I'm bored at work today, so am reading back in your LJ to get to know you. ;) I figured this is as good a point as any to stop and tell you how I got into this crazy mixed-up LJ group:
In 2003 I was living in Portland, Oregon (my home town), and planning a move to Beijing, China. (There is a LOT more to that part of the story, but I'm cutting it out so this remains relatively short.)
I met folk-of-the-HP-fandom, who was then teaching English in Beijing, through my long-time friend ashkitty-also-much-of-the-HP-fandom. Through folk, I met the lovely wendywoowho, who introduced me to her lovely sister redwink, and of course at that time redwink and I were living in the same city. I met her and her family, and had fun times going out with her in Portland (Knitting! Sing-your-own-Messiah! Pancake House!). Then I moved to D.C. for State Department training, where over the next 4 months, wendywoowho made sure I got out and about on a regular basis (The 4P's! Getting lost in Annapolis! Lamb Lollipops on the Lawn!). Now I've been in Beijing, China for about 10 months (on a 2-year tour), and miss home terribly.
...which brings me to why I chose this post to comment on. You mentioned that getting mail, letters, packages, cards, whatever makes you feel that you're not alone, and as an only child of a close-knit family living 9,000-some-odd miles from home, I know how exhilarating that feeling can be, and I like giving it to others, too. So, if you ever want to exchange addresses via private email (mine's an FPO, AP address since we have Hong Kong FPO privileges for the Embassy in Beijing), maybe I can send you and your boys some fun toys and goodies from China, because I love having an excuse to shop for someone besides myself, and maybe we can exchange actual snail mail letters, which I enjoy writing! :)
How we got here...
In 2003 I was living in Portland, Oregon (my home town), and planning a move to Beijing, China. (There is a LOT more to that part of the story, but I'm cutting it out so this remains relatively short.)
I met
...which brings me to why I chose this post to comment on. You mentioned that getting mail, letters, packages, cards, whatever makes you feel that you're not alone, and as an only child of a close-knit family living 9,000-some-odd miles from home, I know how exhilarating that feeling can be, and I like giving it to others, too. So, if you ever want to exchange addresses via private email (mine's an FPO, AP address since we have Hong Kong FPO privileges for the Embassy in Beijing), maybe I can send you and your boys some fun toys and goodies from China, because I love having an excuse to shop for someone besides myself, and maybe we can exchange actual snail mail letters, which I enjoy writing! :)