porcelain72

"A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men."--Joseph Addison (and Willy Wonka)

I'm Gena, a 41 year-old mother of an awesome teenage daughter and a writer by night/office drone by day. I live in New York City, but grew up just outside of Atlantic City, which is neither a nice place to visit, nor would you want to live there.

Because I was losing precious brain cells by constantly hitting "refresh" on Facebook, I thought I'd give something like this a try instead, and so far I've really been enjoying it. Writing is my primary talent, though I dabble in ATCs, mail art, and other paper crafts. Emphasis on the "dabble"--I tend to think my crafting skills rank somewhere around "macaroni art," but have been told otherwise, so I'll let you be the judge.

Feel free to follow me on Twitter and/or Instagram (same name as here, porcelain72), and I'll follow you back. I'd also recommend checking out my blog for a better idea of my personality. My sense of humor is a bit quirky, and that may occasionally reflect in what I write in postcards and letters. I'm a reformed music snob, and I love to read, but doesn't just about anyone, really?

~~Kitsch, especially 60s and 70s era ~~Thrift shop finds ~~Used books ~~Unicorns ~~Robots ~~Skulls and crossbones ~~Animals of all kinds (especially cats, English bulldogs, and goats) ~~Old horror movies ~~Tim Burton ~~Blogging/journaling ~~Yoga ~~Comedy (Patton Oswalt, Bill Hicks, George Carlin, Tig Notaro) ~~Early 20th century/Victorian/Edwardian history ~~A nice cuppa tea (coffee is nice too) ~~Interesting socks/tights ~~Music mixes ~~Anything typewriter themed ~~Anything creepy/weird/bizarre (freak shows, medical oddities, etc.) ~~Zombies ~~Batman

This list could go on forever, so I'll just go with the first that came to mind...

~~U2 ~~David Bowie ~~the Clash ~~Ramones ~~Depeche Mode ~~the Pixies ~~Fiona Apple ~~the Beatles ~~Leonard Cohen ~~Tom Waits ~~Muse ~~Bruce Springsteen ~~90s alternative (Nirvana, Pearl Jam, all that good stuff) ~~80s new wave (Adam Ant, Gary Numan, etc.) ~~old school punk

~~Blade Runner ~~This is Spinal Tap (really all of Christopher Guest's movies) ~~"The Lord of the Rings" (all of 'em) ~~"Star Wars" (just the original 3, please!) ~~Quentin Tarantino movies ~~Paul Thomas Anderson movies ~~Wes Anderson movies (I want to live inside Moonrise Kingdom) ~~Coen Brothers movies ~~Tim Burton movies ~~Martin Scorsese movies ~~Pixar movies ~~Old horror/sci-fi (if it came out between 1960 and 1985 I've probably seen it) ~~I'm also a MAJOR fan of "Mystery Science Theater 3000"

I'm a big fan of humorous non-fiction. I love David Rakoff, David Sedaris, Jenny Lawson, Sloane Crosley, and Julie Klausner, among others. My favorite novel is Everything is Illuminated, and Dave Eggers's A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius is a huge influence in my writing. I'm also a huge Stephen King fan, and have been since I was a kid. SK 4 LIFE.

I'm not picky. At all. Whatever you want to send me is fine. BUT (and there always has to be a but)...

There are a few things that would probably go to better use if sent to someone else, such as religious paraphernalia, fabric and/or yarn (I'd love to say differently but I'm all thumbs when it comes to anything involving fiber crafts), or items intended for young children, such as My Little Pony (though I love Pixar movies). However, if you really want to send me any of this stuff, I won't complain.

I have no food allergies, and will eat pretty much anything. My preferences for tea lean toward the mint variety, but I'm open to other flavors as well. If you want to send me coffee, try to send it in Keurig pod form. I don't wear makeup, and as far as perfumes are concerned I tend to stick with essential oils, but Bath & Body Works type stuff is perfectly acceptable.

Stumped on what to send me for a "sender's choice" swap? I'm easy (that's what she said). I'll happily accept notecards and stationery. I also love interesting ephemera, like menus, ticket stubs, etc, especially if they're vintage, and magazine cutouts, especially from the 1960-1980 era.

Oh wait, there is something I don't like. Black licorice. Black licorice can go straight to Hell.

If you're supposed to get something from me and it doesn't magically appear in your mailbox within a reasonable time frame, please let me know ASAP, and before rating. I do send out all swaps on time, but sh...stuff happens, and patience is a virtue. Also, if I haven't rated you for a swap, feel free to poke me. Gently.