She cracks lightning like a viper's tongue...

I've gotten a bunch of postcards over the past few days, both from Postcrossing and Swap-bot stuff. I really am fond of the bunny suicides one (I used to own bunnies, so I love them and don't wish them any harm but these cards make me smile), the one with the fishes, and the lighthouses. The lighthouses ones have some very unique lights. I've never been to any of them, but I think the architecture of them is very cool.







I also got some records in the mail over the past few days. The Grinderman "Worm Tamer" 12" was among them. It's such a beautiful glowing green - I can hardly look away from it.




The other records I got are as follows:

Richard Ashcroft - Check the Meaning (7")

Miracle Legion - Little Drummer Boy (7")

REM - The Finest Worksong (12" single)

The Birthday Party - A Fuckin' Rotten Business This (LP)

I ordered a copy of The Birthday Party's first Peel Sessions volume as well. It arrived, but sustained some damage during shipping - one of the edges (about a 2"x1" section) was basically cracked/shattered. This made me feel very bummed out. It was the first time I'd had anything come through and be completely ruined, and it was something I really, really wanted. It was insured, though, so we'll see how that goes. Here's a picture, where you can kind of see the cracking (and my bummed out face) based on the reflection of the light:

So, anyway. The seller has been really helpful with insurance claim stuff and I found another copy that wasn't *too* terribly priced. So hopefully all will be well soon.

This week has just been fairly unawesome. I've been denied for yet another job which basically requires no skills whatsoever - but they chose to pursue candidates with more experience. That's all very frustrating for me. Definitely the most frustrating thing I've experienced in the past several years.

The apartment maintenance guys were also in again to check out this disgusting phantom smell that has been occurring anywhere that there's water in my home (kitchen, water heater closet, shower). They basically are too lazy to do the work to figure out what it actually is, so they have just told me to pour bleach down my drains....which only keeps the smell at bay for 2 days at a time. Nevermind that I don't like keeping bleach in my house because the smell makes me feel violently ill (and it's hazardous). I told them that was not a solution to the problem and they offered up the brilliant idea that, since the smell I'm describing smells like a lovely combo of cigarette smoke and vomit, maybe my neighbors downstairs are smoking and it's wafting up. I don't think this is the case (at least not the whole problem), but I told them that if they were indeed smoking indoors, it should be dealt with since that's against the rules of the renter's agreement. They told me I'd have to call the property manager. I did. "Oh she's busy, let me have her give you a call back in a little bit." End of the day comes....no call. I called again today. "She's actually out of the office today, but I gave her your message yesterday, and she said she'll call you back tomorrow." I'm glad they understand urgency. I wonder what would happen if I'd postpone paying my rent like that? I'm sure there are people with worse problems in the complex, but I already suffer from headaches and frequent nausea. The smell is really not helping with that. Not to mention that I can't stand being in my kitchen, so I've been eating out and ordering take-out for the past month-ish. Yes, this problem has been going on THAT long.

Grrrrr. So those are just a few of my frustrations. The main ones. I'm hoping that February will be a better month for me. But I'm not going to count on it.

More at a later date.

Top Secret

So after I wrote that thing about sharing my mail, the mail flow for the week kind of slowed down. But here's what I've gotten in the past three days.

I was going to go to San Jose on my All You Can Jet trip, because I've always wanted to visit the Winchester Mystery House. But there were no direct flights, so I had changed my plan to take the train down from San Francisco for one day and then go straight back. Then it turned out I had a really good time in SF, so I never made it to San Jose. Next time!

Fun little card. Endicott is up near Binghampton, a little over the PA border near I-81. I've never been to that area of New York, but I'm sure it's nice.

I love this card from Brisbane. The colors are so bright! I'd love to visit Australia someday, and this card makes me want to go even more. Also, check out the cute stamp that was on the back of it.

My chinese zodiac sign is rabbit, so I've really enjoyed seeing all the cute Year of the Rabbit stamps and postcards for 2011. This stamp is by far the cutest one I've seen, though.

I also got a little something in the mail from a close friend. My little package had a mix CD and some fun extras (note the Trogdor button - so glad the package wasn't burninated by the time it got here).

Said friend has been making mixes every month of the year for the past year or so, and each year ends with a spectacular Christmas mix. So, if you want to, and I promise you want to, you can check out all of the mixes (and download them) here. They're really diverse and there's something there for everyone.

I also got a little package from Fancy Flours. It's super top secret and I can't tell you what it is at this juncture, but it will make another appearance in the future. Guesses are allowed, but you'll have to wait to see the contents until another day. I like their wrapping, though - super cute tissue paper.


That's all the mail I have to share. I also received my Iron & Wine ticket in the mail yesterday, so that was exciting.

I don't really have anything else to share either. Things have been boring and I've been strangely exhausted, so other than running errands and doing housework, I've not done much. More to come in the near future, surely.

I can't f*ck you.

I've sort of made the executive decision that I'm going to be sharing the postcards I receive on a regular basis. That doesn't mean my blog will become strictly about the mail I receive. I like to do many things in my life and I love sharing them. So I'll continue to share my baking, dumb stories, and concert photos as well. I just really love getting postcards and I get really excited about all the cool images because I'm a dork. So, anyway, we'll see how it goes and it might take me a little while to get into a perfect rhythm of how to do this, but I hope a few people at least will enjoy it. So bear with me! And here's my mail from today!

Tofu Makes Me So So Happy

I decided to start doing swaps via swap-bot.com again. Mostly postcard swaps, but maybe some other things once I get back into the swing of things again. Anyway, I got some fun postcards in the mail today, so I thought I would share.

Also, in other news, I bought a ticket to go see Iron & Wine in Savannah on April 23. That's my first set plan for 2011. So hopefully, it'll be a good time.

Nothing else new today. More at a later date.