Trying to Buy Locally

I like to support small and local businesses as much as I can, but it isn't always easy, or even possible.

Last week I needed a 22 millimeter wide watch strap. It's not the most common size (those would be 18 and 20 mm) but enough larger watches take them that they aren't that unusual either. I went to the Watch Hospital downtown on Bromfield Street. The spinning rack on the counter contained only the 18 and 20 straps, so when I was asked if I needed help, I said I was looking for a 22. The woman behind the counter said, "We don't have much," reached behind her, and placed a single strap in front of me.

I thought I might have misunderstood her. "This is all you have?" I asked, just to make sure. She said yes. I said thanks and left. I went home and ordered what I needed from an eBay seller I'd purchased from before, Holben's. They're out in Washington, but my order managed to get across the country to me, via first class mail, in two days. (They are currently closed, but I recommend them enthusiastically.)

Then I needed a blue refill for my Pentel EnerGel pen. I had to be downtown again today, so I stopped in at Bromfield Pen, down the block from the Watch Hospital. They don't carry the refills I needed. I walked over to Staples, where I bought the pen last summer. I found a rack with refills for many different brands of pens. I was starting to think they carried everything except what I needed, but then I found them down by the floor, and in two-packs, which is quite sensible.

My Pen!*

I bought a nice pen a couple of months ago. And by "nice" I don't mean a Montblanc or that sort of thing. I'm not really into fancy pens, I just really dislike the cheapo stick ballpoints. I found this one in a stationery store when we were in Santa Cruz; it's a Pentel and it takes regular gel-roller refills, but it has a nice, distinctive brushed metal barrel. It looks good and feels good when I hold it and write with it.

I was using it pretty regularly, and then a couple of weeks ago I misplaced it. It was right before a career workshop I was attending, and I quietly lamented having to use a lesser pen. On the morning of the workshop I got to Harvard Square very early, and I had time to go into the Staples there, where I found they also sell the pen, so I bought a replacement.

Naturally, a day or two later I found the original pen on my desk, stuck between some papers. I didn't necessarily mind, because when I bought the original pen I'd also bought a blue refill, so I swapped that in and now I have one with blue ink and one with black ink.

I really only bother to mention it because it's currently on sale at Staples (in stores only), and $6 is a pretty good deal for a pen with a metal body. I even thought about buying a couple more, as backups.

*Those of you of a certain age may remember this Kids In The Hall sketch, one of my favorites: