tsireldi

Dec 2017: Wow, it's cold! Too cold for hiking, skiing, or anything else really. I'm back to swapping for now!

June 2016 Note to group officers: I may be away from swap-bot for the next few months. There are just too many things to do away from my computer! But please don't remove me from your group, I will be back on here once it gets cold again! :)

Dec 2015 update: I'm happy to be back! I have been away from Swap Bot for nearly two years (because life :), but I'm back now and looking forward to getting back to swapping.

I'm a student of biology, currently working on my degree in a genetics lab. I really love insects! I love the outdoors and photography, traveling, hiking, camping, baking bread, reading, watching movies, languages, philosophy, math and science, dark humor, sarcasm... And dancing! I dance Argentine Tango, swing and blues.

I like anything to do with science. Real life is more amazing than anything they come up with on the sci-fi network. Think geek!

I love mail! I get really giddy when I go to the mailbox and see something colorful sticking out. It makes me happy to see beautiful stamps on an envelope. Opening a nice looking envelope with stamps is like unwrapping a birthday present! (I have always been more fascinated with the wrapping and packaging of things than what's inside...lol)

I love to try new things. I'll try anything! Especially weird and unusual flavors. I'm interested in trying any food that isn't available in the US. (If you live in any other country and would like to try American candy/snacks, PM me! I'd love to swap with you!)

I love Edward Gorey. Also Escher. And Tim Burton. If I had to describe my favorite style in one word, it would be creepy/dark/strange/surreal/silly/playful (that's one word, right?). Other styles I enjoy include art deco and Japanese designs. I like minimalist graphics and designs that are not too busy and frou-frou. I like colors that are dark and saturated (ultramarine, purple, dark orange, dark green, teal, electric blue). Not a fan of pastels.

I'm not all that crafty but I like to learn new crafts and techniques. I also draw and paint, and especially like colored pencils and oils. (I tried watercolor and discovered it's much harder.) I'm also a beginner at crochet. I make weird vaguely-animal-like stuffed shapes, but they are in no way ready to be seen by others... :)

I like things made out of paper and paper crafts like origami and papercuts. I've rediscovered collage and hope to get better at it. I must say though, the commercialized style of scrapbooking--where you just buy some pre-made embellishments and stick them on pre-printed paper--is not very appealing to me. I also really don't get the point of faux-inspirational message stickers such as "love", "dream" etc. l appreciate recycling and finding creative uses for things that would normally get thrown out. I adore the look and feel of old paper: old photographs, old postcards, old books and book pages. I love maps of any kind, but especially old maps.

I LOVE coffee- or mocha-flavored anything. Lemon too. All citrus, really. I also love salty things, even salty chocolate! Love things with creamy fillings, crunchy outsides, or any combination of one thing on the outside and something else inside... Love dark chocolate, ginger, chai spice, nuts (esp hazelnuts). There are very few foods/flavors I don't like. In general I avoid artificially flavored and colored foods, and prefer real food, but I WILL make an exception to try new, strange or foreign items. I really will try anything, nothing is too weird! Specific Dislikes: cherry, mint (they remind me of medicine...), cinnamon, vanilla, banana flavor, gummy candy, licorice, coconut flake. That's about it! I love everything else :)

I really don't like typically 'girly', pink things. I'm a bit of a tomboy. However, I have a soft spot for cute little things and miniature things. I collect all sorts of weird things. Most of all I like international stamps, postcards (nice stamps are always appreciated!) and foreign money, but less normal collections include odd plastic spoons and stirrers, unusually colored matches, interesting or unusual sugar packets, empty plastic phone cards (international ones often have cool designs), interesting transportation tickets, little embroidered fabric animals (the kind on shirts), round napkins, small metal bells, old keys, small boxes ...like I said, all kinds of weird little things (I know, I know, some people would call it junk...but I treasure it! :).

Dragonflies, butterflies and ladybugs are beautiful subjects. I like dragonfly and butterfly-shaped things (pins, magnets, toys, crafts, stickers etc), either realistic or stylized. But all insects are beautiful. Yes, even cockroaches. Don't say eww! :) Anything insect-related is sure to make me happy! I also like toy or cartoon hedgehogs, owls, and toy moose, there's something endearing about the looks of these animals. I love cute/creepy things, little misfit creatures and sad aliens, handmade things and drawings, unique and unusual items from your country or region. All in all, I just really like weird things! And I am not easily offended. I do not mind risque, dark or gory themes. (In fact, dark and scary are welcome. I'm a closet goth, although you'd never tell from looking at me ;)

Since I'm always writing down notes and lists everywhere, I could always use nice little notebooks and notepads. I also collect cool envelopes. Blank notecards, stationary or any other paper items would be lovely as well.

I love tea. Every meal ends with a cup of tea. Black, green and spicy chai are my favorites, but I'm happy to try any kind. I do not mind loose tea, if it is labeled and well packaged.

Dislikes:

Please, please, don't send me anything religious or any holiday themed! (This includes hearts and four leaf clovers. Thank you!) I have no interest in Disney characters or most other mass-produced pop culture merchandise. I much prefer unique and weird stuff. I have no use for word stickers (unless really weird or unusual, perhaps). I especially dislike "inspirational" quotes and word stickers, such as joy, love etc. These emotions feel insincere when expressed in a glittery embellishment.

Food dislikes: cinnamon, mint, licorice, vanilla, cherry flavor.

Oh, where do I begin... Sitting down with a captivating book is probably my favorite thing in the world. I tend to like fiction with an unusual plot or twisted style... I also read a lot of non fiction -- science, philosophy, psychology, language etc. It's a bit hard to describe my taste in general terms, I like lots of things...a book has to have that indescribable special something to really get to me. Easier to list my faves, so here goes :)

Fiction:

Sophie's World. Harry Potter. House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. All the Sherlock Holmes series. Everything by Etgar Keret. Most things by Gerald Durrell. Anything by Paul Auster, Tim O'brien, Haruki Murakami. The Life of Insects by Victon Pelevin (It is fiction, and not really about insects, but absolutely brilliant). The History of Love by Nicole Krauss .

Non-fiction:

Godel, Escher, Bach. In Search for the Edge of Time / John Gribbin. The Math Gene / Keith Devlin. An Anthropologist on Mars / Oliver Sacks. Lost in Translation / Eva Hoffman. The Hot Blooded Dinosaurs / Adrian J. Desmond. The Fractal Geometry of Nature / Benoit Mandelbrot (Gotta be a classic, to have a fractal named after you!). Anything by Steven Pinker (How the Mind Works; Language Instinct) .

I am sure to love anything with images of their work!

• Escher
• Dali
• Klimt
• Gaudi (The Spanish architect. He definitely qualifies as an artist in my book!)
• Edward Gorey .

Back to the Future, Memento, Howl’s Moving Castle, The Matrix, Fight Club, 12 Monkeys, The Fifth Element, Forrest Gump, Donnie Darko, Life is Beautiful, Amelie, WALL-E

I love all kinds of music, it's hard to name specifics. Also I'm not so familiar with recent pop, so my list may sound a little out-dated. :P There are many recent songs that I've heard and like but have no idea who it is!

Here are some I can think of: Beatles (obvious one!), Queen, Leonard Cohen, Vladimir Vysotsky, Brazilian and Latin rhythms, Tango, blues, some jazz, gypsy punk, international, rock n roll.. almost anything really, but mostly I like specific songs rather than singers or genres...But I usually just listen to whatever the local independent radio station plays, and love it (recent discoveries: Mika, Feist). I love the Eurovision song contest! I particularly enjoy listening to beautiful songs in languages I don't understand :) Also, I tend to judge songs by what type of dance can be danced to them ;)

Haven't watched TV in years, but used to love: Lost, Monk, House, Dexter (hmm...is it something about one-word names that attracts me? :P), and to spoil the pattern, Pushing Daisies. (So you can probably figure out when was the last time I had a TV :) ) Oh, and of course Food Network! I could watch Unwrapped all day long... ~.~ 2017 update: Rick and Morty is the best show ever made!!

• Wide (2" wide or more) paper ribbon in jewel or dark tones, at least 10" long.
• Knitting yarn odds and ends, especially in neutral, earthy colors (tan, brown, gray, black, white)--I just need small amounts of these, I'd be happy to get your leftovers!
• plastic eyes (not the googly kind, but the realistic looking ones. I've been to every sewing and craft store in the area and they don't have them! I would be forever grateful!)
• glossy magazine or book pictures of insects, reptiles, colorful fish, birds (especially owls) and other animals. Large and scary ones are especially welcome. Black & white good too.
• Book pages with non-Roman alphabets, sheet music, maps.