2015 Calendar, At-A-Glance Monthly

[mso489]

I schedule "my life" on a monthly calendar. I just log in five or six (at the most) daily appointments

or events. I don't want to keep an hourly or even weekly account; I want a look at a greater expanse

of time. I just bought next year's, the first one I've had with a red cover, ever I think. Nothing fancy,

no leather cover, but plenty of extra pages -- I tape in tickets from events, obits, photos, fortune cookie

slips, and all manner of items from the year's doings. It's part calendar, part diary and part journal. Notes

about pipes, tobaccos, and accessories woven in. This one's made by At-A-Glance; last year's was modeled

the same but was cheaper from Office Max. This one was about $25, which for an annual expense isn't too

bad. It lies open to the left of my computer. I try not to make too many other lists and/or schedules, though

sometimes I have lists of errands or shopping lists on small tags of paper in my wallet. Don't like post-it notes;

they proliferate.

 

[eightywon]

You know we just hit September right? Lol. To be honest though I've already thought about my 1st bowl of the upcoming new year, McC's 2015!

 

[instymp]

+1 MSO, been buying them for more years than many are here old. Paper doesn't crash. Can't be beat. You hit it on the head.

 

[mso489]

Just to explain, there are two reasons to get the calendar this early. Events are cropping up regularly now

for next year, so I can put them directly on the 2015 calendar, and if you don't get there to the display

rack early, you get what others have left. This red cover would have been long gone in two weeks, and

it would have been back to gray and black. A lot of teachers scoop up the calendars for the next teaching

year, etc. The "hard copy" format accommodates a lot of physical items like ticket stubs that wouldn't

store on a computer; you can come up with electronic material, but I like the "physical evidence." It's kind

of cool.

 

[ravkesef]

Great idea. I have one question: is it fountain pen friendly? I write mostly with a fountain pen, and I like to buy products that are fountain pen friendly so I don't have to switch to a ball point pen to make entries in my calendar.

 

[mso489]

ravkesef, about the calendars being fountain pen friendly, I enjoy writing with a fountain pen so

I am familiar with both mediums, ballpoint and fountain pen. My assessment, alas, is that though

this year's calendar, the OfficeMax brand, is slightly heavier paper than the more expensive

At-A-Glance, neither is heavy enough to absorb liquid ink. I'd almost bet they would soak through.

And this would be unacceptable because the pages are printed front and back for subsequent

months. I haven't seen a small desk calendar like I use in heavy enough stock to take liquid ink,

but that doesn't mean they don't exist. Because I've been in work that required a lot of taking notes,

at meetings and over the phone, etc., I've come to enjoy ballpoint, but I certainly understand the

more artful qualities of the fountain pen. Maybe you could get an outdated calendar and give it a try,

but it's not a hopeful prospect. I wish I had better news, or a better suggestion. You could run copies

of a 2015 calendar on appropriate paper, but it would be a small project.

 

[oklansas]

mso489,
As a fellow user of the fountain pen, I was wondering, what is the ink that you use?

 

[mso489]

oklansas, uh-oh, I'm in over my head. There are some real fountain pen people here on Forums, collectors

and pen repair hobbiests (maybe pros). My ink is something generic, maybe Carters, that comes in the little

beveled glass jars. It is not the quality ink. In ballpoint, I am stuck on Zebra pens that grip the page pretty

well and have a fine line without being faint. I haven't used my Mont Blanc fountain pen in ages. The novelist

Angela Davis (not the radical) said her dad asked her if she wanted a new computer for her birthday, and she

said, "But I asked for this," and she brandishes one of the high-end Mont Blanc pens. Great move.

 

[johnnyreb]

I have gotten to where I prefer an electronic calendar. It can sync both my business & personal calendars, set alarm reminders and send me emails on important dates & entries. And it can look out into the future longer than I care to!

 

[ravkesef]

Franklin Covey, Circa, and Filofax are all FP friendly.
As to my inks, I use a variety. The best black and Blue is made by Aurora--they make only the two colors, and the lubricity and color density are excellent. I have some JHerbin, Lamy--decent. Pilot has come out with a luxury line--Iroshizuku, and the color palette is truly magnificent. I have two of them and they wow me each time I use them. I also have several Noodler's inks--very good if you want an absolutely permanent ink.

 

[CherokeeBilly]

I want a fountain pen. could one of you make some suggestions to get started? I do leather work on the side and like to make journals etc and think it would be great to use a fountain pen in them.

 

[dochudson]

IMO this kit is a great place to start.. a solid Parker pen, cartridges, converter, ink. I've given this to several friends as a starter kit.

Parker Kit

 

[CherokeeBilly]

Cool, thanks Doc!

 

[oklansas]

I've got a Parker roller-ball, it's quite a nice pen. Parkers are good value.