20 New Things: Buy and Learn to Use a Dip Pen

I said that some of the things on my list I've already done and some of them just won't happen. This is a combination of both factors.

I bought a set of dip pens while I was in Stratford-Upon-Avon. I went into one of the hundreds of Shakespeare gift shops in Stratford while waiting for the matinee of Romeo and Juliet to begin. I can't tell you how embarrassing it was to look around the shop and realize that I already owned about 80% of the store's contents. The stuffed Shakespeares, the action figures, the Much Ado About Nothing Post-It Notes, the Shakespearean Insult Gum, it was all there.

So I bought the one thing I did not yet own: Shakespeare themed dip pens.

The only problem is that I cannot find a bottle of ink anywhere in Amsterdam. The only art supply store in the whole city is like effing Diagon Alley. I cannot find it not matter how carefully I follow my map and directions.

So the whole "learning to write with a dip pen" part of this goal is going to be rolled over to next year's list as ink is a fairly crucial component to writing.