grover38

This ramble will eventually be more organised and user friendly. :)

I will always send on time and I will always put thought into the swap. If there is a problem with a swap, please, let me know.

I will always rate fairly. I will do my best to be prompt but I may get a little behind in the last week or two in June. Drop me a line if I owe you a rating for something you think should have been received. I'm nice and understand how important ratings are. Plus, I would really like to know if I missed something. No worries. :)

I've moved recently and my new post office is terrible! But it's the only one I have access to, so I'm stuck with it. I have received several swaps back in the mail recently. It looks like I can't use deco tape, send handmade envelopes or send mail art unless I can get to a different post office in another town. So, please, be understanding while I try to figure out how to deal with this post office. So far, I don't think it's been too big of an issue - more just an annoyance for me, but if I keep having issues with them, I will take a break from formal swaps for a while. :( EDIT: Actually it looks like some swaps are taking extra long to arrive. I do not know if that is due to USPS changes or due to problems with my p.o. I will try sending out swaps through another town and see if that helps. EDIT: Doing everything I can to bypass my local p.o. but my options are limited. Tried handing swaps off to other people to mail in other towns but that didn't work out. They do not understand the dire seriousness of sending an envie covered with smiley faces and flower stickers on time. EDIT: Sticking to e-swaps until I have this sorted. EDIT: Blerg. My post office stinks! Not signing up for swaps at all until a late arriving swap is sorted. EDIT: I would very much like to thank my partners for being so kind, understanding, helpful and gracious while I've been trying to work this out. I very much appreciate your consideration and your generous patience.

I have received a lot of messages the last week. I am responding as quickly as possible.

Because of the recent low ratings, I have chosen to preemptively drop all of my groups. I think that will be easier on the founders.

Foreign films, art house films and old movies. I also love Studio Ghibli a lot.

Alice in Wonderland (The Chesire Cat is my hero - in all incarnations), Animal Farm, Lord of the Flies, 1984, Wilde, Throueau and the classics.

Please, reuse packaging and combine swaps.

I'm a bad consumer. I prefer reusing to recycling. I prefer creating to consuming. I prefer good thoughts to mass-produced-fodder-for-consumerism. Something created by you will get mad props from me. Something created by you from something that would otherwise be in a trash/recycle pile, will get a big ol' heart and some gushy commentary about how great you are.

I super-duper appreciate creativity, wing-stretching and thoughtfulness.

Colors: I'm not too picky about colors. But I do like fun, saturated colors more than pastels.

I'm mad for politics, history, dragons, dinosaurs, maps, and mythology.

I am a tree-hugger from a long line of tree-huggers. I am big on conservation, natural beauty and sustainable living.

If I could drip-feed myself coffee all day I would. As it is, a travel mug is almost permanently attached to my hand.

I love tea. Herbal. Flavored. Decaf. I'm not picky and I like to try new things.

I adore popcorn, caramel, ginger candy and chocolates.

I've never met a Sharpie I didn't like.

I love everything stationery.

I like stuff to organize other stuff (folders, labels, tags, clips etc) even though I rarely organize anything.

I can always use postage stamps, like everyone else who sends mail regularly. :)

I love stamps and will try to use stamps for postage on packages rather than a label - and I'll try to use pretty ones if I can. It would be great if you would use stamps on swaps to me too but is of course not expected. I just think it is awesome to see a bunch of stamps on a letter or package. It makes me smile. :)

Personal taste: Sock monkeys, Teletubbies and clowns kind of freak me out a little. So do Ann Geddes-type pictures of babies in flowerpots and things.

I really don't like traditional black licorice (liquorice). But I do like anise and I like other flavors of licorice.

Not a fan of in-your-face religious conversion stuff and prefer a good-natured respect for all the variations of spirituality and religion.

I'm pretty open to everything. I'm easy to please. I like to be happy and I like others to be happy, too.

I have no allergies or sensitivities.

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Useful threads for all swappers!

Also here is a very nice fyi thread about swapping issues that can arise. I found it very helpful when I saw it on another user's profile and decided I wanted to include it on mine, too. A little understanding and consideration can go a long way in making swapping a pleasant experience for everybody. :)

Also, FYI, USPS has officially begun a slower delivery standard for First Class Parcels. Please, be extra patient as many swaps will now have longer mail-times than in the past.

I have not been rated for several received swaps and I have been flaked on for several swaps (and was graciously and generously offered an angel for one of the flakes). All proper swap-bot procedures and courtesies have been followed in regards to those swaps. I will not be listing them on my profile. If you would like to know what ratings are missing and what swaps were flaked, contact me via PM and I'll be happy to tell you all about it.

I have been told that several founders of groups I am in (or had been in) have received it's-her-or-me ultimatums in regards to me from some individuals who have taken issue with comments I made in the forum. I completely understand if as a founder it is easier for you to drop me. I won't hold it against you, not at all. Hey, I don't want to deal with the drama either so I totally understand. But I chose to accept the consequences when I decided to post a dissenting opinion. The same goes for swaps, if you are a host and you are being pressured to drop me because I have spoken up in the forum, I won't hold it against you if you decide to drop me from your swap. Of course, I can't say it won't hurt my feelings, it probably will. I really do hope that founders and hosts will choose not to drop me, but I'm not going to be bitter about it if it happens. It's unfortunate you're being placed in this position. Do what you feel is best. I'm here to create, learn, explore and send out happiness; I'm sure you are, too. I trust you to make the best choice you can.

But, I will not stop speaking out when I see something unfair or mean-spirited in the forum. I will speak out politely and firmly. I will do it every single time I feel it is necessary. It's important enough to me that I'm willing to take some hits in order to do so.

Most of my posts in the forum have not resulted in any sort of drama or ill-will, including threads in which I have shared a dissenting opinion. I'm not prone to drama and I do not seek it out. My posts, especially dissenting ones, are polite and well-cited. If threads become overly heated or it becomes clear that posting further will not be constructive, I bow out. I make an effort to not take things personally. I try to keep threads on topic. Here are the threads I've spoken up in and/or given a dissenting opinion - you'll notice that all of these threads are ones where someone has specifically solicited opinions and/or in which someone is being treated unfairly by a group: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, and 22. Feel free to review my comments. I stand by all of my statements and by my conduct in each of those threads.

There is also this thread which I have not commented in. Apparently they can't bump it anymore, so it should fade into obscurity soon. Now there is also, this hurtful thread in which I have commented early on but as it was posted over a major holiday weekend, I did not get to respond again before it was also shut down. None of the allegations bear weight. None of the accusers provided any proof despite repeated requests from various users. Neither threads are questionable swapper threads, though if you don't look very closely, they may appear to be ones.

Info on swap-bot's stance on forum behavior can be found here and here.

It's disheartening to include this info on my profile. It shouldn't be necessary.