Cards

I actually mailed some Christmas cards this morning! This is something of a first for me. For the past few years I have been designing my own Christmas cards, but I almost never get around to actually sending them on time - or, sometimes, sending them at all.

This time my design was personal and impersonal at the same time. It references this site, which is sure to annoy some of my friends, but the image will be uniquely tied to me, and to Another Monkey. But I found myself creating cards assembly-line style: print out a batch, outsides first, then insides, allowing each side enough time to dry and avoid smudging; sign all of the cards; fold them and place them in envelopes; pull out list of addresses and address the envelopes; locate holiday return-address labels and apply them; locate holiday stamps and apply them; lick and seal all envelopes; rubberband together for ease of transportation.

The first batch got mailed during this morning's dogwalk. I was concerned that I would have to take a detour to the post office to mail them, but I came across a mail box along the way that I had passed several hundred times without really noticing before. So creeeak, clunk, the first batch is mailed. (Don't worry, it was a real mailbox, and I had vaguely noticed it previously, but didn't assign it much importance.)

Some of my friends have faked me out by moving in the past year, so I have to locate their new addresses. Some friends I don't actually have addresses for, since most of our contact is in person, and mailing addresses rarely come into play. Others I've just misplaced, and I may have to directly ask these friends for their own mailing addresses.

I plan to post the card on this very site sometime just before Christmas. After all, I will certainly want to extend holiday greetings to my friends on the Internet, and what better way than with an image of the very card I'm mailing out this year!