Mail Call! 11/08/14 - 15/08/14

Sent Mail: 2 Items!

Item #1: Birthday Card & Present for Danny!

Recently I came across this story that I posted to The official The Written Words Facebook Page, about a young boy about to turn 6 that has an inoperable brain tumor. Since he's had to stop going to kindergarten, and therefore gets lonely, but loves to receive cards with his name on them. His birthday was July 25th, and I know that my sending in a card was very late, I still felt compelled to send something when I read the article about Danny. My brother had cancer when he was 13, Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, so in a way I felt I could relate to this boy, as well as what his family must be going through. My brother eventually got better, but Danny's type of cancer is very resistant to chemotherapy, so it pains me to say that the odds aren't as great as they could be.

Even so, Danny has already overcome the odds he has been dealt by making it to his 6th birthday, and I hope that things will begin to get better for him. I also hope he'll enjoy the small toys I included, 2 small collectible Mario Kart figurines. It said in the article that he likes Lego and Super Mario, so I thought these might be appreciated.

Item #2: Letter & Gift for My Childhood Friend Paige!

Back in grade school I was part of a close-knit and small group of friends. One of the girls in that group moved away to British Columbia before the start of 8th grade, and aside from one time she came back to Ontario to visit, I haven't seen much of her since. We have each other as friends on Facebook, and we used to keep in better touch, but lately I've just been getting updated on her life from what I see on her Facebook. 

Paige is the same age as me, but she's already married and has 3 adorable children. I remember us chatting on MSN when she was pregnant with her first child. I can't remember how old we were but my first instinct was to think that she was rather young to become a mother, at least in my opinion, but she seemed so excited and happy, and the father was definitely in the picture, so I made sure to wish her well. Today I can hardly believe that I ever doubted her. She has grown into a beautiful woman (who is still gorgeous even when pregnant, something I'm sure all women can envy XD) who is still so much like the girl I spent some of my elementary school years with.

Before she left for BC, I had bought her a gift - whether it was for Christmas or her January birthday, I can't remember - but I never actually sent it off to her. So recently I decided to remedy that. I got her address from her, wrote her a letter where I tried to sum up what she's missed of my life throughout the past near-10 years, and asked her all sorts of questions about how things are going with her right now. I look forward to getting a reply from her, either in the mail or through Facebook or email. But of course I'll be patient in my waiting - she has three kids and a husband to wrestle with now, after all :P

Received Mail: 6 Items!

Item #1: Spigen Protective Phone Case!

After my phone died recently, and very suddenly (right before I was to begin travelling by bus from Barrie to Toronto and then to St. Catharines XP), I was able to get a brand new phone from Rogers. My new phone is an LG G3, and it is a miracle worker. The picture quality is unbelievable, it has a split-screen feature so I can check email and watch My Drunk Kitchen on YouTube at the same time, along with a lot of other amazing perks. But if I have any sort of history with my electronic items, it's that I drop them on a regular basis XP Since this phone model is so new, I had to go online to order a case. But it finally arrived, and my phone is now protected by the shock-absorbent mint-green rubber edges. Both stylish and convenient :)

Item #2: Card from My Aunt Kathy!

My Aunt Kathy and my Uncle Mike are the ones I went to visit for 5 days in Wasaga Beach during the last week of July, and I had a lot of fun with them. The reason my aunt was sending me a card was because it included a special present - and luckily it wasn't her sending me money to cover the bus tickets I took to visit them, because I'd be shaking my fist at her XD Inside was a pair of feather earrings that I'd been wearing while the two of us were walking on the beach that I'd taken out and zipped up in her purse when they were starting to bug my ears. I really appreciate her sending those back to me.

Item #4: Nail Polish Subscription from +blacksheeplacquer!

It's always a happy time of month when I get my three brand-new nail polish bottles in the mail! All three colours look positively exquisite and I'm very keen to try them out. It's been a while since I painted my nails, and I might not get the chance until school starts, what with FanExpo being right around the corner, and having pretty nails won't exactly match a lot of my cosplay costumes. But I can't wait until school starts, when I get to try out some kick-ass colourful nail art!

Item #4: Postcard & Birthday Package From My Amazing Pen Pal Diana!

This girl definitely knows how to spoil another girl XD First I checked out the cool-looking postcard that arrived from my far too awesome pen pal, which told me that I'd be receiving a birthday package soon (which oddly enough was sitting right next to me on the bed that same day :P). She also explained the design on the front of the card, telling me that it's from a Mexican card game called Loteria. She explained it's kind of like bingo and said she'll send me the game if I want.

If you're reading this Diana, I say Hell yes! XD New games are always a blast! Maybe I'll even be able to review it for PaperDroids? Who knows? And I'm curious to hear more about the game, like how many players it's for and how it works. Let me know when you get the chance!

Then came the amazing Birthday package!! On the postcard she said that I could open it whenever I wanted, so to all of you judging me for not waiting until my birthday. I shall stick my tongue out at you XP So first came a super-sweet card that was folded kind of like a story book and had stuff written on each of the folds, AND it was my favorite colour, so that was pretty great. And inside the card was a back of Game of Thrones trading cards, which I think is super cool. I haven't opened the pack yet but I will be soon.

Diana included a little note with each wrapped gift, which I thought was amazing. In her amazing birthday package to me, she included a tube of L'Oreal Voluminous Miss Manga Mascara, which I've been curious to try for a while (and I finally have since receiving it in the mail, it separates my lashes super well, I really like it :) ); a silver Kingdom hearts necklace, which I adore because it's blue and I might even be wearing it with the blue dress I'm wearing for my birthday party on Saturday; a really nice Hand of the King pin, which is way better than the crappy plastic ones I've seen on sale around here, this one's actually metal and it's super nice; and a paperback copy of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith, which I haven't read yet but is now definitely on my list!

All in all this was an incredibly generous birthday package, and Diana, I can't thank you enough. You're the best :D

Item #5: Thank You Card from Emily Farquarson!

For those of you who saw these amazing pictures put up by Emily of all the thank you cards she received in lieu of her operation . . . yes, one of those might have been from me.

Maybe that black Snail Mail stamp on that yellow card looks familiar . . . ? XD

I didn't include it as part of one of my Mail Call posts because it had to be kept a secret; it was a very hush-hush operation. Now Farq has received all of her Get Well Soon cards from amazing iggles all around the world, and I'm so glad that she enjoyed them :) I certainly didn't expect to get a thank you card in the mail, but I did!

In the card, I couldn't get enough of her robot drawing, and I was happy to hear that she was feeling "at least 74,926% better." In the card she also asked be about where I got the cool washi tape I used on the card I sent her, which is one I picked out specifically because it was a cool black and white lace pattern and I knew she was into everything macabre from the stuff she sells on Etsy. Now, let's just say that Em might be receiving another package from me including some cool black and white washi tape of her own? Stay tuned!

Item #6: Birthday Card From Uncle Mike & Aunt Kathy!

It was so sweet of my aunt and uncle to have sent me a card to wish me a Happy Brithday! When I got the card my mom had a hunch it was from them, and sure enough she was spot on, as always. The card included a $20 bill, which is very sweet but YOU GUYS SPENT WAY TOO MUCH ON ME WHEN I CAME TO VISIT AND YOU WOULDN'T LET ME PAY FOR ANYTHING AND I LOVE YOU FOR IT AND GAH but it's still very, very much appreciated :) I actually used their generous gift to buy myself a new book from my store that I have been super anxious to read, The Opposite of Loneliness. I'll have to let you guys know how that turns out.

That's all the mail from last week! I plan on sending out some other things this week, but it will probably be a bit slower, what with my birthday and the IGGPPC Camp and all of that. Either way, there should definitely be another mail call happening this coming weekend. I'll keep you all posted!