A Disappointment

No, this isn't a commentary on the State of the Union.  Joe hasn't started speaking yet.  

No, this is a commentary on the sad state of the stationary department in Target.

Yes, I went into Target.  I needed a picture frame and pens; it was the store that had them both and was open at 9:15am.  It's been upgraded since my last visit.  The aisles are wider and it seems like there are fewer options.  I had to ask for directions to the picture frames, of which there were none worth buying.  

I searched out the writing implements.  I found them    There was no way to test them, no small white pad of paper and a variety of tied to a console pens.  How was I to choose?  

Understand that I write a lot - transferring thoughts to paper by moving a marker over paper, not depressing buttons..... although even there I need just the right keyboard to feel fully at ease.  I have a lot of requirements, starting with no leaking and ending with how it works on a coated piece of stationary.  I

I was attracted by a lot of the packaging, and was glad to see that the pretty pencil box was also the least expensive alternative that met my needs.  The pens were a different story.  The hand feel and the ink flow and the color of the (always) blue on the paper - these are things that cannot be determined by looking through plastic.

I chose these.  Medium point, blue ink, click top so useful when only one hand is available, all at a low price.  I took a chance.  I made a mistake.

 

This is the most uncomfortable writing implement every invented.  

The square padded finger rest felt like it was correcting my grip.  I was taught how to hold a pen.  There is nothing wrong with my grip.  The edges kept poking into my fingers' tender inner flesh.  No matter how I tried, it never felt right.  

Plus, right out of the packaging, it was blotting the paper.  

I'm going back to Target in the morning with my receipt and my request to exchange the pens, only one used, and then only to fill in five or six answers in a crossword puzzle.  Then I'll go next door to Office Depot and see if I fare any better. 

I'll keep you posted.