Editing The Pen Addict 307/transcript (section)

== Ocean Pen ==


'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah. I'm keen to see what you think about the ocean, right? Cause like, I haven't seen it and I know that's the next king of pen. Um.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. Should only be another month or so. I think the pre-orders are out. I don't think they're actually stocked yet.

'''Myke Hurley:''' So like, you never know, right? The pictures I don't like, but maybe when I see it, I might change my mind. Right. But I, I, you know, it's like my original feeling about the king of pen. I thought when, when I first saw the king of pen, I thought it was the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen. Yep. Then I fell in love with the sailor. Then I used it and then that changed everything. So who knows? Right. I'm saying that the pictures that I've seen, um, of, of the, the ocean doesn't excite me, but it could just be a situation where it's not photographing. Right. Like who knows? You might be able to see right through that pen. I doubt it, but you might be able to, you know, like sometimes this stuff can be difficult. So we'll wait and see, but I'm pleased that you're on the, uh, tangerine chain train because it's a good one to be on. Yeah. Love that pen. Choo choo. Love that pen. All right. Let's talk about pen chalet, which is actually good because I think all of those sailor pens that we were just talking about, you can either buy right now or pre-order a pen chalet. So you want to, you want to get that 10% code, which I'm going to tell you about in just a second. And pen chalet sell all of the pens and all of the accessories that you want from all of your favorite brands. I mentioned they have sailor stuff or they have Kaveco stuff. They have Pelican stuff, Lamy stuff, pilot stuff, Namika stuff. They have all of it. They have fast and reliable customer service. They're always doing special discounts and closeout specials, and they're doing their best to make sure that they're adding new styles of pen every single month. I feel like if there's a new pen that I hear about, Ron's got it. Like, and not only has Ron got it, Ron's doing it at great price. Because that's what, that's what pen chalet believes.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. And of course the stormy sea is right on the front page. And that's just a beautiful pen and a beautiful picture. And you're like, yeah, I'm.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Pen chalet believes in those low prices on high quality pens, and they offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee to back it up along with very fast and reliable customer service. They sell internationally with great shipping rates. And if you're in the US, you can get free shipping on orders of over $50. I mean, and come on, how hard, how hard is that going to be? Over $50. I'm sure you could do it. Go to penchalet.com, P-E-N-C-H-A-L-E-T.com right now and click the podcast link at the top of the website. Enter the password penaddict for this week's special offer, and take out the code that you need to save 10% on anything at pen chalet. Our special offer this week is on the Fisher Space Pen Bullet Ballpoint in chrome, which is a really cool looking. This is the classic. This is the one that started it all, right? This is the kind of classic look. It's a great look. And I will mention again, Ron asked me too, but we did it already, that pen chalet has the Sailor Stormy Sea US exclusive colorway available right now, and there is a link in the show notes for that. But our special offer in the secret penaddict area this week is for the Fisher Space Pen in chrome. So go to penchalet.com, click the podcast link at the top of the website, enter the password penaddict, find those special deals, and get the code that you need to save 10% on anything at pen chalet. Our thanks to pen chalet for the continued support of this show and RelayFM.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So something else further down that list has caught my eye, and it's the pilot Stargazer. This is essentially the metal barrel gold nib version of the Prera. It's a really, really nice pen. I think, and I'm going to go off topic here because I don't know for a fact, but I think this pen's being discontinued. It's an amazing pen. This is a crazy price for a gold nib metal barrel pilot pen. I'm going to have to consider this one because I don't own one. I've always wanted one. I've never heard of it. It's the size of a Prera because it came in at a weird size and a weird price point. It's not as full length. It's a full length pen. But if anyone has used the Prera, you know that it's kind of a short pen until you post it. So that's what this kind of is. And when they came out, they were popular for a minute. But I think the price point got people in a weird spot. It's in that range where you have a lot of choice. Right now, it's in a spot where, I mean, it's in the no-brainer price range category for a gold nib pilot pen. And it feels different than any of their other pens in this range because it's a metal barrel instead of plastic barrel. So if you've been looking for Stargazer, if you're looking for your first gold nib pen, this is an awesome choice at a great price. So keep that in mind.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' All right. So this week, last week, recently, my good buddy, Matt Armstrong, decided to shut down the pen habit. Well, at least step away. I mean, he's retiring from the game, if you will, the blogging and video making. And I just wanted to tell Matt thank you for how great he's been over the years, for all the content he's provided us, for all the fun I've had with him at pen shows. And just wanted to tell him that I was proud of him for making the decision. I know it's not easy. Like, once you start doing this, it's weirdly not easy to stop doing it until you finally... Sometimes you reach a point. And Matt's reached that point quite a while ago. And I mentioned it in the members newsletter this weekend. Like, Matt's talked about doing this for a while in a private manner to some of us. And, you know, we support, obviously, every decision that he makes. And I think he's going to be, you know, happier and healthier. And he's excited about not doing it anymore. And I can appreciate that. So I just wanted to tell him thank you for all of his years of hard work, because it is really, really hard work, especially what he was doing with the quality of the videos that he was putting out. Holy cow. I mean, he put a lot of time and effort into it. So thank him for doing that. And for all of you other bloggers and writers and podcasters and video makers out there, you know, keep plugging away. Even on the days when you feel down, like, it's okay to step away and take a break. Don't kill yourself doing this. But if you love doing it, keep plugging away and then you'll figure out, like Matt did, maybe one day it's not for you anymore. And that's okay, too. Like, if you have to step away, that's totally okay. You know, when I was writing this up, I mentioned how unique this community is into where there's zero competition between people who blog and video and podcasts and people who are just people have been doing it for years and people just starting. Like, everyone appreciates everyone else. There's no competition between the top blogs or the top video makers or the top podcasts or anything like that. Everyone wants to see everyone else do well. And I think our community is unique in that. And, you know, I think our listenership and readers of all the blogs and, you know, and all the video watchers and podcast listeners, you know, understand that it's like the right type of people in the right type of community. And I'm just proud to be part of it. And I love what I do. I am. I'm not stopping anyone anytime soon. Like, I have to do this. Not because it makes me money, but because it's part of who I am. Like, I can't not do this. Right? Like, I physically cannot talk about pens. Well, if I'm gonna talk about pens, I'm gonna talk about them online and share what I do. So, I'm not stopping anytime soon. But I understand, you know, when Matt comes to this decision, it's not, it doesn't come about easy. And I totally respect that and love him and love what he did for this community and helping build it for all of us to enjoy. So, thank you, Matt.

'''Myke Hurley:''' This stuff's hard to stop. It's hard to stop.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' It really, you say that out loud. It is the absolute truth. People don't, who haven't ever done it don't understand. Well, just don't type that day. It doesn't work that way. Right? It's really hard to stop. And it's okay if you do. Right? I mean, don't, you know, overextend yourself. Don't make yourself miserable because you feel like you have to meet some criteria or quota. It's really hard to stop. So, just have honest conversations with yourself. Have honest conversations with people in the community. Ask for help. You know, don't do anything you don't want to do. Don't make your life miserable. Life's too short to deal with any of that type of negativity or, you know, breakdown in like your life situation. Things like that. So, yeah. I'm lucky to be in a place where I can do it. And I'm going to keep on doing it. And I'm going to keep on getting better and improving and love doing it. And I'm not stopping for the rest of my life. But, you know, not everyone's in the same situation. So, you have to look at your own situation like Matt did. And sometimes it's a super hard decision. Like, I literally, I started crying when I was watching Matt's video. So, there's a bingo square for y'all. I didn't actually cry on this show. But I did when I was watching this video. I was like, yeah, okay. Thanks, Matt.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I do just want to say something on this. Which is like you mentioned that you're never going to stop it. And like, this might just be in people's minds. And it is definitely worth addressing. Do you make money from it? And a lot of people don't. Yeah, I said that. I said that. You know? But I think it's just worth underscoring it. That like. This is my job. Exactly. Let's be perfectly clear. This is my job. So, it's easier for you to keep going. Because not only is it the thing that you love. This is the same for me. Not only is it the thing that you love. It's also the thing that puts food on your table. And when you have a job which is requiring your time. And you're also trying to do this thing on the side. Sometimes you just have to make the priority shift. And choose the things that are the most important. That you actually have to do. And then sometimes blogging or podcasting. Or making videos doesn't work for you. And I'm very much like this. Right? Like if I start a thing. And it's not working. And it's distracting me from the stuff that I need to do. If I don't think that there's a future in it. If I don't think that it's going to work for me. I will stop doing it. Right? Like I tried my hand at vlogging. And it was fun. And I enjoyed it. But I ultimately didn't think that it was going to get me what I wanted. So, I took some time. I thought about it. And decided that that wasn't for me. Right? Because it was distracting me from the more important things in my life. So, there you go. That's kind of my feeling. And I think we're definitely. Me and you are on the same lines of this. But I wanted to just mention. Like it's important to note. That like these decisions are easier to make. When you're actually in the case of it being part of what you do for a living.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Right. Right. Right. So, yeah. We could go back through like the entirety of our show. And we could do a whole podcast on like. You know. People like to hear us talk about like the business aspects. And sometimes it's hard to talk about. But we like being open and honest about that stuff. And like Chewbacca says in the chat room. I mean. Before it was my job. I stopped doing it for like three or four months. And then realized that I like. I couldn't quit it. Like this. I enjoy it too much. And then I came back with a vengeance. And you know. Two years later. That led me to quitting my job. Because I made it happen. And two years after that. We're sitting here talking today. So. You know. It's a. Yeah. It's something we could talk about forever. It's something we enjoy talking about. Hopefully. Give some insight. And help others who are interested in doing this type of thing. So. Yeah. It's. It's. It's always tough. And. You know. It's. Always the hard decisions to make. So.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah.