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I'm a seriously organized person: everything in its place, etc. As a consequence, I very rarely lose things. And as a result, I have managed to hold on to nearly every pen or pencil that has ever entered my possession. I still own about half a dozen fabulously neon and new-wave pencils that I bought from the notorious pencil machine that was installed into my elementary school in first grade, circa 1986. (Two for two quarters; some of them were shiny, and others even sniffy.) I have a mechanical pencil sharpener to keep them in top condition. Because when a pencil has traveled with you for over twenty years, how could you not maintain it properly?

But then there are the dozens of pens and pencils that I don't particularly prefer, and which don't have a history behind them. And after packing quart-sized baggies full of writing implements, I'm going to have to work harder to find them good homes. I've already been seeding extra pencils into the departmental copy room and sneaking spare pens onto the check-writing counters at the grocery store. As we move to Montréal, I shall have to continue my quest to become the Johnny Appleseed of writing utensils, spreading them across the land to benefit the population of North America.

Consider also the libraries (especially for those people who need to write down a call number), or the student union... perhaps even Freecycle so you're not taking more with you to Montreal than you need to.

How fun! You can leave some at a coffee shop, or other places that you visit regularly. That way you can leave a bit of you in all the places you want to remember.

You could always have a contest in your department to see who can guess the number of pencils in your jar (the winner gets the jar).

I laughed until I cried when reading this post, Katie. I can just picture you sneaking pens into the bank line. That will be the next movie by the guy who made Amelie.

This made me laugh until I cried. I can just picture you leaving pens all over town, Katie. It will be the next movie by the guy who did Amelie.

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