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Hi. :)

I'm Sam from the UK. I currently live on Anglesey, the little island at the top of Wales. I finished my undergraduate degree at the university here, and now I'm studying for an English MA in contemporary poetry.

I like lots of things, including video games and beer. I'm a member of CAMRA, the campaign for real ale, and I collect beer mats because I'm a geek. I also collect Sega Megadrive games (that's Genesis, if you're on the other side of the water). I have way too many. It's really quite embarrassing.

I also write poetry. I'm hoping to get published sometime in the future. I like photography too, though I'm no good at it. I have a battered old-school pentax, and I'm currently working on a project that combines poetry and photography.

I'm not sure what else to say. I like riding my scruffy, old bicycle. I love cooking (especially cakes). I love buying things from charity shops (or 'thrift stores'), and I generally buy all my clothes second-hand.

What else? Hmmm...

I listen to lots and lots of music, and i'm always discovering new things that catch my interest. I don't want to bore you with a comprehensive list, so i'll just list a couple of my favourite artists, then i'll come back and alter the list in a couple of months when i've changed my mind about what i like:

Why?, casiotone for the painfully alone, 65daysofstatic, mewithoutYou, the mountain goats, modest mouse, bright eyes, sage francis, bogdan raczynski, i would set myself on fire for you, coheed and cambria, joanna newsom.

Like many music obsessives, i have a bit of a thing for vinyl. I also adore minidiscs and tapes.

I mainly read modern poetry, and i'm particularly interested in the more experimental stuff. I suppose you could say that I collect poetry books, since I'm constantly buying them.

I don't read an awful lot of novels anymore... mainly because I'd feel guilty, since my job as a poetry student is to read poetry! I do like graphic novels though. 'The Watchmen' might well be my favourite book ever.

I also love zines. I started buying music and politics ones when I was into punk music as a teenager, but now I particularly like personal zines and art zines.

I discovered this site thanks to my girlfriend. I immediately loved it because I can't think of anything more exciting than recieving mail... (well, maybe a couple of things). I used to love mailordering records when I was younger, and apparently that brown-paper giddiness just doesn't wear off. So here I am aged 21, still a postal nerd. :)

I had never heard of ATCs until I joined this site. Just made my first one, and also recieved my first one. I think it's an awesome idea, so I'll definately be doing more of those swaps.

I also love making and recieving mixtapes or mix CDs, so I'm always up for those swaps.

And I've now become fascinated with book binding. Haven't tried making my own yet, but i'm going to try soon. And I can't wait to try my hand at upcycling some books to make new notebooks. I can never have enough notebooks, after all.

Here is a short list of things I would be especially happy to find in a brown envelope: - cool envelopes (I just got some made from old maps!) - buttons (the type you sew, rather that the type you pin to things. Brits call those badges. Talking of which...) - badges - fancy paper - any stationary - ATCs - music - chocolate - patches - beer mats - poetry - minidiscs! - anything you care to send, really.