sebastian122

Before I say anything, thank you. A big thanks to everyone who has swapped with me. The quality of people I have had the pleasure of interacting with is amazing. Thank you and may all your swaps net you hearts. ^__^

Very random things I like: crabs, anything with an ancient history feel, mythology, Surrealism, comparative religion, Victorian scrap, British and Japanese folklore, kitsune, old maps, pumpkins, statuary, Peeps, stickers, images of raw meat, C9 Christmas lights, stationery, the Uffington White Horse, Takashi Murakami, conversation hearts, the Mahabharata, alchemy, cheese, archaeology, pork, purple, honey, driving, cemeteries, Doctor Who, the wife, vacuuming,

I look forward to the day when people spell my name right. ^__^

The basics are: I love papercraft (been doing decos for about 5 years.) If there's paper involved, I'm totally there! And it's like an illness! lol@me I'll buy paper just to look at it. To possess it. It must be MINE! Bwahahahahahaaaa!

(Themes I can't pass on: Anything historic, mythic, color related, involving quotes, Asian, holiday, literary, postage stamps and food)

People have said for years I'm a good cook and frankly, I think anyone can be a good cook...you just have to pick good recipes, the rest is simply following directions.

(My comfort food is forever Indian. All my friends share this fate.)

I have combined these two loves in what is known in my immediate circles as the Magic Cookbook. Think, very usable scrapbook. There will be blood spilled for possession of this blibit when I die.

(This is where my love of stickers really shine! I tend toward food themes - obviously - Japanese and kawaii, holiday related, anime, and celestial. I avoid like the plague Disney and cats.) (And BTW, stickers, stickers, stickers! Sheets, cut from sheets, flake...I love 'em all.)

I write fiction, too. To fill in those times between meals. Writing is a byproduct of my love of research. Delving into a topic is delightful and writing about it helps it stick to the gray matter. How long it sticks, however, is subject to change without my notice.

(Currently I'm writing an urban fantasy involving illuminated manuscripts so my evenings are full of vellum.)

I love to travel, and my favorite destinations are England and Japan. I love Bronze, Iron and Roman Age Britain. All my pictures of England are rocks and grass. I can spot a tumulus a mile off in a moving car and snap a picture without swerving into oncoming traffic. I have mad driving skills over there.

In Tokyo it's ALL about the shopping. It's a paper-lovers dream. Flying halfway around the world to buy paper has come to feel natural at this point. We typically go for Winter Comiket and lemme tell you, there's nothing like Tokyo for New Year. I'm a big Inari fan and visiting shrines is tied with shopping.

(I'm an anime and manga fan, as well as Q-lia and Crux products. I'm helpless before food with a face drawn on, but eschew Hello Kitty and most Sanrio items.)

I have yet to step foot in Europe, but I've circled it like a buzzard. Norway, Sweden, Egypt, Scotland. And closer to home, Mexico and Venezuela...with the usual coterie of states thrown in.

The wonderful (defunct) group Amici Forever/or until the money runs out introduced me to the interesting world of opera about 4 years ago and I haven't looked back. This was a major change for me as heavy metal was my music of choice. These days I listen to both with plenty of Medieval reconstruction thrown in.

(Lots of belly dance music, very early church music, metal, opera, anime themes and a smattering of J-Pop.)

I have come to understand something about myself: I dislike silence. Even when we're with friends talking, I want music on in the background. Funny how life is. ;-)

I'm a big Lewis Carroll fan, as well as Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Erica Friedman, and Ayumi Yui. At breakfast I reach for a manga, but in the evening it's usually non-fiction...when football isn't on.

(While I love both Alice books, I think it's a HUGE shame that Carroll's other books, specifically, Sylve and Bruno, are practically unknown. I'll marathon A Christmas Carol, Northanger Abbey and P&P when I need downtime. When I want a manga, it's V.B. Rose, From Far Away or Go~ Go~ Heaven on the top of the pile.)

People with no boundaries. Boundaries include but are not limited to: religion, politics, children, cats, chronic illness and sexual preference. Yes, I don't care if your diabetic Muslim-Republican-8 year old's cat is gay, so spare me.

(More specifically I don't like Diddl, Disney, Peanuts, Winnie the Pooh (what is a pooh anyway?), celebrities, alcohol, smoking, Suzie's Zoo, Precious Moments, Snow Babies, and 99% of the shows on TV.)

(I'm also learning to dislike people who don't send their swaps out...) (Or perhaps I should say I hate people who send out their swaps on the last day. I know, I know, that's what a deadline is for, yaddi yaddi, there's no need to preach to me, but I seriously think that if you've joined a swap --with no craft element involved-- there is NO reason to not send it out within days of the swap date. Feel free to think I'm a sanctimonious bitch. I'm good with that.)

I collect vintage holiday postcards. (This was in direct retaliation for being dragged to every antique show in a 150 mile radius of my parent's house.) I prefer them bright and colorful and don't care if they're written on. When I go to a show I always check for pin holes and to see what condition the stamp is in, but if I like the image enough, these 2 points can be overlooked.

(In order of interest: Halloween, Christmas, Halloween, Valentine's, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Halloween, Easter and Halloween.)

I also like vintage postcards of food; "This is a picture of the dinner I have just had..." variety.

Love 'em. Want 'em. ALL of 'em. Hand 'em over and no one will get hurt. Stickers, stickers, stickers. Pattie's happy place.

I adore Stickeroni (the actual sticker of Stickeroni. I collect 'em. ;-) flake stickers (especially of food!!) cut from sheets, whole sheets...okay I do draw the line at reward stickers, but it's an easily erased line, truth be told.

Oh, and did I mention I love stickers? I do. A lot.

Something else I adore, postage stamps...as modern as possible, as colorful as possible, as large as possible. I think Finland tops the charts for the best stamps, followed not too far behind by England. Sadly, I think the stamps from America blow. What can ya do? ;-)

I shy away from Sanrio, but will melt before food with a face!!! >_< I love it with all my love. I also love anything ghostly (obakemono/yokai). And not-quite-kawaii, tokidoki is uber cool, IMO.