nuri148

what I pledged

I was born and raised in Argentina, lived two years in Barcelona, where I have returned after languishing 7-and-a-half years in cold, grey Germany. I'm married to the best.guy.ever and have no children. or pets. I'd love a cat or a dog, though, but our lifestyle (travelling and micro-travelling a lot) is not compatible with responsible pet tenure as I understand it. I'm a sucker for any kind of animal, though, you'll hear me ahhh! and squee! with bunnies and toads alike.

I speak Spanish, Catalan, English, Portuguese, and German. Very basic French and Italian. I'm a language freak and a grammar nazi. I like to write with fountain pen.

I'm a confessed chocoholic. I actually get restless if there is no chocolate left in the house.

I'm pragmatic, no-nonsense, have an acid sense of humor, a strong moral compass and an unhealthy obsession with punctuality (also affecting my swapping, of course, so in this case is not bad, right?).

NOTE: my amazon wishlist here is meant just a reference of things I like. You can as well check my linked Picasa galleries. I don't expect anyone to actually buy me anything from there, OK? :) Also, it's usually outdated.

Just as you have computer geeks, comic book geeks, tech geeks, sci-fi geeks, you have Letterset geeks. That's me.

By letterset (aka stationery set) I mean a writing set made of one or more nicely decorated sheets and matchingly decorated envelope. I have been collecting lettersets for 30 years now. Just when I thought I was the only one left with this hobby, along came the Internet and connected me to a lot of lovely people whom I can swap with. Some of them have become good friends. Can you blame me for wanting more? :)

I collect only store-bought items, not handmade ones. Also, no letterheads and no plain-coloured stuff without a design.

Sheets without envelope are of limited interest to me, but I have exceptions. True letterpad sheets (as oposed to leftover sheets from a set) and aerograms of designs/brands I really like are acceptable.

I like almost everything, but of course there are some designs and brands that make me weak on the knees, gap in awe, squeel in delight or simply barf a rainbow. Among them:

• Italian brands (Kartos, LC, etc)
• delicate, fine designs, both kawaii and western
• San-x, Sanrio, Mindwave, Crux, Kamio, Qlia (can't find kawaii here so I covet it)
• flowers
• Ado Mizumori
• Totoro
• Barbapapa
• Hallmark
• vintage style
• actual vintage
• Chronicle Books
• Sarah Kay
• Winnie Pooh
• Disney's princesses
• Nici
• animals, the stranger the better!
• houses
• urban landscapes
• Nightmare before Christmas
• unusual designs
• artsy stuff
• mini sets (A6 (4"x6") or smaller)
• Susy's Zoo
• Tatty Teddy
• victorian
• art nouveau
• rococo
• naïf
• 50's, 60's, 70's
• Strawberry Shortcake (in original 80's design)
• plants and vegetables
• celtic
• tribal
• x-mas
• nerd
• papers with glitter,metallic, laser cut, or other textured details...

of course these preferences also apply to other items I may swap :)

RE: Diddl (as many here in Europe are rightfully tired of it): I'm only interested in the lettersets & sheets I still don't have. My collection is far from complete, but please ask me before sending. Thanks!

My main interest 95% of the time is Lettersets. But since I'm a worshipper of TehQteâ„¢, I do sometimes engage in other sort of swaps, including but not limited to: stickers - memos - pens - magnets - chocolates- sweets - snailmail - accesories - anything cute that tickles my fancy. I like a nice surprise in my mailbox :)

First and foremost: a loose writing sheet with a random envelope in a matching colour is NOT a set. Only original sets for me please! and please no folded papers. each time people do either of these two, God kills a kitten.

I couldn't care less about cards (unless is one you are writing to me, rather than just sending, of course). and although I love reading, I never use bookmarks, either.

As for designs and brands:

• Lisa Frank
• cheesiness
• sugarcoated romantic stuff
• religious
• porn
• gore
• bullfighting
• Kuromi
• Afro Ken
• Badz Maru
• manga
• anime
• plain envelopes
• Bratz (or any slutty types)
• real people
• real animals (except kawaii) esp. horses
• "baby" versions of any character
• poor taste
• Looney Toons
• Most characters not mentioned in the likes list (ask me, I'm easy)

Since I wrote chocolate in my likes: please no fruit, raisins, mint, marzipan, liquorice or yoghurt in my chocolate! (for the purpose of this list, nuts are not fruit and are very welcome in my chocolate).

For other sweets, no liquorice, marzipan or grapes please. And no gum, as I never chew it.

Please note that Halloween is not celebrated either where I come from nor where I live, so I have no use for Halloween themes (Halloween lettersets are fine).

I don't smoke and find cigarette smell disgusting.

There's more to life than swapping, of course. I enjoy travelling, cooking, baking, doing some crafts, taking photos, watching TV and movies, dancing like no one's watching, singing like no one's listening, reading, writing, pondering about life, laughing, window-shopping (more than the shopping itself), learning (but not studying), taking long walks, making friends with dogs and other animals I come across... Lots of things.

Why boring? because faves change. Because they're manyfold and all dear to me. Because picking one over the other is unfair. Because I've outgrown my top-five stage. Because the 'fave' concept itself is vague and fave actor becomes the one I want to shag and fave music the one band I'm megafan of.

So in no particular order and no pretention of either exhaustiveness or completeness, ten of each max:

Some Movies I like: LOTR, Being John Malkovitch, Les Triplettes de Belleville, Eternal sunshine of the Spotless Mind, My Neighbour Totoro, Enchanted, Crossed Swords, Snatch, Wall-E, A History of Violence.

TV series I currently watch: South Park, The Big Bang Theory, Modern Family, Downton Abbey, Glee, House of Cards, Doctor Who, Once upon a Time, Person of Interest, Sherlock.

Some books I relish: Harry Potter, The Illustrated Man, The Little Prince, La Catedral del Mar, The Pillars of the Earth, Freakonomics, Jane Eyre, My Family and Other Animals, A Confederacy of Dunces, Fairies and Chimneys. I've a soft spot for dictionaries, cook books and reference books.

Some music I like: I like pop. There, I said it. I like music but I'm not into music, if you know what I mean. Madonna, Lady Gaga, Coldplay, Roxette, Beatles, Bon Jovi, Moby, 60's stuff, classical.