Swap-bot Time: December 7, 2024 1:43 pm
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athena613

athena613
Date Joined: September 11, 2019
Last Online: January 14, 2020
Birthday: December 28
Country: United States
My Website

About Me

Hi - I'm Kara!

I'm a thirty-something autistic writer with a lifelong passion for snail mail. I’ve enjoyed having penpals and swapping packages around the world for over 15 years.

I speak, read and write fluently in English and French, with basic skills in Italian and Spanish, and notions of Greek.

My interests include:

  • Anything related to Rats, Bats, Hummingbirds, Dragons, Dragonflies, Butterflies, and Foxes

  • Tattoos

  • Piercings (I have symmetrical piercings in my septum and both nostrils)

  • Anything related to Miyazaki animations

  • Plants (seed sharing, growing, creating teas, tinctures, other concoctions)

  • Dance and Music (I love to dance, and appreciate all kinds of dancing, from traditional folk dances to ballet to freeform.)

  • Interior design (especially involving indoor plants, bookcases, and unique design. Lighting fixtures, lamps, windows are favorites.)

  • Architecture, landscaping, and homesteading (especially stonework, cob houses, forests and trees, waterfalls, fairy gardens, herbal gardens, stone paths, mandalas, stone walls and stairs, symmetrical and other aesthetic designs)

  • Pharmaceutical Data

  • Medicine (both herbal and Western)

  • Neurology, psychology, neurophysiology, mental health and wellness, neurodiversity, autism, ADHD

  • Pets (we have two dogs, two cats, and two ratties!)

  • Baby and children's items (I have a 4 yo and a newborn)

  • Stained glass

  • Origami

  • Hygge ~ the Scandinavian concept of cultivating and maintaining a warm and joyful attitude year-round, by creating spaces, routines, and communities that feel cozy, safe, inviting, and peaceful. :)

Things that I enjoy and collect:

  • Kawaii / Sanrio

  • Stationary/letter sets of any kind

  • Tea

  • Photographs

  • Art

  • Feathers

  • Bones or teeth from animals (ethically harvested, please!)

  • Jewelry, especially earrings and rings, but I wear all kinds. :) Unfortunately, I have skin sensitivities, particularly in my ears, so if the jewelry is metal, it will need to be solid/pure metals so as not to experience a negative reaction. Any kind of clay, wood, ceramic, glass, etc. is great.

  • Natural, homemade, and/or organic beauty products/samples

  • Pressed flowers

  • Posters and Prints / wall hangings

  • Household decorations / anything that I can use to make my new home more inviting. :)

  • Currency (coins or paper bank notes)

  • Zines, Magazines, and books

  • Journals, notebooks, or notepads

  • Socks (size 9-11)

  • Scarves

  • Stickers

  • Crystals

  • Glass, clay, or earthen beads

Favorite Movies

  • Miyazaki films (ALL of them! ^_^)

  • The Darjeeling Limited

  • The Fountain

  • The Fall

  • Persepolis

  • Le Chat du Rabbin (the Rabbi's Cat)

Favorite Television

  • The Good Doctor

I love this show because it touches upon a few of my special interests -- namely, medical data and neurodiversity.

However, I am not very impressed with the uniform depictions of autistic people in the show. There have been 4 autistic characters so far, including the main character and 3 of his patients, and the show's writers made two of those characters speak in almost the same voice. When I looked into it, I noticed that those were the two actors who were not actually autistic. Autistics all sound different, so I don't like that part. We may all experience atypical communication patterns compared to non-autistics, but it doesn't mean that we all sound the same. I think that the writers should hire autistic actors instead hiring non-autistic actors who imitate us.

Still a good show in many other ways, though.

  • Rick & Morty

This show should tell you a good bit about my sense of humor.

  • Fringe

  • Ascension

  • Dear White People

Favorite Teas

I like almost every tea I’ve tried with a few exceptions listed at the bottom — so I’m not picky!

What I hope is that my tea swap partners will send me something that they like, so that I can discover a new flavor or brand, or so that I can experience what they like. :)

In my experience so far, these are my favorite teas:

  • Earl Grey

  • Any tea blend with rose petals in it

  • Any tea blend with lavender flowers in it

  • Any tea blend with jasmine flowers in it

  • Chai-spiced tea

  • Tulsi

  • Medicinal herbal teas

I’m open to almost anything. I love trying new flavors and blends from all over the world. :)

I don’t think that I have ever tried a tea that I would not drink!

That being said, there are a few flavors that are my least favorite:

  • Hibiscus. If you only have hibiscus I will not give you a bad rating. However, if you can find another kind, I would prefer that. :)

  • Any artificial flavors. I don’t like the artificial fruit flavors as much as I like the teas with actual fruit in them.

Strong, pungent, bitter, or earthy flavors do not scare me. :)

Organic tea is a plus, but definitely not required.

Favorite Reading Material

Until my early 20s, I enjoyed reading books on a daily basis, often a couple of hundred pages a day. However, I reached a point where it felt like I had "saturated" the amount of fiction and literature that I needed to take in, and at that point, I stopped reading books, and began writing or reading informational journals, textbooks, and magazines, instead.

These days, I really enjoy reading anything to do with the following:

  • Medical research, especially concerning neurology, pharmacology, and new data or treatment options.

  • Exploration of different parts of the world ; cultures

  • Tech news and developments

Dislikes

These are things that I would prefer not to receive from my swap partners. I will not rate down if you still follow the swap rules, but if you're able to avoid sending me these things, that would be swell. I'd rather you save them for folks who will appreciate them. :)

  • Note cards of the following varieties: "Thank you," "Birthday," "Congrats," or any other note card that is for an "occasion." I prefer note cards that are not specific to any one occasion.

  • Major religious themes

  • Christmas or other holiday things, unless that is specified in the swap

  • Things that are broken, ripped, etc. Bits of paper, chain, etc. There are specific swaps for this kind of thing; I'd rather receive in tact items, and I also send in tact items

Animal Babies

My animal companions includes the following:

Small / Exotic Critters

  • Berry, a ruby-eyed, champagne, beige-hooded dumbo rat

  • Carrot, a black, Berkshire dumbo rat

  • Phoenix, a pink-eyed, dumbo Silvermane Mink rat

  • Teddy, a lavender, dumbo Angora rat

  • Ratatouille, a brown, dumbo Agouti rat

  • Athena, a pink-eyed, black dumbo Marten rat

Dogs

  • Cappy, 7 yrs old, a Belgian Malinois / Pitbull pup

  • Maya, 4 yrs old, a Black Labrador / Boxer pup

Cats

  • Awk, 3 yrs, a black cat with white on paws and chest

  • Bit, 3 yrs, a black cat

Ratings

1
rating
Comment: Never received.
2Hearts rated for Make an Envelope and Add A Surprise on Feb 14, 2020
1
rating
 
Autist rated for AA: PC SWAP on Jan 27, 2020
1
rating
 
junemoon rated for Micro poetry Swap #2 - Affection on Jan 14, 2020
5
rating
Comment: Thanks for the varied and interesting poems.
MarieS rated for Tea For Thee # 24 on Jan 10, 2020
5
rating
Comment: Thanks a lot for the teas!
Moxieroe rated for Pokémon Swap on Dec 27, 2019
5
rating
Comment: Thank you so much for the swap! I loved it! I plan on getting the poster laminated so I can keep it for a while. And I LOVE opening cards, so THANK YOU for the new pack! Have a great new year!
Jsereg001 rated for Handmade with Love- Jewelry #5 on Dec 24, 2019
5
rating
Comment: Thanks for the awesome pendant!!!
sugarfawn rated for Rating Booster Notecard Swap #1 on Dec 21, 2019
5
rating
 
captkristi rated for Rating Booster Notecard Swap #1 on Dec 10, 2019
5
rating
Comment: I really love those notecards!! Thanks so much!!
Response: Gah, I'm so glad that you enjoy them! :D I wish you a wonderful winter season!
bluecrayons rated for Rating Booster Notecard Swap #1 on Dec 9, 2019
5
rating
 
Response: Thank you!
KarenFife rated for What the Heck...? PC #42 on Dec 9, 2019
5
rating
Comment: The postcard you sent is PERFECT for a What the Heck? swap!!!! I have no answer for this one!! Thanks so much - I love it!😍. I enjoyed reading your note, and you and I both will be sitting by the fire reading this winter. Welcome to Swap-Bot. I hope we will be partners again sometime.
Response: Ahh, I'm so glad you enjoyed it! :D I wish you all the best for this winter season! Thank you so much for your kind words! I'd love to be swap partners again! <3
ovenbernt rated for Rating Booster Notecard Swap #1 on Dec 9, 2019
5
rating
Comment: thank you for joining and sending (:
Response: Thank you so much for hosting! Great swap! :D
5
rating
Comment: WOW! What an amazing package. I love everything, thanks so much for all the lovely unique assortment of fun goodies!
Response: Oh my gosh ! I'm so happy that you enjoyed the package ! <3 Thank you for giving me a chance as a newbie, and thank you for hosting an excellent swap ! I look forward to joining more of your swaps in the future !

Rating Overview

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4.0769 8 0 1
Completed Fives Threes Ones
9 10 0 3
Type 1 Type 2 Type 3 Uncategorized
0 7 2 0
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