I cannot stress enough just how thankful, grateful, & appreciative I am to have Jian in my life…to even know such a generous, kind, caring, thoughtful, wonderful person such as he. Honestly I am so grateful beyond words. Actually, words cannot even properly express the level of gratitude I am feeling right now. Aaaaahhhh! I have to stop gushing over Jian for a minute so I can properly explain what is going on, & why I’m feeling all of these warm & fuzzy feels towards him.
You know what? I really abhor discussing my birthday. It makes me somewhat uncomfortable talking about it because I dread that the person I’m talking to will bring up my age, as in, ask about my age, & although I’m not very old, I’m no spring chicken either. I will only go so far as to say I’m approaching middle-age at an almost breakneck speed. In my heart & soul, I still feel like I’m in my somewhat-twenties, but in truth, I’ve already surpassed that decade. Ok, moving on!
So, my birthday is coming up in a few weeks, & in anticipation of that, as well as knowing the fact that I’m not a big celebrator of birthdays, Jian decided to pick out my birthday gift in advance. He had a really thoughtful idea in mind for my birthday present. He had thought about surprising me with a vintage typewriter. Then last weekend, we were in the big city, just having a quiet day to ourselves window shopping & going out for a few drinks. Towards the evening we were casually browsing around a smart-tech shop, & I happened to spot a really cool USB computer keyboard. It’s a wireless USB keyboard that looks like a vintage typewriter, complete with typewriter-esque keycaps & a real, working carriage return bar just like the ones on a traditional typewriter.
Jian caught me playing around with the display model, & suggested that we get one for our home computer. I kind of brushed off his comment, thinking he was joking around & didn’t really take him seriously until he started asking me which color I’d choose if I could buy one of these bougie keyboards. The shop had the classic black model, & the limited edition white & mint green models on display, & I casually mentioned that I liked the white color. That was when Jian got very serious, & told me he was getting this for me as an early birthday present. My jaw nearly dropped to the floor in surprise.
Of course I told him that it was totally unnecessary for him to buy me anything for my birthday, let alone an expensive piece of technology such as this. That was when Jian revealed that he had been looking into getting me a vintage typewriter for quite some time. He said that a hi-tech keyboard like this one would be the perfect compromise, & that he’d be willing to shell out a few extra Benjamins on my birthday present to show his appreciation for all that I do for him. (Now do you see how much I appreciate Jian & his extreme generosity???)
I had always fantasized to one day get a vintage typewriter for myself, but I’ve come to realize that this fantasy is not very practical. Every once in a while I will casually browse the internet to see if there are any shops selling old typewriters, but all of the listings I’ve found are all so damn expensive (Some I’ve found cost $700+ USD)! I have seen other USB typewriter keyboards on the internet (a.k.a. Etsy) that are basically real vintage typewriters modified so you can USB hook-up this working typewriter to your PC & type like you’re using a traditional typewriter, & although they’re aesthetically gorgeous, they’re bulky & not portable. That’s where this innovative USB keyboard comes into play.
I’ve been using my USB typewriter-keyboard hybrid for over one week now, & I love it so much. The name of this fun keyboard is aptly called: Qwerkywriter, & it’s by a company called Qwerky Toys. It’s such a fun keyboard to use, yet it is also super practical. I feel like it’s a perfect combination of a typewriter feel, with a PC keyboard’s sensibility. My Qwerkywriter keyboard has all of the traditional functions & keys of a PC keyboard, but when you’re typing, you still get the feeling like you’re click-clacking away on an old fashioned typewriter, like you’re a secretary for a big-time boss in the 1950s.
The model Jian let me pick out for my birthday present was the limited edition ‘S’ model in the color white. Ever since I started using this new keyboard, I have noticed that my typing accuracy has improved. I really enjoy the feel of the rounded & indented keycaps that are more spaced apart then a traditional computer keyboard. The keycaps on this new keyboard are spread out enough that I can stretch my fingers more when I’m typing which improves my spelling & typing accuracy.
I also get the aesthetic feeling as though I’m typing on a traditional typewriter, even though the keys still sound like a regular computer keyboard & doesn’t have the click-clack sound of an old fashioned typewriter. The carriage return bar, which is like the ‘enter’ key on a PC keyboard, really adds an authentic typewriter feel to this keyboard. Plus, as an added bonus, it’s oddly satisfying to hit that carriage return.
Here’s where I finally get to show you all of the cool functions & features of my nifty new USB keyboard… Huzzah!
Overall, I am very much impressed with this USB keyboard. It really inspires me to type write more, & so far, for the past week I’ve been getting so much good use out of this keyboard. I’m super excited to continue using this typewriter-keyboard hybrid on many more posts to come. I also want to give one last big, fat, giant, huge shoutout to Jian for hooking me up with this insanely cute piece of technology. I am forever grateful for his generosity. Until next time, cheers!
Today’s song of the day:
Rabbits & Foxes 