrote beautifully. 🙂

I love Parker Urbans. This is my third; in this post I talk about the blue one my dad bought me, and in this post I talk about the Urban gift set I bought from Amazon. I had to have this brown metallic one, because of the great price, but also because the finish reminds me of chocolate ice cream. Also the lines on the barrel give it a science fiction kind of feel, for me, for some reason.

Here it is uncapped.

Absolutely nothing wrong with the nib. And it writes beautifully.

Here’s a writing sample on Rhodia paper. Black was the only choice of ink, given the black clip, rings and section. A black nib would have been amazing.

And here are the three Urbans together.

So that’s my happy experience with Amazon Warehouse Deals. Anyone else have experience with this service? Let me know in the comments.

Happy journaling everyone.

 

 

Parker Premier Luxury Brown PGT

Tags

amazon, parker premier, parkerpens.net, rose gold, waterman absolute brown

I was not planning on buying this pen. But after Christmas come Boxing Day sales and David and I were sitting on the couch, drinking our tea before breakfast and trying to decide where to spend our Christmas Amazon gift cards (thank you to everyone who gave them to us). The possibilities were endless but I decided to limit my searching to Boxing Day sales on fountain pens. And the Parker Premier Luxury Brown PGT flashed on my screen and I fell instantly and irrevocably in love.

It was a beautiful pen: rose gold with brown accents, solid gold 18kt gold nib, on sale for $200. The ad on Amazon said MSRP was $625, so this was an exceptional deal. Except I didn’t believe that price at first. I thought Amazon might be inflating the suggested MSRP to illustrate how great their sale price was. But after visiting seven different online pen retailers who carry this pen, I saw that $625 was indeed the going rate. And I had a couple of gift cards, making my outlay very modest indeed for this pink and brown beauty. I own three Parkers already and am very happy with their performance, so it wasn’t like I was gambling on a new brand, just a new model. With David’s encouragement I pressed the Add to Cart button. It arrived on January 4.

The black lacquer Parker gift box.

The pen was lying on a black velvet tray, which is removable via the black ribbon. The pen was wrapped in a black, heavy, canvas-like pen sleeve.

And with the protective pen sleeve removed. Isn’t it just stunning? The material on the body is described in the 2015 catalogue as “matte brown soft touch lacquer with a rubber effect and reinterpreted iconic chiselled pattern. Complemented with pink gold finish trims and an 18K solid gold nib covered with pink gold finish.” My pictures don’t do it justice; you can see the catalogue here. There are 20 different models available in the Premier collection. It was introduced in 1983.

Underneath the tray we find a Parker booklet, an official number, a box of five black Quink cartridges and a polishing cloth. I use the polishing cloth a lot; I find the section especially prone to fingerprints. In the booklet I found an interesting safety tip: Caps can obstruct breathing. Keep out of mouth. As if anyone would CHEW (!) on the end of this pen! I certainly hope not.

The pen measures 140 mm capped, and 156 mm posted. The end cap and the finial are the same material, with no embellishment on the flat surface. The band at the end of the cap says Parker on one side and France on the other. And strangely, there is no date symbol. I had read on parkerpens.net that every Parker has a date stamp, and my other Parker models confirm this. But this one doesn’t. Or at least not one that I can see. I even wrote to the gentleman who maintains the parkerpens.net website and he was stumped too. I plan on contacting the Parker company; perhaps they will be able to explain the lack of a date stamp.

And uncapped. The section is 11 mm wide, which is my preferred width. There are two sets of ridges but the fingers  lay between them on the smooth part of the section. It posts very securely, without any damage to the barrel finish (at least so far).

The nib is where this pen really shines. I chose a medium nib, which is my preferred size.

Very art deco isn’t it? There is no breather hole and it is stamped Parker 18KT-750 on the bottom.

I inked it up with Waterman’s Absolute Brown and I think it is a really good match. Even though it came with the Quink Black cartridges I prefer bottled ink and as far as I know Parker doesn’t make a brown ink. The pen came equipped with a standard converter.

 

It writes very smoothly, just what you would expect from an 18KT nib. The section is slightly slippery so I feel my fingers moving down but then they hit the ridges and it’s ok. Very pleasant writing experience. The pen is very well balanced. It has a good weight without tiring the hand while writing. Above you can see a writing sample on Tomoe River paper.

I usually leave the pen at home although I have taken it to work to show friends. It is a very expensive pen, the most expensive I own at the moment, and I am anxious about losing it. I love the Art Deco feel to the pen, as if it came from the set of an Agatha Christie film featuring Hercule Poirot in the 1940s. Even though this pen wasn’t on my radar I am so happy I stumbled upon it, and so very grateful that I could add it to my collection.

Journal Writing Wednesday: 7 pages

Tags

amazon, bazaar of bad dreams, black friday, cake, cross aventura, franklin covey, jennifer aniston, julia cameron, reese witherspoon, staples, stephen king, the artist's way, wild

What I’m currently using: the Paperblanks Blue Filigree journal, Winnable Executive Journal, the Seven Seas Writer, and the Franklin Christoph Notebook.

Total pages written since this post (Nov 25): 7

Total pages to date since project inception (Dec 11/13): 1389

Total pages written in 2015: 549

I’ve been using my Delta Journal and loving it, but finding it SO difficult to not post it. I am a poster but the cap on this one is a very tight fit when posted so I really don’t want to damage the resin. I will keep trying. I will announce the pen for January on December 30.

Purchases: I’m gearing up for my post on my second visit to Scotsdale Pen and Knife, so that will probably go up on Sunday. But this week I happened to be in Staples and I bought a Franklin Covey fountain pen. I will review that one soon too. More on the pen below.

Some points covered this week in my journals:

• Black Friday has come and gone for another year. I stayed away from all malls and stores but I did spend a bit on Amazon. I bought quite a few Christmas presents but yes some things for myself as well. Stephen King’s book, The Bazaar of Bad Dreams, was on sale for $10 in hardcover so I grabbed one. And I finally pulled the trigger on The Artist’s Way book and workbook by Julia Cameron, as they were in a sale bundle for $30. And then a few things for the house….Yes I may have been slightly carried away by it all, especially the lightning deals in which you had only 10 minutes to check out or it would be lost forever. I’m such a sucker for things like that. I had to forcibly close the browser and do something distracting. Craziness!
• We are consolidating floors at work and next Friday we have to be all packed up for a move over the weekend. Only one floor but there is a lot to do. Big changes and some people are losing their minds. Change is not popular! I like my new area but it is very different. Change is good for the soul so bring it on!
• As I mentioned above I bought a black and silver Franklin Covey pen at Staples. Christmas is the only time Staples has nice pens. My local one had two fountains: the Franklin Covey and the Cross Aventura. The Franklin Covey was on sale for $19.99 so I bought one. The Aventura was $44 so I passed. A surprisingly good writer. Review to come.
• I finally watched the film Wild with Reese Witherspoon. I much preferred Jennifer Aniston’s Cake. I thought Aniston’s performance drastically outshone Witherspoon’s. I had forgotten that one of the reasons she goes on the long hike is to come to terms with her mother’s death. I had a hard time watching it. It’s been 15 years since my mother passed but those feelings never really go away, they just get easier to handle. The scenery is amazing though. And the Blu Ray I got out of the library had a little booklet with a message from Cheryl Strayed, the author of the book the movie is based on. It was like a liner note from a CD. Very cool. But I didn’t like the movie all that much.

Until next post, happy writing!

Nemosine Singularity in Blue Marble

Tags

amazon, blue marble, fission, mysterious blue, nemosine, neutrino, singularity, waterman

My beautiful niece gave me an Amazon gift card for my birthday and not surprisingly I bought a pen. I’ve been looking for a broad nibbed cartridge-converter pen and the Nemosine Singularity ticked those boxes. I ordered one in the Blue Marble finish.

Nemosine (nee-moss-sen-eee) is a Taiwanese company and these pens have a good reputation in the community, at least as far as I have researched. I read online reviews and I watched a few YouTube videos and really it was the footage of the Blue Marble that sold me on this particular finish. It is also available in Aqua Blue, Aqua Demonstrator, Blueberry, Cardinal, Clear Demonstrator, Granite, Green, Ivory, Magenta Demonstrator, Magenta, Pink, Velvet Black, Walnut, White, Black and Coral, according to the Nemosine website. On Amazon I did find a Black Marble finish as well. The Blue Marble finish is gorgeous and has such dimension for this price point: $38.66 + $7.54 for shipping.

This gives you some idea but I also took the same shot with my flash on. Not sure if I like it better or not but I’m including it here to give you a better idea of the real-life colour of this pen.

It’s a true royal blue with chrome accents. The resin body is lightweight (86 g) and the pen measures 14 x 2.9 x 1.8 cm.

Here is a close-up of the broad nib. I love the detail. It kind of looks like a stylized butterfly to me, with an N at the top and a B (for broad) at the bottom. There are 6 nib sizes available: Extra Fine, Fine, Medium, Broad, 0.6 and 0.8, which is a pleasant surprise for a pen that retails for less than $40. The box says the “precision nib” is made in Germany, while the pen body is made in Taiwan, and the pen is “inspected and packaged in USA.”

I actually find the box really interesting, and most other reviewers commented on it too. It’s just a plain white rectangular box, with Nemosine Fountain Pens on the front. But you’ll notice in the bottom left corner of the box a series of dots and dashes. I read that this is actually Morse code so I searched for a morse code translator and typed in the sequence. It returned a single word: MEMORY. Others have theorized that this is a nod to the alternate spelling: Mnemosyne, in Greek mythology, is the personification of memory and the mother of the nine muses. Pretty cool stuff for a fountain pen!

The other side of the box is pretty darn interesting too. So much info on a pen box! I think this is unique in fountain pen-dom. We see the nib info, the pen body info and where it was inspected and packaged. We also see a confirmation of the nib size ordered, and the initials of the person who installed it! Seriously how cool is that? CS or GS or maybe even SS took the time to write their initials on my box after installing a broad nib. To me that speaks volumes about the company and how much they care about their product. And further to that, check out this 3 year perfection warranty from their website:

We’re positive that you’re going to absolutely love our pens and that they’ll continue to perform with the precision and consistency that you expect with your daily writing instrument. Every one of our pens includes an unconditional 3 year warranty on the ink flow, from converter to nib, even if the issue was caused by user error. If within 3 years you have any flow issues with your Nemosine fountain pen, return it to us along with $5 to cover testing, labor, and return postage… we’ll fix up and return your pen, guaranteeing that you’ll enjoy your pen for years to come!

* A single unit can be returned to us a maximum of 3 times within 3 years (to ensure that new part replacement is not abused.)
** To forego a bunch of fancy legal jargon, we must reserve the right to rescind our warranty offer at any time, at our sole discretion, without notice. We certainly don’t foresee any chance of resorting to this kind of action… but instead of paying a lawyer buckets of money to state the same thing within 3 pages of legal jargon, we figured we’d just protect ourselves by saying it outright.

This knocks my socks off. I can return this pen 3 times in 3 years if the pen stops working, even if I cause the problem! That’s customer service people. I even doubt that paying considerably more for a pen would ensure such an amazing guarantee. And I bet they can offer it because they very rarely have to honour it. Outstanding.

And there is just one more thing to say about the box: it contains 6 cartridges. Yes, 6. Icing on the already terrific cake.

A quick comparison with some of my other pens.

I inked it up with Waterman Mysterious Blue and started writing. I have to say the nib is super smooth – like writing on glass. And each time I uncap it starts up immediately. No priming needed. It posts securely as well, and almost too securely as it squeaks when I try to move the cap. I’m nervous the resin may crack. I just have to be gentle with it.

The broad nib puts down a slightly thicker line than the average medium – not much, but enough to be noticeable. I like my medium, broad and italic nibs for their ink showcasing abilities. My writing gets bigger in proportion to the size of the nib! But that’s ok – fill up the journal faster LOL

In only two spots did the ink hiccup a smidge on the downstroke of my Ts.

Overall I’m really pleased with the pen and would not hesitate to recommend it. They also offer the Fission and the Neutrino, which are more expensive but only by a little and are also metal-bodied. And with the myriad choices for the Singularity you’re sure to find something you like. 🙂

Guided Journals

Tags

amazon, be yourself, catharine sutker, matthew mckay, notes to self, self-esteem guided journal, studio oh!

Last Sunday David and I went to Inglewood (an artsy neighborhood here in Calgary) and I went to a store moving sale; Suzi Q Beads is moving into another artsy neighborhood and they had 20% off all of their stationery. So I picked up a couple journals of the self-guided variety. And recently I bought a self-esteem guided journal on Amazon so I thought I would throw that in here too.

The Notes to Self and the Be Yourself journals are published by Studio Oh!. The Self-Esteem Guided Journal is published by Raincoast Books. Both of the Studio Oh! journals are fun and a trifle tongue-in-cheek, whereas the Self-Esteem journal is quite serious.

Self-guided journals are fantastic for those who might have trouble finding things to talk about in their journals (the number one reason people stop keeping a journal). They are also good for those of us who prefer to stick to the surface in our journals, never delving too deep into our emotional minefield. These journals are designed to get you thinking and working through some heavy stuff, sometimes in a light-hearted way like with the Studio Oh! journals, and sometimes in a more serious and directed way, like the Self-Esteem journal. All have value for spiritual and emotional growth and can really liven up your writing by kick-starting you creatively. I often start to write in the space allotted in these journals and then end up with 10 pages in my day-to-day journal. They make you think!!

The Notes to Self journal has a definite nod to dating and the single woman. This layout on the very first page doesn’t really pertain to me at all; I married the one that would have been categorized as the “one that got away”. But the illustrations and the message behind this journal prompt are great; don’t dwell on missed opportunities and try to see them in a different and perhaps more realistic light.

This one I could sink my teeth into. We all need to stop beating ourselves up about something. Positive reinforcement all the way.

The Be Yourself journal has a similar look and feel. This is one of the first layouts you see. Great quote and great message: learn from our mistakes. Our mistakes and/or “bad” decisions are what makes us who we are today.

Another great quote with a beautiful illustration. We might think the things we love to do are wasting time but they have value and are an important grounding factor in our lives. Celebrate wasting time! I really love this journal.

As I said previously the Self-Esteem Guided Journal is a lot more serious than the other two. The authors, Matthew McKay and Catharine Sutker, encourage you to commit to their 10-week program to enhance your self-esteem and discover new truths about yourself. No matter how healthy you may be emotionally there is definitely some work here to be done for everyone.

An overview of the program:

This ten-week program begins with a week practicing and journaling about nonjudgement – regarding everything from people in the news to your own behavior. Weeks two and three will focus on discovering your strengths and redefining weaknesses. Weeks four and five will review your past and how if affects your self-esteem. During week six we will clarify your deepest values and explore the ways you act on them. Week seven focuses on the impact of your thoughts. The Buddha said: “Nothing does more damage than our own unwise thoughts.” You will learn and practice six specific ways to change judgments that destroy self-esteem. Week eight will focus on how to hold to your truth and stand up for yourself. In week nine you will explore and journal about experiences with your self-esteem Achilles heel. Week ten will create daily opportunities to experience your worth and will be a launching pad for your future journal activities.

Here is a sample journal activity:

There is a fairly large amount of space for you to write; the lined bit continues onto the next page and covers the entire page.

And another sample:

I particularly like this journal prompt as I will be talking about journaling ha ha! And writing in general, like this blog or poetry or short stories. It is so important to find something we are passionate about; we must do it for our souls, whether it makes money or not, whether other people approve or not. It is a necessity our souls demand.

I’m excited to work through these journals. I will try to share entries as appropriate. All three of these journals are available on Amazon. 🙂

Purple Ink, Black Pen

Tags

amazon, aubergine, de atramentis, ebay, goulet pens, jetpens, pentel slicci multipen, pilot coleto multipen, tokyo pen shop

So as promised, here is my post on my new Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto Multipen. And my new bottle of ink arrived this week so I will talk about that too.

I have been a Coleto pen lover for some time. The earliest post tagged with “Pilot Coleto Multipen” is from Sept 2013. And the love continues because I’m still using these pens, almost every day.

The Pilot Coleto Multipens are available in a number of styles. I prefer the “standard body” which can hold 3, 4 or 5 ink refills. For a really great explanation of the different body types available watch The Tokyo Pen Shop’s excellent video here. The bodies and refills are available at Tokyo Pen Shop, Amazon, JetPens and ebay. There may be others but ebay is still the cheapest option for me. I buy from a seller in Japan and I look forward to her beautiful packaging almost as much as I do the pens and refills.

The 5-barrel Coletos are available in 5 colours: Silver, Pink, Black, Blue and White. I have 3 so far: Silver, Black and Blue. I do plan on adding the Pink and White when the budget allows. With shipping and exchange the cost of each 5-barrel with 5 refills is around $20.

There are 17 refills available, in a range of colours and tip sizes. Two of the refills include a mechanical pencil and a stylus. The tip sizes come in 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5. I find the 0.3 very scratchy, but the 0.4 and 0.5 are just right. My 5-barrel Coletos all have the 0.5 tip size refills. Each refill shows the tip size on the side of the coloured fin at the top of the pen.

The writing experience with these pens is wonderful. They are very smooth writers and the ink is very bright.

I selected the ink colours for this new black Coleto to match the colours I use in my World Mail Panel notebook. Previously I had been using 2 Slicci pens, because they are only available in a 3-barrel version, and I use 5 colours in that particular notebook. You can see in the photo below how bright the Coleto inks are compared to the Slicci inks (the top two entries were written with Slicci pens; the next two with the black Coleto).

I have watched a number of YouTube videos and read many reviews where people complain about the life of the refills, that they run out very quickly. I have not found that to be the case with mine. I do not use them at work, nor do I use them to journal. But I do use them for my planner and my World Mail Panel notebook as I mentioned. I have not had to replace a refill yet. I highly recommend these pens if you are looking for a multipen with lots of options.

And now on to my new bottle of ink. I loved the Mystery Ink game on FP Geeks so much I had to buy a bottle once the name was revealed. So I hopped on to the Goulet site and ordered a bottle of De Atramentis Aubergine. If you want a more detailed ink review see the Mystery Ink link above.

It arrived as always floating in a sea of bubble wrap, and I enjoyed the wee tootsie pop as my afternoon snack. Then I added the new member of the family to my ink journal, complete with purple swab.

So there you have it folks, a couple of my recent purchases. They won’t be the last! 🙂

Spencerian Penmanship and Pilot Frixion

Tags

amazon, mott media, pentel slicci multipen, pilot frixion, spencerian penmanship

I’ve often admired other people’s handwriting. I’ve tried to make my own legible, and some have commented that they like it. But I’ve always thought it could be better. And I envy those who are able to add flourishes and loops that make their handwriting look SO COOL. To that end I recently ordered Mott Media’s Spencerian System of Practical Penmanship from Amazon. And they arrived on Friday.

The original edition of this system was published in 1874. In 1985 Mott Media reissued the original from their fragile state. The book is intended for children learning how to write, of course, but also for adults who want to improve their handwriting. I’m sure this is the system I learned in elementary school although I don’t think we used this book in particular.

The original text has been unchanged except where needed (changing the spelling of hight to height) and is quite serious about posture and sitting in a desk properly, as well as using your inkstand correctly. I’m really excited to start practicing my letters.

These 5 numbered books are the copy books, where the letters and numbers are practiced. Each book focuses on a different area: book 1 introduces the short letters, book 2 adds some of the tall letters (like t and d) and the numbers 1 to 9, book 3 completes the lower case alphabet and introduces most of the capitals, book 4 completes the capitals, and book 5 presents sentences and sayings for writing practice.

Truth be told I fell in love with the covers of these copy books. Look at that detail! Just breathtaking.

Here’s a shot of the inside of one of the practice books.  That’s a lot of practicing. But you would be an expert by the end of the book. Can’t wait to get started!

In addition to these books I ordered a set of 8 Pilot Frixion Ball Erasable Gel Roller pens, along with a set of 3 Erasable Highlighters.

I’m coming late to the party with these pens, as there have been a lot of reviews and talk about these pens/highlighters. They do the job as advertised and they are fun to use.

Here are the pens, in their various colours. Very smooth, nice writers. Bright colours.

And  here is the same writing with a few letters erased. In some instances you can still see the ghost of the letters but I think that was more a problem of me not applying the eraser long enough, rather than a failure of the ink to erase.

I really like these pens, especially for use in my planner, where space is limited and I like to be neat and tidy. My only complaint is that the eraser tip is covered by the pen cap when I post the cap, which I like to do when I write. I have to undo the posting in order to erase. A small complaint but I did find it annoying.

I also ordered three erasable highlighters, in pink, yellow and orange.

I was less impressed with these. In the writing sample above I made the mistake of using erasable pen underneath the erasable highlighter, so everything went when I applied the eraser tip! And you can still see the ghost of the word and highlighting that was erased. In the 4th example I used one of my Slicci multipens and probably applied the highlighter too early; the words smudged. And the smudging is revealed in all its glory when the highlighter is erased. But this system is good if you are a die hard devotee of colour coding and a mistake is discovered. I wanted to try them but I doubt I will erase any highlight I apply. I suppose it is nice to have the option, again to keep things nice and tidy in my planner. I could always apply highlight to those items on my To Do List that are not yet done, and remove the highlight when they are completed.

So there you have it – my latest order from Amazon. The shipping date was originally listed as mid-March; so nice to get things early. If you have any experience with any of these items please let me know in the comments.

World Mail Panel Journal Update

Tags

amazon, andrews + blaine ltd., doctors without borders, jottbook, leuchtturm, paypal, postage stamps, world mail panel

In my post of April 7, 2014 I discussed my involvement with World Mail Panel Postal Surveys. I am still processing surveys for them and I’ve had to start a new journal. So I thought I would share some pages from the old journal and introduce you to the new one.

Both the old and new journals are Leuchtturm Jottbooks in purple. The first one was a lined jottbook, approximately 5.8″ (15 cm) x 3.5″ (9 cm), and lasted from March 2014 to the first week of Jan 2015. The second one is grid, approximately 8.25″ (20.75 cm) x 5.75″ (14.5 cm) in size. Because of the bigger size I’m thinking the second one will last a good long time.

One of the great things about this program is, obviously, receiving mail from all over the world. And of course said mail have stamps from their countries of origin. I really enjoy the variety of stamps I’ve received so far and I started putting them into the journal, once the suggested retaining time for each survey has expired.

***

Countries so far: USA, Sweden, United Arab Emirates, Japan, France, Hungary, China, Spain, Britain, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and, most recently, South Africa and New Zealand. I was delighted to see on the New Zealand postal stamp: From Middle Earth New Zealand. 🙂

In the new journal I’m putting the stamps at the back, with the intention of working my way backward. Eventually I will meet the recording pages and have to start a new notebook.

These are the recording pages. As each retaining time expires I cross out the entry, stick the stamp in my journal if it’s new, and throw the survey out. As each survey comes in, I record info on their website and then I record the number, id code, when it was received, how long I have to keep it, the transponder number, and the date of the postmark in my journal. Since I don’t keep the stamp with the entry I should probably start recording the country of origin as well. Most of the surveys come from the US.

So far I’ve never been contacted about a past survey. And I am not required to record the info in a notebook but sometimes when a bunch of suveys come in I like to have a paper record so I can keep track of those I have entered on the website and those I have not. And if a transponder goes missing (which hasn’t happened with mine as far as I know) I will have a record of when I sent it back to them.

This is where I keep the envelopes for returning the transponders, and on the left is a transponder awaiting a mate for its return trip.

I keep each survey in this expanding folder from Andrews and Blaine. I attached tabs for each month.

World Mail Panel pays me $15 a month to process their surveys. There are a variety of gift cards to choose from (I like Amazon), or you can choose to have a payment made to your PayPal account (I’ve done that too). You can also donate the money to Doctors Without Borders. It’s fun, easy and quick. You can read more about the program and register if you like at this link.

One final note: World Mail Panel sends me return envelopes with the postage already attached. I had not seen a $5 Canadian stamp before – isn’t it cool?? The owls are cute too but I LOVE the moose! 🙂