Happy Holidays! Recapping Pens & Inks in 2021

Hello dear readers,

Happy holidays! I wanted to close out 2021 by sharing my feelings about the year (as well as provide a yearly pen update).

First off..the pens!

My collection remains modest, though I did give in and re-purchase my Aurora Demo from Capybara (a beloved friend). I also impulsively bought a Lamy Nexx <M> and will see how that fares for classes next semester. As always, the Pilot 823 is the workhorse for notes, whereas my Lamy 2000 remains my preferred pen for ink reviews.

Inks:

I haven’t strayed from my core inks: Pilot Iroshizuki Take-Sumi, Pilot Iroshizuku Kiri-Same, Montblanc Midnight Blue, and Taccia Ao-Guro Black. I would like to highlight some inks that I absolutely adored —

• Favorite blue: Montegrappa Harry Potter Ravenclaw Blue

• Favorite golden yellow: Color Traveler Ninoshima Baumkuchen

• Favorite pink: Robert Oster Sushi (toe-bean pink!)

• Favorite olive-green: PenBBS #224 Tolstoy

Keyboards:

In a few words, it’s been a roller-coaster ride. I had a brief foray into 40/45% keyboards (the Prime Elise remains one of the prettiest keyboards) and really enjoyed building an acrylic Prime_E from Prime Keyboards. I also tried a LOT of switches. Shockingly, I haven’t felt the urge (!) to purchase a new keyboard, and have settled on this beauty:

• Navy Maja with hot-swap PCB

• IFK Comfy keycaps

• TTC Bluish White switches (great tactility) // Gazzew U4 Boba 62g silent switches

Here are some (not all) of the keyboards I’ve built this year.

White CA66 with GMK Peach Blossom keycaps

PC Rukia with SA Bliss

Mint Portico with SA Dreameater keycaps

Grey Maja with GMK Kaiju keycaps

Realforce TKL with silent topre keycaps

Black Key65 with Taihao Pink Love keycaps

TFG Art Keyboard (TKL) with PBT Muted keycaps

Prime Elise with Kat Alpha keycaps

Medical School:

They say that the second year of medical school is the hardest, and to be frank, this past semester was tough. I was very stressed out with classes and adopted a “take every day one at a time” mentality. Additionally, the thought of boards looming overhead certainly added to the stress.

On a more positive note, I am trying to become more cognizant of my mental and physical health, and have started walking/jogging again. There’s something about being outside, and enjoying the fresh air, that is quite rejuvenating to the soul.

Conclusion/Upcoming News:

I’m very proud that this blog has managed to flourish! I plan to continue posting reviews twice weekly. In the next year, I would love to hit 1000 posts as well as entertain the idea of an email campaign. I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who reads this blog. Here’s to 2022, and happy holidays!