December 24, 2005

• I'm trying to get around to writing one, but I haven't worked out how to turn the internet off so I can get three fucking seconds to myself. Curse you all, and Happy Christmas!
• A few of my friends from college and I write each other handwritten snailmail letters. Mostly catching-up and girlfriend gossip type things; it's the same stuff we talked about over coffee when we were roommates, just in monologue format. :> There's something wonderful about getting the mail and finding a big fat envelope from Tae or Lasha in it, in knowing I've got six or seven double-sided pages of news and thoughts to enjoy at my leisure.
• I try to, and my best friend even designed a personal Chinese seal for me which uses my chinese nickname 嗜茶妹子, which means something like "the girl who really loves tea". I have to remember to use it next time I write letters. I have a list of addresses of monkeys whom I write to when I travel and pick up postcards. But yeah, email and also text messages has made me a more infrequent letter writer. I really should get back to it. One way I used to try to get myself to write more was to carry around a small bag that contained a A5 sized notepad (plain, unlined paper), envelopes, a pen, and some stamps. Whenever I get some time to myself - waiting for a friend, having a cup of tea, so on - I'd whip out the bag, write a few lines, chuck the note in the envelope, stamp it, and throw it into the nearest post box.
• I don't have "friends", so I write letters to myself - "quidnunc in the future". But I only actually receive letters from myself from the past! I already know what the "past quidnunc" wants to say, so his letters are quite boring. But, yeah, the "future quidnunc" never writes back, the rude prick. Actually, I might send me a letter about that - "How come you never write back, you stupid fuck? What - you're too busy for your old self? I hope I never turn out like you." Do me a favour - if you ever see me in the future, just punch me in the nose and say "that's from past quidnunc, you thoughtless shit." Then give me a kick in the balls. Thanks.
• I have not written a letter in years. In college, I used to write many, many letters. I think that it is very sad that people do not write letters. Email is nowhere near being a substitute. I don't know when I have ever received an email that is as long or detailed as a handwritten letter would be. Typically, an email is just a line or two. Handwritten letters used to be a couple of pages or so.
• I write letters as often as possible. I still like finding cool stationary to send it on. Since I work seasonally in a resort town, I often make friends who say they still like writing letters, as a means of staying in touch. But when I send them one, they often respond to me with an e-mail, saying it was just easier.
• Not too long ago I spent the best part of 12 months traveling through North and Central America. Along the way I kept a list of names and addresses of people I'd met through my blog, and in each stop would buy 20 or so postcards, and would send them to people on the list. Because I was traveling on my own and as lightly as possible, the postcards - particularly the ones I sent back to family members - became the souvenirs of my travels. It was an absurdly enjoyably process. One that I miss.
• But when I send them one, they often respond to me with an e-mail, saying it was just easier. Ah, now that must be disappointing. It's funny, for a long time I would type letters in a word processor and print them out to send, and was always surprised when people would say something like, 'It's not as nice as receiving a handwritten letter.' I used to do that because of a problem with the index finger on my writing hand, which can make writing by hand for any length of time quite painful, but as I've got older I've come to understand that a handwritten letter is somehow much more personal than a printed one, so now I take the time to write what letters I do send by hand. It sometimes means I can only write 2 or 3 paragraphs at a time, but I feel better about it when I post the finished letter for having taken the effort.
• I have a similar thing to Eriphyle. I have a few friends from college who don't use the internet that much and live in an area with crappy phone service, so I correspond with them with letters. The ex I'm on really good terms with and I send letters in boxes of stuff. In fact, I'm looking at a box-of-stuff-with letter from her and a letter from the others right now at my desk. It's my turn to respond. I have more stationery than I can use, but I like trying to make a dent in the pile.
• Still do a fair amount -- many to kin/friends not on line, or living in foreign parts where email access is less convenient, etc.
• I love writing letters and certainly don't do it often enough. My best friend is, surprisingly, computer illiterate and so, since I hate talking on the phone, I always hand write letters to her. In fact, I never send printed letters, only handwritten ones. I still send short letters to my remaining grandmother, who has dementia. All I ever sent to any of my grandparents were handwritten letters and I would get the best letters back from them. I miss them. Especially now. As for subject matter, always updates on my life, children, etc. I write as if I am having a conversation with the person I'm writing to. I've been told on many occasions that I write great letters. I make my children write letters to their grandparents about once a month. They love it. God forbid we ever forget how to do it.
• I miss the art of letter writing, mostly because I really have no one to write to anymore. It's due less to the advent of email than to the proliferation of cell phones, free roaming, and dirt cheap long distance. I don't really have any close friends out of town, and the few family members that are out of town are regularly on the phone with me. Ten years ago, long distance bills made that an expensive proposition. Most of my friends and family are in town, so we see each other quite regularly or are in touch via phone or IM. There's no shortage of friends; they're all just close by. At one time, though, I did have a few friends out of town, through pen pal contacts or the church youth groups I once hung with. It was a lot of fun writing to them, and even more fun getting a nice thick envelope in the mailbox. I remember one letter I sent that I got the idea to use up the 1 cent stamps that had been accumulating (to buy a 27 cent stamp out of the machine, you couldn't use pennies, so you'd get a 27 cent and three 1 cent stamps for 30 cents.) He got a really good laugh out of that. And I used to be in a battle with my sis to see who could send the wackiest postcard. Maybe it's time to start that one again.
• Only a few postcards at year's end, and a couple others in very special ocassions. Email is to blame, sure. Plus my crappy handwriting; it looks like the scribblings of a schizoid on caffeine. Mmh, wait...
• Plus my crappy handwriting; it looks like the scribblings of a schizoid on caffeine. I have terrible handwriting as well, but I still enjoy the process, for all the reasons people list above, of writing and receiving letters. I just have to ask for patience and forgiveness from anyone who receives a letter from me for the inevitable process of, 'I think he was writing about what he did last weekend and then the rest appears to be written in Vulcan.'
• By the by, anyone who would like to share correspondence with someone-from-elsewhere (that would be me, in this case), you are very, very welcome to drop me an email via the address in my profile with a postal address. I can't promise that what I'll send will be legible or interesting, but I can promise to send letters authentically scribbled by the very hands that typed many of these words. But wait! There's more! The first eleventy million people to indicate their interest will also receive ABSOLUTELY FREE a collection of pre-loved envelopes in which the letters will be stored! Again, in all seriousness, please do send me an email if you'd like someone else / new with which to correspond.
• I used to love writing letters - chatting about interesting events, philosophizing, playing with words, speculating on theories beyond my expertise - but arthritis in my right hand make my handwriting bad to illegible, now (and painful.) I can still get inspired on occasion with email, but it reallly isn't the same as "drawing" each part of a thought. That really concentrated the focus, while word processing seems to scatter it. That may sound pretentious, but I do feel there's a qualitative difference.
• Oh, and, any spelling mistakes up there are because I'm such a free spirit that I don't care, and I never figured out how to use the spellchecker thingie that tracicle gave us, and they all sound the same anyway, so you know what I mean.
• I had a pen pal for a while and then he just up and disappeared so I haven't written a letter in a while. I think that's going to be my new year's resolution, to keep in better touch with folks - I normally don't do resolutions cuz I think its silly to wait until a certain date to do something good for yourself but this conveniently coincides so why not? And it's true that thoughts come out differently in handwritten letters than in emails. In emails you can go back and edit yourself, not so much in handwritten letters. What you see is what you get.
• And I second what planetthoughtful said - I'd love to start a letter-writing campaign with anyone interested. At least get my creative juices flowing and keep me occupied in the off-season. Email in profile.
• Love to get 'em, hate to write 'em. Computer keyboards and spell check have ruint me!
• Planetthoughtful, danapiper, how about we do something along the lines of our Monkey giftswap? We can start a lj community, and a round robin of letters to be sent out every month/fortnight/holiday or something. We don't have only write to whom we're assigned to, and the advantage will be that we have a common place to keep snail mail addresses, plus a deadline so we don't keep putting it off. How's that sound?
• We don't have only write to => We don't have to only write to
• I wasn't a letter writer before the advent of email and instant messaging, and am not one now. I'm not even good at keeping up with email. I have some kind of deep aversion to writing letters or email for no reason (at least none that I recognize.) I don't have a problem with instant messaging, and will talk someone's ear off on the phone when given the chance. I love to get letters and email, but if I try to write any back, I sit there staring at a blank sheet of paper or a blank screen and feeling uncomfortable. I eventually give up, and then spend quite some time feeling guilty that I'm lousy at this and almost never reply. (And I'll apologize right here and now to those monkeys I've exchanged a few emails with, and then gone silent. It's nothing against you, and I really enjoyed the email from you. I've tried writing back, and just can't seem to get around this whatever-it-is. Is there a word for email and letter aversion? Cause if so, that's what I've got.)
• Flagpole- have you ever invested in an old-fashioned nibbed pen? I cycle in and out of using mine to keep my handwriting decent. Having to hold a pen in a certain fashion seems to help me, at least. YMMV.
• Flagpole- have you ever invested in an old-fashioned nibbed pen? I know I've had to invest a lot of time in finding pens with which I can achieve something close to readable handwriting. For me, the secret has been very fine points. I almost couldn't contain my excitement when I discovered Lamy produce a fountain pen with an extra fine point, as I've never been able to write legibly with a fountain pen previously.
• Alnedra - I think that's a fabulous idea!
• What shall we call it? MofiLetters? MofiMail? Monkeymail? Any other suggestions?
• MonkeySnailMail? I'm in.
• Mo'Mail... I'm definitely in as well! By an 'lj' community, Alnedra, do you mean a 'LiveJournal' blog?
• Hmmm. Monkeys Going Postal?
• No, it's an livejournal community, not blog. This is a journal (ahem, self-link). This is a community. There's a bit of difference.
• Monkeys Going Postal MGP? HA! Yes, I likes it.
• I'll throw in a vote for that as well (latest Pratchett novel I read probably has something to do with it). Any objections? I'll get a community started tomorrow morning (^_^)
• MGP it is, then! Thanks, Alnedra, for taking this to the next step. ;>
• Not a problem (^_^). We're all set up here. I had to name it Monkeys_GP, because of the character limit and MGP was already taken. Send me emails with your lj identity, and I'll invite you into the community. Even if you're not interested in maintaining a livejournal, it's perfectly fine to sign up for one just to join the community. I'm working the evening shift tomorrow and then catching Narnia after that, so if I'm tardy in inviting you, please understand (^_^)
• Christophine: "Epistolophobia - Fear of writing letters" from the Phobia Dictionary. There's a phobia for everything.
• So how was Narnia?
• I couldn't wait for Edmund and Peter to come out of the closet.
• I hailed the widespread proliferation of computers as nothing short of a miracle. I can't write fast enough to put my thoughts down. So I rush the handwriting and it's not even close to readable. With the keyboard, there's finally a way I can put down my thoughts at the correct speed. I could never go back. (Yes, I talk fast too, and everyone I know yells at me. I sometimes think I live in a slightly different phase than the rest of the world.)
• Hey, Lara, remember - 'I don't talk too fast, you think too slow'. Oh, Eriphyle: being a graphics monkey, I have drawers full of every kind of writing implement; the ones I feel the best attempting to write is with those Staedler semi-fine-point ones; the liquid, loose feel on paper and specially coated stock helps me untangle my fingers. Worse: cheapo Bic-like pens; whenever I have to fill some form with one of those, I cringe. Have a nice fountain pen, but actually never used it. It was a gift.
• bees: Narnia was really good, although plotwise it was rather choppy. If you've never read the book, you would be bewildered. Strangely, instead of making The Magician's Nephew next, they'll be filming Prince Caspian. Hmmm... Anyway, nudge nudge. Interested monkeys, please sign up to Livejournal if you haven't already, and request to join Monkeys Going Postal. We need letter-writers!
• *sputters, coughs* "Cheapo Bic-like pens?" Good lord, man, they're fantastic! Provided it's a real Bic, and not an imitation brand. It's the right weight, it has the right resistance on the page, and best of all, they can be lost without too much worry. Bic pens are one of Man's Great Inventions of All Time Ever. Truly. Not saying that they're good for fancy-dancy graphics work, but for just writing (or launching spitballs), they can't be beat.
• (Plus, they have those caps you can use to clean your nails, so Bics have that going for them, too.)
• I'd like to do this - I love writing letters only because I get replies and I am hopeless at replying - but maybe here I could be nudged about beng so slack and it would give me oomph so to speak - now I just have to tackle the Livejournal thing - thus speaketh the not so sure techno humaniphobe one
• Besides when I handwrite (and anyone who gets one will recognise - it will look like a drunken spider with hiccups!)I spell far better - no more dyslexic fingers BONUS
• Actually, Capt., I used to chew on those caps until they were ruined. So I'm trying to wean off my addiction... eh. Oh, fly - I've noticed my typing dyslexya is creeping into the little handwriting I do. Cripes.
• ...they'll be filming Prince Caspian Reepicheep sailed he woz not long curtailed o'er the heart of a lion he finally prevailed
• fly and all other interested - but intimidated - monkeys: 1. Livejournal is really easy to set up. If you like, email me with a list of usernames (probably about three, in case the first one is already taken), and I'll set one up for you. You'll get a confirmation email in your inbox, click on the link and you're in! I'll do the invitation to the Monkeysgoingpostal community on my end, so that you can join the community just by clicking a link also (I think). 2. Handwritten letters would be nice, but any letter is great. Type them out, print them, do it ransom-note style even! The important thing is tht letters are sent out and letters are received (^_^)
• nudge nudge. Anyone still interested? Email's in profile.
• Alnedra, I think I am going to FFP this idea so we can get more people to sign on. It would be fun!