Do you need a fancy pencil case?

Greetings. Wednesday 12 November 2025. 8.58am. It is a gloomy day from where I'm typing this. I wonder if it would rain? On the other hand, with no direct sunlight burning the skin, the weather is great for brisk walking or any outdoor exercise. 

According to the weather forecast, it is only suppose to rain from 5 - 6pm. Anyway, let's see. It is after all only a forecast. It is not accurate most of the time.  

I use to spend a decent amount on fancy stationary. Not that I use everything diligently. Most of the items go unused for years. This is human craving. Purchasing items out of want rather than necessity. Lucky me, I have kids in their teenage years and they had started using my stationary, so it gets used.

There is no doubt that those into stationary and fountain pens or even into arts, would ogle at a wonderfully piece of exquisitely crafted stationary. The smell of the leather, the tender soft touch of textured leather, the intricate embroidery, the masterfully crafted brass hardware, all reflected in the pinnacle of design. 

So begin my journey purchasing many of such bauhaus designs.

Unfortunately, it only recently dawned on me that some of these items, namely my pencil cases are not fully practical. It has flaws. 

Let me explain, my son has his SPM (Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia / GCSC) this year. I wanted to ensure that his stationary during the duration of the examination is complete, i.e. pencils, eraser, sharpener, pens, ruler and etc. So I took it upon myself to get this sorted out, in order to let him focus on just studying. During this excursion I went through many pencil cases or pencil boxes and settled for the most simple pencil case that my son got for free, as he holds the rank of XXX in his "koperasi sekolah".

Out of the many pencil cases or pencil boxes that I have, why did I settle for this? 

This is the very definition of a picture speaks a thousand words. Just looking at the pencil case and I can know exactly what is inside.

Do you know what is inside this? Well it is empty. But there is no way you can tell without opening it. The leather is thick and a bit heavy so pressing the case will not let you feel what's inside.

Although the leather is soft but just feeling or squeezing it from the outside, you will not know what actual stationary is inside. You will still need to open the zipper to find out. 

And, it has a major design flaw. See the big gap. My son complains many times that pens drops out through this gap. Mind you this has happened many times.        

Looking at this, even feeling it from the outside, can you guess what's inside?

Surprised?

Now do you understand why the best pencil case for this task was the free one.

So my advise to all readers and also a note to myself, be diligent in the future. Don't be swayed by looks. Focus on the task ahead and its practicality. It would save you from many unwanted purchases. Cheers.