filmstarcrazy

Sherlock: The name is Sherlock Holmes and the address is 221B Baker Street.

I'm a 27-year-old college graduate with a BFA in poetry and a minor in English, and I work at an elementary school daycare where I'm surrounded by childs and their childly interests, which mirror mine. I'm openly bisexual and supportive of all things LGBTQ. I am a pacifist. I'm kind of socialist? Very liberal? I'm agnostic, but I find religion interesting. I don't discriminate.

I am a writer in that I write things, albeit infrequently, and a singer in that I sing whenever possible, largely at karaoke nights around PDX. I don't really want to be Lady Gaga famous (I don't think I could handle it)--I just want to sing for people who want to hear me and will enjoy it. I'd make a good proofreader as well and I know I have a novel in me somewhere. I'm also toying with the idea of publishing a book of my poetry. Other self-expressive hobbies of mine include knitting, crocheting, collage, drawing poorly and the occasional 'let's string some beads on some cord and pretend it looks nice.'

My sister and I moved to Portland, Oregon from Omaha, Nebraska, in February 2011. Everything is better on the coasts! I love the beach and the ocean and forests and trees, but I also love cities with their grit, grime, high-rises, concrete and noise. Chicago is probably my favorite city that I've been to in the States, but London may win out over all because I'm a HUGE Anglophile.

OBSESSIONS! I have several. My biggest ones are related to the United Kingdom, specifically BRITPOP, which is a catch-all term describing the musical movement of the 1990s that involved the bands Suede, Blur, Oasis, Mansun, Longpigs, Manic Street Preachers, Pulp and a ton of other music, all of it fantastic! The post-Britpop movements are also favorites of mine--artists like Muse and Kaiser Chiefs are most excellent. More than half the artists in my CD collection hail from the UK. I've got issues.

JAN 2012: I AM SO INTO SHERLOCK HOLMES, ESPECIALLY BBC'S SHERLOCK WITH BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH AND MARTIN FREEMAN OH MY GOD HOW I LOVE THEM. AND I'M READING THE ORIGINAL STORIES BY SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE AND LOVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THIS DETECTIVE. THE GAME IS ON.

I essentially love anything culturally to do with Wales, Scotland, England and Ireland, too. I love tea and custard and scones and pasties and British accents and Doctor Who and Mighty Boosh and other BBC Comedy and Sherlock Holmes and Graham Norton and Jonathan Ross and the London Underground (I LOVE the Tube and anything to do with it, like Tube maps and stuff that says Mind The Gap and the roundel station markers) and Union Jacks and red telephone booths--seriously, the only English things I can think of that I hate are Morrissey and salad cream. And riding the Tube when it's really crowded and hot.

ON SWAPS: If you haven't gotten something from me for a swap and it's near/past deadline, LET ME KNOW! I try to send my mail out in a very timely fashion and will do my best to figure out what's happened to it if it hasn't arrived. I would never flake--I'd hate to disappoint anyone! So please contact me if you haven't gotten something and I'll resolve it/resend it ASAP! Also, don't forget that international mail takes a while! Anything I send from here to Europe takes at least 2 weeks, generally. I will keep tabs on what's arrived, though, and I always have my receipts until everyone's gotten everything.

Adele. Lily Allen. Tori Amos. Brett Anderson. Beyoncé. Björk. Bloc Party. Blur. David Bowie. James Dean Bradfield. Bernard Butler. Coldplay. Edwyn Collins. The Cure. Depeche Mode. Dresden Dolls. Duffy. Electronic. Sophie Ellis-Bextor. Brian Eno. The Faint. Florence + the Machine. Brandon Flowers. Franz Ferdinand. Gavin Friday. Futon. Garbage. Girls Aloud. Goldfrapp. Grammatics. Handbags At Dawn. Darren Hayes. The Hoosiers. IAMX. Natalie Imbruglia. Joy Division. Kaiser Chiefs. Keane. The Killers. Kish Mauve. Lady Gaga. Ladytron. La Roux. Longpigs. M.I.A. Manic Street Preachers. Mansun. Marina & the Diamonds. Maroon 5. Johnny Marr + the Healers. McAlmont & Butler. Menswe@r. Dannii Minogue. Kylie Minogue. Modest Mouse. Muse. Kate Nash. New Order. Oasis. OK Go. Pet Shop Boys. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. Radiohead. Lou Reed. Rihanna. Savage Garden. Scissor Sisters. Shakira. The Smiths. Sneaker Pimps. Sons & Daughters. Spacehog. Rachel Stevens. Suede. Talking Heads. The Tears. Third Eye Blind. Justin Timberlake. Travis. U2. Underworld. Holly Valance. Velvet Underground. Diana Vickers. Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Isolated tracks I love include "More Than A Feeling" by Boston, "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey, "Under Pressure" by Queen & David Bowie, "Bittersweet Symphony" by the Verve and "One Headlight" by the Wallflowers, "Come On, Eileen" by Dexys Midnight Runners, "What Do You Want From Me?" by Monaco.

My favorite stuff is clearly dance/electro and Britpop, but I like stuff with rap and stuff with twang and stuff with classical touches. It all depends on the sort of band. I love vocals and percussion most, but a good guitarist (Johnny Marr, Bernard Butler, James Dean Bradfield) will dissolve me.

LOVES: rainbows, crayons (I WANT CRAYONS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD! Crayola is my favorite brand but I don't discriminate. I love crayon-shaped things, too!), discoballs, maps & globes, Britpop, round things, glitter, things shaped like fruit, scarves, candy (I love most any dark/milk chocolate, red liquorice, sour gummis, hard candies, lollipops, and I crave black-currant flavored things from England!), coconut everything (especially Mounds bars!), chocolate (Cadbury Fruit & Nut bars are AMAZING. I like higher cocoa percentages and no corn syrup if possible--I love Dove milk chocolates a lot. I'll probably eat any chocolate I'm given.), REAL 100% MAPLE SYRUP, feathers/feather boas, CATS, HOT-AIR BALLOONS (I'm scared to go in one, but I think they're so beautiful and cheerful and I like to chase them when I see them in the sky!), glam rock, tea (black & green are great! I love herbals and anything cinnamonny! Earl Grey and matcha are among my favorites), yarn, ribbon, percussion instruments, Gibson & Fender guitars (like Johnny Marr & Bernard Butler play!), books & magazines, Scrabble, Tetris, Monopoly, Uno, video games in general, jigsaw puzzles, stars, astronomy, London, the UK in general, Australia, flamingos and other birds, Florence + the Machine, paper ephemera, Doctor Who, mp3s and mix CDs, socks and stockings (tube-style or small-footed are best, any color--I love stripes & rainbows & stars), most flowers, band & film posters, PERFUME (my favorite scent in the world is Earl Grey tea, so I love bergamot notes. My second favorite scent is roses and third may be any kind of chai-esque scent like cinnamon or cloves or ginger! I wear lots of fruity citrusy notes and florals and I really love watery oceanic scents and light woodsy notes. I'm a perfume junkie), meeting famous people, road trips, travel in general, autumn, blankets & pillows, leopard print, rhinestones, markers & Sharpies, vegetables, mushrooms, trees, sunsets, vintage photographs/daguerrotypes/tintypes, purses & bags, colored paper, flags, pins, buttons, glass, Lucite/acrylic plastic (especially rings!!), long letters/correspondence, custard, bats, almonds & pecans, well-made handmade items, sterling silver and stainless steel jewelry, magazine clippings about my favorite bands/actors (articles/interviews/photos/full-page album/tour ads), Sherlock Holmes, stickers or pins or keychains or other band merch (Muse, Suede, Florence + the Machine and Manic Street Preachers especially!).

FAVORITE COLORS: Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, black, grey, brown! My apartment is full of rainbows. Colors delight me and make me happy. I've taken to wearing more grey recently because it's just easy to accessorize with, but my closet's got clothes in every color. I've been very fond of purples this year, but my favorite color changes a lot. It was once turquoise, then indigo, then magenta, then orange, yellow and olive green. I am a box of crayons. :)

-- The Ground Beneath Her Feet by Salman Rushdie. -- American Gods by Neil Gaiman. -- Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett. -- The God Of Small Things by Arundhati Roy. -- Making History by Stephen Fry. -- Jennifer Government by Max Barry. -- The Awakening by Kate Chopin. -- Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins. -- The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. -- Annie On My Mind by Nancy Garden. -- Breakfast On Pluto by Patrick McCabe. -- Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen. -- The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. -- Midnight In The Garden of Good & Evil by John Berendt. -- The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie. -- Tommy's Tale by Alan Cumming. -- Cheaper By The Dozen and Belles On Their Toes by Ernestine Gilbreth Carey & Frank Gilbreth, Jr. -- A Break With Charity by Ann Rinaldi. -- Bridget Jones' Diary by Helen Fielding. -- The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde. -- Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. -- Interview With The Vampire by Anne Rice. -- In The Stone Circle by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel.

I spend an inordinate amount of time reading Wikipedia. I also love trivia/useless information books and nonfiction books on any subject that strikes my fancy, like particular eras of history or countries or cultures. I like to learn things. I also love magazines and keep bins of them stashed under my bed, sorted by type. I like music magazines (ESPECIALLY British ones--they're the best and most relevant to my interests, like Q and Mojo, but also Spin) and fashion magazines and the Doctor Who magazine.

MOVIES: Breakfast on Pluto, Dead Poets Society, Pirates of the Caribbean, Sherlock Holmes, Velvet Goldmine. My mom instilled a love of black & white classic films in me when I grew up, so I've seen a great number of things on AMC and TCM.

**ACTORS I LOVE*: Robert Downey, Jr., Johnny Depp, Cillian Murphy, Keira Knightley, Olivia Wilde, Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, Cate Blanchett, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jude Law, Ewan McGregor, Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Angelina Jolie, Rachel McAdams, Kate Winslet, Martin Freeman, Matt Smith, David Tennant, Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill, Alex Kingston, Christopher Eccleston, Noel Fielding, Julian Barratt, Rich Fulcher, Craig Ferguson.

TELEVISION: Doctor Who, Mighty Boosh, House MD, Nevermind The Buzzcocks, Jeeves & Wooster, Arrested Development, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Sherlock (2010 BBC series). I LOVE SO MANY BBC SHOWS. Also, England's Quiz Shows are brilliant--I mostly watch clips on YouTube, but Big Fat Quiz Of The Year is AWESOME.

COLORS I HATE: Beige, taupe, white, drab colors, muted shades. On the other spectrum, I also don't like neons.

HATES: Candles, grape flavoring/scent, orange flavoring/scent, gold jewelry, white chocolate, peanut butter in candy/with chocolate, Three Musketeers bars, Smarties candies, spiders, bronze, teddy bears, cutesy baby things (like Anne Geddes or Precious Moments or ANYTHING with little kids/babies on it--it weirds me out), hospitals, death-related things, prog rock and anything hair metal, disorganization, musk, lavender, powder/talcum scents, snakes or other reptiles, wristwatches, soft-boiled eggs, military history, the Twilight saga, astrology, anime, any licensed comic/cartoon thing like Garfield or Peanuts or Winnie The Pooh or Mr. Man, holiday-themed apparel (it's used too infrequently), toe socks, baseball caps, silicone bracelets, puffy stickers/paint, marzipan, Sex & the City, most animated TV shows like Family Guy. Teas I don't like are red, orange, chamomile, lavender and lemongrass.

ALLERGIES: Hazelnuts. I'm sad. :\ And I can't wear nickel or brass jewelry--my skin's a pansy.

--- Doctor Who merch! I really want a Rose Tyler action figure (the 5" ones) and a Tenth Doctor. I've got two Elevens and a Nine. If there's an Amy Pond, I'd love her, too! Any clippings/posters/TARDIS/Dalek-themed things would be appreciated. :)

--- Stickers! Band stickers (see excessively long list above), Britishy stickers (Union Jacks, stuff that says London, telephone booths, et cetera), crayon stickers, hot-air balloon stickers, musical instrument stickers, star stickers, state/country-themed stickers, map stickers, whatever!

--- Paper ephemera like maps and book pages and old ads and old labels and magazine clippings.

--- Mix CDs or USBs with mp3s on them! I love new music. Even just written suggestions of things you think I'll like would be great!

--- Earrings & necklaces. Silvery, colorful, dangly, glittery, enameled, charmed, giant pendants, glass, rhinestones. I love it all. :)

--- Trinkets. Foreign coins (I'd really love a Euro from San Marino and any older pre-Euro currencies and coins from basically everywhere!), board game pieces/tiles (Scrabble, Sorry, mahjong, dominoes, Monopoly, whatever there are spares of), discoballs, charms/pendants, religious/saint charms or crucifixes/crosses, luck-giving objects, subway and bus tokens.

--- Maps. Of anywhere, from any era. I love old maps! Tourism maps are adorable, too. And like, public transport maps that you can get free.

--- Postcards. Blank or written on, antique or new, of essentially anything.

--- ANYTHING related to the Manics, Florence Welch, Suede and Muse, among many, many other bands! I love pull-out posters, clippings, articles, interviews, advertisements for tours/albums, in-store advert placards, postcards, promo stickers, promo ANYTHING. I like a lot of English bands whose merch is near impossible to find here! I also like CD singles by any of these bands if you run across them for super-cheap!

--- Candy and snacks from other places! Weird flavors of Pocky! Black-currant candies! Any interesting/unique lollies/sweets/treats from your region!

--- Fashion accessories. I love long, thin or diaphanous scarves, wristlets, fingerless gloves/armwarmers, hats and ostentatious hairclips. Sequins, leopard print, glitter, rainbows, zebra/tiger prints, circular patterns and swirls are my favorites.

--- Books. Trivia books, historical nonfiction, depression memoirs, young adult novels (especially with a LGBTQ focus) and any interesting novels you think I might like. I read a lot of Salman Rushdie and Neil Gaiman.

--- Gel pens in bright colors and glittery/shimmery inks, and any other ballpoint or felt-tip pens. Sharpies, too! I LOVE PENS. :O

--- Handwritten correspondence! WRITE ME A LETTER. I love letters and I'll write you back!! :)

--- Collages and drawings by you! I love other people's art and I've got lots of my friends' art tacked to my walls. It makes it bright and cheery! :D

Things I can send or trade you!

--- Crochet or knitted items. Scarves, hats, small toys, bracelets/jewelry. I've been doing these since I was a kid (especially crocheting) and I'll do my best to do something you'd like!

--- Collages and drawings. I love to make artsy things and I love to share them!

--- Asian foods and trinkets. I live near a really cool pan-Asian grocery store/gift shop called Uwajimaya and I can get a variety of reasonably-priced Asian goods and anime books and origami papers and Hello Kitty and little dishes and paper decorations and delicious Vietnamese rice ramen!

--- Handwritten letters! Write me and I'll TRY TO write back! Musings about my day, life, questions about yours, discussions of what I'm reading or listening to, descriptions of people I know. All kinds of things find their way into my letters, including margin doodles! FEB. 2012: I AM SO BEHIND ON LETTERS. Just a lot of letters, I am behind on them. I apologize profusely about this & if you're here wondering why I've not written back, send me a PM or something! (The answer is that I suck.)

--- Beach crap. I live an hour from the ocean and if you're landlocked, I can get you sand, ocean water, seashells, feathers, rocks... all kinds of things! I've amassed quite a collection of beach crap because I hunt for stuff every time I go.

--- Clippings. I have TONS OF MAGAZINES that I cut things out of. So if you're in the market...

--- Oregon-related nonsense. I don't know what goes here! Postcards, flattened pennies, TriMet maps, those stickers with the green heart in them, some moss I found in the woods... What would you fancy? (Within reason--I can't ship you a live beaver. Or a dead one.)

--- Mp3s of myself covering a song you like a capella. LOL I am ridiculous.

I can't think of anything else to put here, but if you see something I like that you think I might have (I have SO MANY POSTCARDS amassed, especially from Little America, Wyoming, because they were free and I went insane and grabbed dozens), ask me! I'd love to set up a trade! :D

RECEIVED:

--- Random Envelope RAK from @littlepigtoad --- Little sister RAKs from @TryshaH81 @bobogrl @Lorraine and @flacrafter Thank you guys so much!!

ANGELS

@darkshines for the Antique Store Swap!! Thank you!

@AngelikFiona angeled for the Box-o-Fun swap that @jhibbs1969 flaked on. Thank you!!