Another year draws to a close. It has been challenging professionally. We transitioned to outpatient clinic in July with 6 months to go. It was a struggle to define clinic boundaries (and not respond to patient messages outside of clinic hours). Burnout has been a shared experience with my coresidents.
Work bled into personal hobbies and I struggled with maintaining interest in fountain pens & inks. At times, I worried that transitioning to Blogger negatively impacted the website and its outreach (vs staying on Squarespace). Six or seven months passed before I finally had enough energy to pick up my Lamy 2000 and write.
On a positive note, once the writing started it did not stop. I purchased a Smythson Soho Weekly Journal and began journaling throughout the day. This greatly helped with my mental health. At the end of the day, physicians are people with emotions. Although we try to emphasize work-life balance, emotions can bleed into your personal life. The 'stream of consciousness' journaling helped address work-related anxieties (mainly before patient visits) and gave space for my own feelings and thoughts.
Another positive thing to share- I've fallen back in love with reading, and read 62 books this year! I started exploring sci-fi as well as fantasy novels. My personal favorites are - Relic and American Elsewhere.
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| Smythson paper with Pilot 912 <PO> and Monteverde Documental Black |
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As 2026 begins, as always, thank you to my dear readers. This blog has existed because of the fountain pen community and is funded primarily by my own savings (there are some reviews provided by ink manufacturers, but those are far and few between). I hope that this new year brings happiness and joy to you.
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