Re-falling in Love

In high school I used a cheap cartridge fountain pen for my personal writing.  I loved it dearly, carefully rinsing the nib between colors and carrying it with me everywhere I went.  Somewhere I have notebooks upon notebooks filled with my scrawl, made slightly more tolerable by the beauty of the ink.

The fountain pen even made it to college... until I left it by a computer in the main library.  I ran back ten minutes later and it was gone.  After a period of mourning and fruitless ebay searches I gave up.

Fast forward - I'm an adult.  I can budget for and buy the things I like, even if they're a little expensive.  A couple weeks of frugality later and I have this:

Lamy Al-Star in Purple

An absolutely gorgeous fountain pen.  It's not one of those crazy $100+ dollar ones, but it cost enough to feel like a luxury.

And what a luxury!  I got a converter to go with it so I can use any color or brand of bottled ink I like.  I got plain ol' black to start but I'm eyeing this mysterious purple.

My "me" handwriting - I use better in my letters!

Writing to penpals will be even more fun!  Next up - handmade envelopes.  Bwahaha.