Paul Militaru

The story of a “pen” that made around the world … twice

Whether I am still going to write it, even if for some, let’s say it is a topic perhaps uninteresting literally, artistically but interesting to me because it has profound sentimental connotations for my soul as well as the fact of not to be honest, would make it envy even the famous Jules Verne with his great book “The Occult of the Earth in 80 Days” – the book of our youth. I obviously joke, I cannot compare myself to him, but the story is as real and exciting. I think it would be an interesting subject for a book, which could become an adventure book or why not a classic-modern but exciting SF.

Even so I can say, the trip of this trivial “pen” (I really do not joke) if you are thinking about doing more than 100 days, crossing a part of the Asian continent, from wonderful Japan to the American continent (resting – there is a period of time) that finally the European continent successfully crosses its eastern part, to me in Romania. And this twice! Strange, is not it?

If I sit a little to think, would not it be better to make this beautiful trip? OH YES!!! Definitely much better, but to my misfortune after a profound search in the genealogy tree, I have not found any degree of kinship with Bill Gates or anyone else known for money.

It was at the beginning of January, this year when I had more time to watch the internet, and browse it’s pages in search of an object that I would like.

Anyhow, even if I wanted to go out for a shooting game, I could not have done it because of ugly weather, dirty snow, cold, queer roads, and the same situation in the park because of the equipment used by the town hall to clean them up. Another aspect, which subjects for photography could have found, when even the sun did not want to come out of the clouds, sharpening them in a deep lazy, like a young girl full of fetuses at her first date with her boyfriend.

So, having nothing better to do (except reading book,) I’m looking at situations, finding a writing tool for me and having to cope with my exigencies, and obviously enjoying writing with it.

Of course, I found on an online shopping site exactly what I was looking for. And that’s not because I would not have found a pen or a bookstore in a specialized store, but I wanted something special from a great company, and I stopped at a stylish, nice Japanese pen with features like French-style pens. One problem was that this company had no representative in my country, but no dealers to sell it, and another issue with no online shopping card. Big trouble for me.

One evening my best friend, the soul mate for whom I would do anything, asked me why I was mad, and deviated. I told her what I was looking for, what I found and why I was having trouble and what was my greatest desire.

Sweetheart always asked me a little (like any woman who respected her,) about the qualities of the writing instrument I wanted so much, and many other things I do not want to reveal now.

I was impressed by the fact that she was interested in some things, let’s say good to a man, and perhaps useless to a woman, not being able to tell exactly what she was thinking. It is true that I have to admit, even if I am a man, that a woman has some special qualities, extra senses in relation to a man, even if he does not want to admit it always affirming that he is superior to a woman, so the woman has the greater ability and speed to adapt to life and make decisions often better than a man who can often (thinks and acts in “resuming”). The condition to proceed would be according to the saying “Give Caesar what is Caesar’s”, but most of the time we did not do that, sin!

But finally, returning to the story, she responded exactly as I did not expect.

The next day I received it by email, a few words that excited me all over “I bought it for you!.”

You realize that at that moment I was going to get her in my arms, kiss her and tell him what great joy he did to me? But I’ll do it as soon as she has, all my admiration, I promise.

They!!!! Now begins the story and the journey through the world of this small and very interesting object “The Pen”.

The company was in Japan, and the online shopping site specified that it would be imported from there, as there are not many who order it, and the stocks are useless here, and on arriving they sent to my friend from the United States urgently, advancing an approximate date of arrival .

After about a month and a half (about 45 days), my girlfriend tells me she received it and will send it the next day. In the evening when I talked, I kindly asked her to open the package, and she replied, “I cannot for it is sealed,” the obvious conversation being accompanied by ecstasy pictures. In the end, because of my insistence, it has gone away.

I do not think you can imagine what was in my soul, because in fact I honestly had the behavior of a child who would get the favorite toy.

After unwrapping, I found that he (The Pen) did not have a converter to put ink in the ink pot, but only two patrons. Between us it is well known that any company that respects itself has its personalization, in other words, the attachments of such a pen are only for this type of pen, and no other attachments can be used, either standard or customized from other pens, but only those for the writing instrument in question.

She told me it was no problem and she ordered two converters for him from Japan. My wait was another month and a half, so another 45 days. But what to do is expected; otherwise I did not have how to use it. Cycle riding through the world was the same.

Finally, the pen was complete with the original pieces. Poor girl immediately sent the next day, so he had to cross the ocean the third time to me. I honestly seemed an eternity until it arrived, but it was the gift to her for me, so it no longer counts anything (it was sentimental value).

He arrived in the country in about 3 days from the United States. Excellent, after thousands and thousands of miles around the world.

I receive the phone from the Otopeni customs office, requesting my email address so that I can send some digitized paper for pen entry in the country because he arrived from the United States and not from the European Community we are doing our part.

I open the email from the customs, download the paper … and what to see, another surprise!!!, Among other things, I was asked to buy the bill, in order to be able to establish the import customs of the product. Oh my God!!! Did they not read on the shipping papers that this is a gift? Well it looks like it is not. I mean, I was stunned, and I honestly did not know what to do. In the end, I give a phone to customs, a lady responds with a pleasant voice, who seemed to me to be understanding, explaining the situation, and excuse that they were not too careful when they read the shipping papers, and that on the same day, I was sending others in digital format that I had to complete. That’s the second time since the pen’s arrival in the country. On the third day after sending the papers, I got a phone call from them for customs clearance. This time the set value seemed very high compared to the value of the pen. I felt like boiling, and losing my sense of reason. I stayed for a while and I phone again, explaining to them that I cannot pay for a gift, but eventually a VAT, which I was told that the value was on the expedition papers. I was very annoyed and explained that the value was actually the product’s insurance if it had been lost, and they made the calculations at that value and not at the value of the pen, as it was normal, with other words I also took into account the value of the transport although it had been paid. I did not know what to think, I was engaging in absurd economic discussions when I was nothing I could do. Anyway, they said they would make a decision and they would contact me by phone. That being the fourth day since the pen’s arrival in my country.

I was wondering why I had to deal with some mindless and incapable civil servants, state officials, who had to do their job for which they were paid? What did they not understand God that was a gift and not the merchandise of import for sale? Uffff!!!, difficult for some!!! I did not know what to believe.

Finally, on the fifth day after the arrival of the gift in the country, I receive a phone from the customs again, I receive the corresponding payment amount, VAT to the pen with which I agree for a courier to come to my home and bring it to me. What has happened? I was happy at the summits because finally with my trembling hands of happiness, I unwrapped the package with the much wanted pen.

I told my friend the story, she rightly laughed that she was mad, and I explained to her that the principle used by these operatives was the lowest in the behavior with other people.

Do not even know how to say, should I laugh or cry? Well, I finally got the gift. If I’m thinking well, shipping across the ocean from the United States it made in 3 days it traveled thousands of miles, and the distance of 60 km from Otopeni and up to my home in 5 days, is not it maddening?

And yet we are in the 21st century, the century of speed…but for whom? The century of artificial intelligence … but for whom?

And when I said that I no longer trust politicians, I know what they say, because they treat us like little people without value, when we actually put them where they are, to think laws that are not rigid, and easy to understand for everybody, and not laws that leave room for interrelations of one or the other as it is their will.

Now I’m 100% convinced that this would make him laugh, even Jule Verne, if he still lives…

Please, I console myself, paraphrasing a TV presenter who said … “We live in Romania and that’s what we do all the time”…

March 22, 2018