Karen Foley
Lynn Raye Harris
Ellen Hartman
Diana Holquist
Samantha Hunter
Shirley Jump
Dee Tenorio
Jeannie Watt
Welcome Guest Blogger Susan Gable!
My (Shhhh! Secret!) Office Supply Fetish
Okay, so maybe it's not really a secret. Especially if you open the closet in my office. Or the drawers in my desk. Or the cupboard under my one bookshelf. Or peer into the mug on my other bookshelf.
I have a "thing" for office supplies. I'm pretty sure I share this trait with at least some other writers. A cool new pen? One with a squishy, comfortable grip? I am so there.
Spiral-bound notebooks on sale for just .10 each? Give me a few dollars worth of those babies! It doesn't matter that I already have a dozen at home, on a shelf in my office closet. They're notebooks, and they're ON SALE! Loose-leaf paper on sale for Back-to-School? I'll be stocking up.
On one recent trip to Staples, I found the coolest set of mini gel pens. Mini! They're so cute! And they write in really awesome colors! Fun!
My good friend and critique partner shares this obsession with me. As a treat for the publication of my new book (A Kid to the Rescue, and it will be out NEXT WEEK!) she sent me personalized purple Sharpies. They say A Kid to the Rescue, Susan Gable Feb '09. Does she know me well, or what? She also gave me, for Christmas, a tub from Staples that was filled with all sorts of various "holders" – from hand and star "paperclips" to multi-colored...ummm...doohickes – you know, those things that you use to bind a contest submission? Binder clips! (I confess, I cheated to find that word by looking in my desk drawer, where I have a container of those stashed as well.)
This is my idea of fun – Office Max sends me these great coupons once in a while. They're for $10 off any purchase of $10. So...I head to the store, coupon in hand, to find just what cool office supplies I can get, as close to $10 as I can. I mean, we're talking almost FREE office supplies! Does life get much better than that? The possibilities... new pens? New markers? Crayons? Paper? How about some business cards so I can make some little promo things for the new book?
Last time I needed colored file folders. I got a box of 100 for like .52! Nirvana!
I also like journals. And magazine storage boxes. (For my RWR's, and my Ninks, and my Pennwriter newsletters – I'm kinda glad some of those have gone to e-issues now – less clutter in my office!)
My cp also gave me a little label maker. I have embraced the find art of labeling. Mostly I use them for file folders, but I did find that it's great to label wires! Like, the cord for my iPod. The cord for my camera. The cord for my cell phone. The cord to charge my Bluetooth earpiece. We have too many cords today! The only way I can keep them straight is to label them with my cool label maker. (Available at your favorite office supply store. )
Are you an office supply junkie like me? Or do you think I'm off my rocker?
I have a new $10 coupon from Office Max. What would you buy?
I'm giving away a copy of my new book to a lucky commenter who is registered at Cigars. I'm going to let Sam do a drawing for the winner.
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Yay Susan!
Welcome here, Susan, and I am very happy to see this book cover, and to tell everyone that it was also an RT Top Pick!
As for office supplies, I used to work in a small office supply store, and it was fun. Not one of the chains, just a local place, which I don't think you see much of anymore...
I like them, too -- they are always so tempting when we visit the warehouse stores, and I like to buy packs of pens, legal pads, and I do like index cards, because I use them for bookmarks (I have bookmarks that I don't use as bookmarks, I use index cards. Don't ask me why...), and I like post-its of various kinds, especially theme ones, though I don't really use them, either, LOL.
So, if I had your coupon, I would probably buy tape and pens, because they are the two things that are always needed and always disappearing... and scissors. Can never have enough scissors in the house...
Sam
Tape and pens and scissors, oh my!
Oh, yeah, Sam, I have to agree with you about tape and scissors and pens. And you know, I have a ton of pens in the house, but my family always seems to steal my FAVORITE pen. As for tape - I hide some of that, otherwise when I need it, I can't find any.
And I try to have scissors all around the house. A pair in every room.
Susan Gable
A Kid to the Rescue - 4.5 Stars, Top Pick!
H Superromance - Feb 2009
I am a pen freak
Every once in a while I get $5 Border Bucks - so what do I buy? Pens. They're $2.99 but they have cool designs and colors. And then just to make my workday interesting - I coordinate the barrel color of the pen to my shirt! Crazy I know. But hey I have to make my workday somehow fun :)
I also LOVE pens with author names on them. If I see promo pens at an event - I'm a kid in the proverbial candy store.
And finally - someone else I know who buys the spiral bound notebooks. I have stacks!
Spiral Bound Notebook Lovers
Spiral Bound Notebook lovers of the world, UNITE!
Marcie, I recently bought some cool pens from Staples. They're called Delta Elite, and they have a cushioned, triangular grip. They're not cheap pens, but not crazy expensive, either. I think I paid like $3.99 or something, each, for them. Very comfortable!
Susan Gable
A Kid to the Rescue - 4.5 Stars, Top Pick!
H Superromance - Feb 2009
right now
I would buy printer ink and paper oh and notebook. I can't buy a big supply of things like pens and tape because I'll put them away until I need them and then can't find them, baffling. Every year at Christmas I'll buy a pack of four tape rolls, thinking I'll have them for next Christmas, but when I go to look for them (or even one maybe) they aren't there. I have a tendacy to use something and not put it back where it's supposed to go hence why I can't find tape and pens when I need. (I need a little filing cabinet beside desk.) I don't have drawers on desk so unless I want office supplies visible they need to be in a cabinet in bedroom. Scissors and the tape measure get lost a lot to.
Tape disappearing
See, Christa, the tape gremlins have invaded your house, too! It's like the socks that disappear mysteriously from the laundry.
I'm willing to bet, though, that unlike the socks (which will forever remain a mystery) the tape gremlins look like your family members, who FIND where you stash the tape and take it, and then you think that YOU'RE the one who lost it.
Tape measures, yeah! You can never find one when you need it, but if you don't need it, you'll find it laying around in some weird place. (I think I saw ours laying on the floor near my son's computer the other day. I don't think I want to know what he was measuring in his room. )
Susan Gable
A Kid to the Rescue - 4.5 Stars, Top Pick!
H Superromance - Feb 2009
Wish
I could blame other family members but I live alone so can only blame myself (sigh)
LOL!
That does narrow it donwn. Maybe it's the cat? Dog? Ghost who loves tape?
Susan Gable
A Kid to the Rescue - 4.5 Stars, Top Pick!
H Superromance - Feb 2009
no cat or dog
or any animal of any kind. And if there is a ghost hope his friendly and hunky LOL. No I think I've resigned myself that I'm absent minded.
Me too!
Oh, I am so glad I am not the only one who loves pens, sticky pads and paper clips. It takes all I have in me not to buy the bucket of clippy things. My kid is 4 and I think I have enough supplies to last him through college. Ah, it feels good to come clean. Should we start a support group?
What would I buy? I might have to get the bucket of clippy things. Oooh, maybe labels for the printer. Clear ones are the best. The gel pens sounded good, too. Yeah, I got it bad.
Oh!
I forgot clippy things... yes. I love those metal clips that come very small to very, very large, though most of the ones we have here now are from our academic days when we scarfed them from whatever source we could, LOL. They are great for holding open edges of bags together, like with 10X sugar, or chips, or whatever...
Sam
Susan's Office fetish
Go ahead and ask her about her huge Post-it notes she likes to take to workshops. It's giant.
Susan is a teacher at heart! She gets all quivery when she has the chance to make notes and let's not even start about exercises. Not a walk-the-dog or Wii Fit sort of exercise, but a "Ladies, take out a sheet of paper and try..." sort of exercise. LOL
Holly
www.HollyJacobs.com
ONCE UPON A VALENTINE'S, 2/09
EVERYTHING BUT A WEDDING, 12/08
LOL, Holly!
Holly, how did I know that you would bring up my GIANT post-it pad?
She forgot to tell you about the multi-colored markers I bought at the same time, to go WITH the giant post-it notepad.
We were giving this workshop -- and since I used to be a teacher, and I'm a visual learner myself, I like to have visual aids. So I bought this big pad -- and I love it because it's post-it, and I can tear off the sheet of paper and stick it to the wall.
And I write on it with different colored markers. lol.
Holly mocks me, but the people in the workshop who are visual learners LOVE it!
Susan Gable
A Kid to the Rescue - 4.5 Stars, Top Pick!
H Superromance - Feb 2009
what Holly fails to mention
is that for all who saw her desk at eharlequin, she is no slouch in the post-it department either.
Holly's Post-its
Christa, LOL Yeah, but my post-its are more about a fried memory than a love of office supplies. And you'll note, mine are normal sized Post-Its! LOL
Holly
www.HollyJacobs.com
ONCE UPON A VALENTINE'S, 2/09
EVERYTHING BUT A WEDDING, 12/08
Wooohoo Christa!
Ha, Christa burned you, Holl!
And listen, normal sized post-its would NOT work in a workshop/classroom-type setting. How could the people SEE that?
There's good reason my post-it pad was giant.
Susan Gable
A Kid to the Rescue - 4.5 Stars, Top Pick!
H Superromance - Feb 2009
Christa didn't burn me
She just mentioned a little leave-myself-notes quirk. I still maintain normal is well, normal. Your big ones are...well not so much!
But hey, I say it with love!
Holly
www.HollyJacobs.com
ONCE UPON A VALENTINE'S, 2/09
EVERYTHING BUT A WEDDING, 12/08
Susan's Secrets
Susan, I didn't want to give up all your secrets! LOL Yes, the colored markers...
This is another area where Susan and I differ! LOL
Holly
www.HollyJacobs.com
ONCE UPON A VALENTINE'S, 2/09
EVERYTHING BUT A WEDDING, 12/08
Office supplies for me too!
Even tho I don't need them for myself, and my kids are in college, I still tend to go overboard when they have the spiral notebooks for 8 cents and buy a box or two! I end up giving them to my neighbors' kids. I'm also pen crazy, I like the bigger round ones with the grip on them. Once when indulging my shopping for school supplies I ran across the neatest highlighter. It was almost like a pinwheel with a different color on each tip. I *had* to pick that up for my daughter!
For your DAUGHTER???
For your daughter? Uh, huh. Sure.
Look, the first step is admitting we have a problem. You must acknowledge your office supply fetish, and pining it on having to buy things for your daughter doesn't cut it.
(I think I have a highlighter like that, too. My kid got it from the local airport when he went on a tour with the boy scouts, and I stole it...I mean, he GAVE it to me. Oh, sigh, I guess that's not acknowledging my problem, is it? Okay, I took it from the kid. He doesn't use highlighters, he didn't NEED it. I NEEDED it. )
Susan Gable
A Kid to the Rescue - 4.5 Stars, Top Pick!
H Superromance - Feb 2009
I love pens and writing paper
I love pens that have more than one color in them so you can just click a new color into place. I haven't seen any of them lately and my last one bit the dust a while ago.
My really big weekness is stationary and since I don't write many letters nowadays I have all these beautiful boxes of matching sheets and envelopes and tons of writing pads with all kinds of pictures on them --flowers, cats dogs other animals etc.
I really try to stay away from back to school sales and office stores as I have enough supplies to keep me going for quite a while. I do think that pens and tape are always needed items.
Supplies
Well, Kaelee, you know, we have to be prepared. I mean, what if there's a CRISIS? What if the supply lines go down? Or there's a stationary store strike or something?
We, the office supply hoarders, will be able to write about the crisis. Or at least doodle while the world goes to heck in a handbasket.
Susan Gable
A Kid to the Rescue - 4.5 Stars, Top Pick!
H Superromance - Feb 2009
Office supplies
I am pretty bad for office supplies myself. I have a drawer it the kitchen that is full of pens and things. Also have pens laying all over the house.
Another junkie...
Hi, Susan!
I love office supplies, too, and I'm contributing by raising some more office supply lovers--whenever we pop in to one of those office supply stores, they each find a zillion things they'd love--rainbow colored pens, shiny new journals, gorgeous new binders, oodles of tape, and oh, the paper! We have to limit our trips since the house sometimes already resembles a store in a hurricane!
It's Genetic!
Not only do I have this affliction, but I've passed it on to my daughters!
For me, buying new notebooks and pens and binders symbolizes all the possiblities. The hope.
Everything is new and fresh, and those wide-open pages and virgin pens are just bursting with excitement to bear fruit from every idea that is waiting to gush forth from within my fevered brain.
Um...are we still talking about writing here?
http://www.dianaduncan.com
Symbolism
Hey Diana... uh-oh, we're getting into profound territory now... so my things are tape, clips, scissors and post-its...oh! and bins -- love bins to organize stuff.
Apparently I am a mass of contradiction, both separating and cutting things apart, and then needing to put them back together again, LOL. Hmmm... that sounds a lot like sewing, actually. *G*
Sam
Not so much any more...
When I was teaching I was the same way....if it was on sale I bought it, if it was cute I bought it.....if I had the remotest idea I could use it, I bought it....now I stay away from office supply stores and try to avoid the office/school supply aisles in stores....but......well......I'm not always successful.
The lure of the office supply aisle
Sometimes I even wander down the office supply aisle in my grocery store. Talk about getting a quick fix.
You can't stay away from them, they're everywhere. lol.
Susan Gable
A Kid to the Rescue - 4.5 Stars, Top Pick!
H Superromance - Feb 2009
Crayons & Paper
My kids love crayons!!!! I would buy crayons,legal pads and some pens for me! I love different pens to try out. If I had some money left to use I would buy me scissors. It seems like I never have a good pair of scissors around the house!
Cheryl
Hi Susan
Congratulatons on your new book! The problems with buying office supplies for me is that then I have to organize them but I do like shopping for them. I do like those Office Max coupons and how convenient that Office Max and Barnes and Noble are so close to each other.
Crayon Snob
Oooo, Maureen. Books AND office supplies. Life is good!
I love crayons myself. There's nothing more promising than a brand new box of crayons. (They must be Crayola crayons, though. I'm a crayon snob. LOL.)
I actually used a Crayola color chart to "cheat" in this book. Since the hero is an artist, I knew he'd be really specific when naming colors -- and I am so NOT an artist, despite my love of crayons, that I needed help with color names. So I found an online list of all the colors Crayola has ever used.
I also once went to the Crayola factory. :-)
I know, you are all green with envy. Hmmmm...asparagus green or forest green?
Susan Gable
A Kid to the Rescue - 4.5 Stars, Top Pick!
H Superromance - Feb 2009
Crayons
Susan, did the Crayola factory smell like new crayons?
http://www.dianaduncan.com
It did in the part where
It did in the part where they were demonstrating how crayons are made. :-)
It's not the "real" factory, it's a place where they have a demonstration factory, and they have lots of samples and activity centers for kids. It's in eastern PA. (The real factory is right around there, too. Who knew so many great things were in PA, huh? )
Susan Gable
A Kid to the Rescue - 4.5 Stars, Top Pick!
H Superromance - Feb 2009
Great cover, Susan! I don't
Great cover, Susan!
I don't buy very much at office supply stores.
Hi Susan! :)
Congratulations on your new release and your RT Top Pick!
Like most writers it seems, I'm addicted to office supplies. Going to Staples is a guilty pleasure for me, though I rarely buy because everything seems too expensive. Although I'll admit to spending like 7 bucks on clickable highlighters. LOL But I think I need to sign up on Office Max's mailing list if they send out coupons...Staples only sends me circulars! ;)
Cari
http://cariquinn.blogspot.com/
I too suffer from this affliction
Walking into an office supply store is almost too awesome for words.
Kim
wow
I feel like i just found a group of long lost sisters.
sister pen cleptos!
I absolutley love pens, and while i feel the need to scale back in my office and not buy as much stuff i cannot pass up the pen aisle anywhere It got so bad that when i worked at Office Max (Yes i know the mother ship of pens and paper) that when new pens would come in my friend in recieveing would bring them to me to see first just in case i wanted to buy a pack!
I had him trained right!
Office Max also helped me finish my first book, i'd write it on the computer in the copy department when i wasn't busy. the managers didnt care as long as i didnt yell at the customers for interrupting me.
Hey- i did that only once, and they were cool with it.
Anyway happy office supply fetish to everyone.
i think we should start a support group for the pen cleptos here.
later jody
Susan--Sorry I'm late
Susan--Sorry I'm late chiming in here. I just want to say welcome and I love office supplies, too. I also love reading your blogs and I can't wait to dive into A Kid To The Rescue. Our books aren't on the shelves here, yet, but maybe next week...
Jeannie
WINNER!
The winner of Susan's book is:
txlisabeth!
Congrats! If you send me your contact info at samhunter@samanthahunter.com, I'll pass it on to Susan. ;)
Thanks so much Susan, and everyone!
Sam