Every so often, a conversation starter pops up about “if you were transported to the Middle Ages, what would you miss?” The logical answers get all the attention: plumbing, HVAC, antibiotics, Deep Woods Off. But for a long time, my offbeat answer was the ballpoint pen.

This is less true now, since I am a product of my environment and have given up pens for screens. But as a spaz who grew up hating pencils (they’d go dull; the lead would snap, the erasers were entirely too damn small), quills with ink would have been complete nonstarters, even with blotters. Even fountain pens would have been dicey with all the potential for spatter.

But I loved ballpoint pens. A coveted pen in grade school was the Bic 4-Color Retractable, with its sleek blue barrel and satisfying heft (and of course, choice of four colors). For several Christmases, I got novelty pens in my stocking; one of them was a bulky purple and orange thing with green slime inside you could watch sloshing around. When I graduated from high school, my neighbor gave me a beautiful silver Cross pen and pencil set. I still have it, but the ink ran out and I never bought a new cartridge because I was afraid of losing it.

When I got an office job, pen theft was commonplace. I don’t think it was intentional—pens were free in the office supply closet. It was just that I sat at a desk in a central spot where people made decisions and had discussions, so folks would pick up a pen to make notes and then wander off holding on to it. That meant that I had to keep replenishing at ridiculous rates.

Finally, I decided to ditch the office offerings. I channeled my inner child and went back to novelty pens: Big poofy feathers on top, rhinestones, you name it. People were too embarrassed to wander off with those! It also meant that I had a Thing people knew me for and would bring me ridiculous pens from vacations. I just shared these with friends of ours recently; they were quite taken with the pen shaped like a cheerleader who punches out her pompoms if you press a lever in her back. I also have a mummy pen, a Star Wars stormtrooper pen, and a Vegas pen with a little Boggle-type bubble on top that you push and it pops a pair of tiny dice.

Once I left office life, my need for distinction waned. As I said, I don’t write nearly as much as I used to, but my current go-to choice is the Pilot Precise V5 Stick Rolling Ball Pen—in any and all colors. The hubs is less fussy. As a result, he gets a new bag of pens and a new stack of Post-Its in his stocking every year at Christmas. I’m not sure the kid is aware of pens at all; his entire life is in his phone. I wonder how long until pens go the way of the Middle Ages.