Christmas in September

My first Rhodia: Rhodia No. 10, from Exaclair's Bastille Day inks offer. Oh, sure, it's that small, and that's a regular teacup. :)

September has been another hectic and trying month for me. A lot of things went on at the same time, and all equally required the same attention and care from me. Ondoy and Pepeng came and went, we got flooded, and yet, there is so much for all of us to be thankful for. And here's my share.

First is this package of heavenly goodies from Exaclair. In July, I read from the Quo Vadis blog that Exaclair is offering J. Herbin blue and red inks as part of their Bastille Day offer. Though hesitant, I still signed up for the offer, but added that I'm in the Philippines and if they won't ship the items here, that's no problem. To my surprise, Exaclair's VP for Marketing, Karen Doherty, replied to me a few days later, saying that she has already sent me the inks and notebooks and that I should receive the package soon. I have to admit that I almost fell off my chair when I read that message. I got excited to see the notebooks, but more than excited to get my hands on the inks I requested: Bleu Pervenche and Rouge Opera. Oh, who wouldn't be?

J. Herbin inks from Exaclair: Rouge Opera and Bleu Pervenche.

And after the excitement came the painful wait. July went to mid-August. Then August ended. By early September, I lost hope and convinced myself to never trust the postal system again. It's simple: the package got lost or stolen along the way. And I was so embarrassed when I told Karen about it. Then again, she said that she will send me another set of goodies. Oh, wow.

Towards the end of September, I got a big surprise when our mailroom guy called me up even if it was after 5pm already, to let me know I got a package from Exaclair. Hurray!

Aside from the Rhodia No. 10 pad and the inks, Karen also sent me these wonderful notebooks. From left: Rhodia Pad No. 16, reporter-style Clairefontaine Basic pad, and wirebound Clairefontaine Basic. It's a surprise that all these goodies came intact...

... when this is where they all came from!

It's obvious that the package got wet somewhere, and it's a miracle the items inside were not destroyed, if for some minor damage on the notebook covers. But the J. Herbin catalog did not survive the water that seeped through the envelope. (Photo below.)

A week later, the second package was delivered to me.

This time, the envelope is intact, and all the notebooks inside are in pristine condition, including the inks and their boxes. I got a black 5x5 No. 10 Rhodia pad, a black 6x8¼ clothbound Clairefontaine Basics, Rhodia No. 16, a large Quo Vadis Habana notebook, and the same two J. Herbin ink colors I requested before. Great! I can't wait to tear the plastic off the Habana and try writing on all the notebooks. So far I've tried the No. 16 and it's just great! My reviews will trickle in beginning next week. :) Oh, the toy is one of my Tomica ChoroQs. :)


And then...

Right after the 2nd Carnival of Pen, Pencil and Paper was published, I sent an email to Marian Ong of Scribe Writing Essentials to inform her that my blogpost about the red Scribe journal I recently got made it to the top editor's choice. A few days later, a bag was delivered to me all the way from our Makati Office and here, behold, are the contents: all pure notebook goodness in red and black. The pen on top, is my Rotring Core Rubidium. I'll use the red large notebook for my fountain ink tests, the black one as a spare to follow my current journal. The Pocket notebooks will be used for my GTD stuff. But more on that later. :)

But the Christmasy feeling doesn't end there. In between the packages from Scribe and Exaclair, there is definitely more! :)

Sailor Kenshin, a fellow member of Fountain Pen Network was giving away some of his pens. I emailed him to ask for a burgundy Hero 616 and a Stypen. He sent the pens free of shipping charges, and suprised me when he included a mini Daiso fountain pen. Great guy. Cool gifts. When I emailed him to say thank you, I inquired about the pens he wanted to trade away. I don't know if I'm just lucky or what, but he said he'll send the two pens to me. So I got myself a clear/white Waterman Kultur and a red Pelikano Junior. What he doesn't know is that he gave me my first Waterman and my first Pelikan pens.

My Hero 616 with the Chinese Terracota Army

The Stypen with American Indians on the battlefield.

The mini Daiso fountain pen in Angkor Wat.

The Waterman Kultur in Anatolia, Turkey's Çatal Höyük

And the Pelikano Junior on an Aztec temple.

I'm overwhelmed! How can I fully say thank you to Karen, Marian, and Sailor Kenshin for all the goodies they sent me? My reviews of all these stuff will come next week, and I'm hoping that somehow, someday, I'll be able to return their kind gesture...