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begin
sat 18 jan 2014 |
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Permalink: http://www.static8.com/journal/2014/20140118.html |
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I decided my usual monthly postcard exchange that I host at GoodReads was looking a bit paltry. So I sent out a mass email to bump up participation. And then, every spare minute of every day for two weeks was spent on the very lovely results! I messaged new comers, I sent out welcome postcards and then I sent out the January postcards. I've sent out well over 70 postcards. And while this particular january project is done, I am ready to get going on my other january postcard projects! Yay Postcards!
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Snow! and LetterMo!
sat 8 feb 2014 | |||
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Permalink: http://www.static8.com/journal/2014/20140208.html | |||
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I live in an area of very mild winters... we might get a single dusting of snow, but it's supposed to be 50°F and raining. Ten inches of snow and the ice, is crazy. Climate change crazy! The snow is distracting and scary and beautiful and fun... And I think I got a photo worth making into a postcard. Which brings me to LetterMo.
LetterMo is an annual challenge, to write and send mail every day the post runs during the month of february. It's tons of fun and this is my third year participating. Last year I sent out 108 postcards and letters. I should be able to beat that easily. And I want to make a real effort to send replies. I always say that, but this time I have a system. ha. Having "a system" makes me feel organized, at the very least!
I am having fun... and I've barely even started! I have much catching up to do. At the beginning of the year I was two months behind on my personal mailing project... So I hope to mail out Nov, Dec, Jan and Feb postcards to my friends and family. I don't even know how I got that far behind!
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Sat, 15 Feb 2014 18:24:56 PSTWeekly Mail Check-in |
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Sat, 22 Feb 2014 17:51:53 PDTWeekly Mail Check-in |
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Fri, 28 Feb 2014 19:18:47 PSTWeekly Mail Check-in |
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Amnesty International
sat 1 mar 2014 | |
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Permalink: http://www.static8.com/journal/2014/20140301.html | |
I joined Amnesty International in December 2011 with their Write for Rights campaign, and shortly after that I joined the Urgent Action letter writing campaign. In 2012, I wrote letters for 40 cases. In 2013, I wrote for 37 cases. My tentative goal for 2014 was to write for an Urgent Action case every weekend. Except, I've not been very dedicated: I've only written for 5 cases so far and this is the 9th weekend of the year! Well, it doesn't help that I've not been receiving the emails... I'm signed up for a weekly message, where they send one current but random case. Since I've not been getting the emails, I've been going to the site to pick out a case. And there are just so many to choose from. I like the fact that I can choose a case that I'm interested in and passionate about. But the whole process takes longer: sifting through all the current cases, then writing longer letters because of my interest, and really hemming and hawing over the words and language I use because I want to get it right. ha!
I print my letters on coloured paper... today it was green. and I always decorate my Urgent Action envelopes. I hope it catches their attention. But I sometimes wonder what they actually think about it. :) I'm hoping to get 2 cases written this weekend. Today I am writing for a Syria case... a Kurd postal worker was disappeared by the government in March 2012 and has not been heard from since. Unfortunately, the postal system in Syria is so unreliable the case sheet only gives fax numbers. It's sad and ironic that the postman they took is probably dead of torture. It's hard, being confronted with these life and death situations, and people really are being tortured to death right now and every day. Sickening. But I can't ignore it, and writing for Amnesty International is my way of dealing with it.
And then I go for a walk.
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Sat, 08 Mar 2014 09:31:57 PDTWeekly Mail Check-in |
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Sat, 15 Mar 2014 18:45:13 PDTWeekly Mail Check-in |
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Sat, 22 Mar 2014 17:48:06 PDTWeekly Mail Check-in |
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Flashing Amber 5 Times
fri 25 apr 2014 | |
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Permalink: http://www.static8.com/journal/2014/20140425.html | |
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The printer died suddenly this afternoon. I am annoyed, but not as frantic as I was the last time it happend. Which was last July. Which means the printer is not even a year old. Which makes me further annoyed, since the first one lasted at least 2.5 years. But I know what the problem is and I know what the solution is. It's a bit expensive, and there is a good chance the replacement won't work properly either and I'll have to return it for another. Whatever: been there, done that, no big deal. However... I use my printer extensively and having the printer down, completely disrupts my life. I print my own postcards, and I make and send 25 or 40 every week. Not being able to do that for a week or two? Yes, I'll survive. But this is the hobby that gives me joy. This is the hobby that makes me excited to get out of bed on Saturday mornings. A week or two of store-bought postcards. ugh. I'll probably survive... |
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Time
sun 4 may 2014 |
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Permalink: http://www.static8.com/journal/2014/20140504.html |
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ha! Oh well. For may I've decided to go forward -- and not have any guilt for the projects I've abandoned! So. Here is something that caught my attention today, that I wanted to type about... Going through my feeds this weekend, I came across this post at UPSP Stamps: Latest Issue of USA Philatelic Now Available. I realized I had somehow gotten off the USPS mailing list, so I signed up for that again. But then I noticed the author bio in the right sidebar: Mary Well, I don't have the cool drawing of myself, that Mary has... but I do have an urge to answer the questions posed in that sidebar! Favorite Stamp I really love the current postcard stamp, a hummingbird. But my absolute favorites are from the Nature series: the Kelp Forest...
Three things I always have with me My camera, no matter what! I carry my back pack with me most of the time. Inside: my backup camera, the current magazine I'm reading, pens and mechanical pencils, some cash, and a clif bar or two. Favorite way to spend my spare time Spare time? That would be nice! If I had some I'd be: Reading, Making postcards from my photography, and Internetting. The last book I read Just finished The Golden Notebook it was very long and rambling, but I enjoyed it. One thing I can't live without ha! my printer and computer? But when civilization crashes, I will really miss hot showers. But "can't live without"? I have more books than I can read in a lifetime... I think it's the books that I can't live without! My favorite place in the United States My former life involved moving every 3 or 4 years... but I have finally found my Forever Home in Eugene Oregon. The best meal I ever had an All Vegan restaurant here in town called Cornbread Cafe... every single item on their menu is complete and utter bliss!
Life motto Get Away From Me, You Stupid People! |
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an overdue update
sat 28 june 2014 |
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Permalink: http://www.static8.com/journal/2014/20140628.html |
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Garden!
Mailing Projects
Art Journal
House Projects
Little things, here and there, get cleaned or taken care of. With house stuff, I have learned to ask for help and my partner has done some amazing things around here. My big goal, tho, is to take care of the piles in my bedroom. well... the best I can say about that is that it hasn't gotten much worse. *shakes head* At least I'm on the path! |
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goals, updates, odds & ends
sat 12 july 2014 | ||
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Permalink: http://www.static8.com/journal/2014/20140712.html | ||
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So, I am here making a public statement of my mailing goals for July: Catch up with my Greeting Card project; Write at least four reply letters, two short letters and two long letters; and Keep up my usual postcard pace of about 100 per month...
The community garden plot continues to be awesome... I've been eating zucchini for every meal on the weekends, and I was able to add one week day meal this past week! (I know: soon I'll be sick of zucchini and I'll want to pay people to take them off my hands! ha! meantime, I am enjoying them immensely!)
Ate 3 cherry tomatoes this morning... I wish they would hurry up! Will gather another beet tomorrow. The butternut squash is taking over the plot, it's leaves and vines are covering about 6 square feet (almost 2 square meters) and I'm a little concerned about how many butternut squashes I'm going to have to eat! And the "Odds & Ends"...
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Sun, 20 Jul 2014 07:47:43 PDTJuly Mail Goals |
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Letter Writing Activist
sat 30 aug 2014 |
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Permalink: http://www.static8.com/journal/2014/20140830.html |
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For a while, I went to the website every weekend and picked a case and wrote for it. It was much harder for me to do this because I was overwhelmed by all the cases. It wasn't long before I quit writing every weekend. I tried to get back to my letter writing in May, but I only wrote for two weekends. I've thought about it since then... I think about it often, actually... but I can't bring myself to look at the site and wade through all the most recent cases. So I was thrilled to get an email from the crew at Amnesty International's Urgent Action Network. The email detailed the process of getting the cases to the AI activists, and some of the issues they've had this year. The email said "Please Respond" and I wrote back immediately and with enthusiasm. Unfortunately, I haven't gotten an immediate response. I'm disappointed. Maybe next week? Meanwhile, I'm going to write a few letters this weekend. I am on the email list of both the USA and the UK Amnesty International offices... and I noticed when I sign the UK (email) petitions, they have a tab that hides a letter writing section. They provide a mailing address and the sample text! Today I wrote a letter based on one of the UK petitions! It was to an embassy in London, I tracked down the ambassador in Washington DC and sent a letter to him as well. The sample text makes this so easy. I'm also going to be writing a few "Animal Action" cases. I think I'll start with the Mirage Hotel Dolphins and then add some protests to Sea World. You've seen Blackfish, right?
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Mail
sun 9 nov 2014 |
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Permalink: http://www.static8.com/journal/2014/20141109.html |
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At the beginning of October, I took a couple weeks off so that I could get organized for my parents and brother to come visit me. Shortly after their visit, my mailbox lock died. It's taken 2 weeks to get the lock replaced. I've been unable to go to the post office to collect the mail that's piling up, but Significant Other went a couple times. But without my usual daily mail, I just haven't been inspired to do anything about my usual mailing projects. So, I've got a big pile of un-acknowledged mail that I would normally message "thanks" for. And my sent mail has taken a serious nose dive. I normally send over 100 postcards every month. September, I sent 90. October, I sent 60. This month, I've sent 5. um. yeah. It's the second weekend of the month, I should have 40 postcards out the door. And I have 5. nice, huh? It's not about the numbers. Sending out mail gives me joy. And when I am not doing something that makes me happy? What kind of person will I turn into? I need to change this situation! I've printed out a bunch of postcards. I need to cut them up. I'll start writing on them in the coming week. Meanwhile, I've also written for the Amnesty International's Urgent Action Network...
I wish my workspace were as lovely as this one, Save Snail Mail: Letter writing al fresco. But we must work with what we have: I live in a tiny townhouse and there is no room for a proper desk. I do most of my work on a lap desk, either on the floor or on my bed. It works and it fits my personality. The photo displays my usual set up for my Urgent Action letters. I type them and print them on coloured paper, I usually switch between light green and today's light purple. I also love to decorate the envelopes! My favorite way to color envelopes is with Copic Wides... these markers have a 3/4 inch nib, which is the ultimate fun in quick colouring! Today's envelopes have a simple plaid design on the left side using G21 Lime Green, B24 Sky Blue, and V22 Ash Lavender. |
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Write for Rights
sun 30 nov 2014 |
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Permalink: http://www.static8.com/journal/2014/20141130.html |
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I've been typing here every day for a month, and I've accomplished my goal of writing about my family vacation! So, the project for December: Amnesty International's Write for Rights! Here's today's work area...
The Write for Rights campaign was what brought me to Amnesty International. I first joined the W4R program in 2011... I sent 5 letters that december, for 2 cases. And yep: I decorated my first envelopes as well! After that, I joined the Urgent Action Network. My goal has always been to write letters for one case every weekend. Of course, it doesn't actually happen that way, but I do pretty good. This year the support group for the US Network kind of fell apart. And I did not write as often as I should have. But the new support group, is amazing and awesome! I think that 2015 will be a record letter writing year! Will you join me? It only takes a few minutes to print out a letter and write the address on an envelope. Decorating the envelope is only for crazy people like me! ;) |
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