Here's the long story:
Day 1:
I went to Staples to buy stuff (my weekly rounds of Staples, Office Depot, Best Buy, Target, Wal-Mart) and noticed the 12 pack of Staples pencils for $0.75. I said, "Why not?"
Day 2:
Returning to school after the spring break, I decided to sharpen all my pencils at once. I use only ONE sharpener in the school - namely, my computer science teacher's one. He saw me with 12 pencils in my hand sharpening them one by one. He then struck up a conversation with me on pencils - yes, my teacher is weird that way. (He's a VERY good teacher, although he's a bit harsh on the grading - if you want to see his personality, goto Amazon.com and look for his book "Twenty Years before the Blackboard" by Michael Stueben) He then showed me his choice of pencil - a #2 1/2 pencil. I never knew such a thing existed! Now I'm hooked...
Dan