Love getting real mail? Try Postcrossing

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A month ago, I signed up for a postcard exchange program provided by postcrossing.com. You can check out the website for more information, but this is the jist of how it works:
1. Sign up for an account (which is free)
2. Create a profile which includes your address and a little about yourself, including the types of postcards you like.
3. Mail your first postcard, and when a user registers the postcard number, you are then the next person to get a postcard.
4. Receive and register your own postcard.

For those wondering, these are real postcards. You can find postcards in dollar stores, post offices, or souvenir shops to send.

The site has hundreds of thousands of users, which makes it more fun, as a postcard can come from anyone in the world. I also like that the site encourages postcards rather than letters. Writing a letter to a stranger can be a little intimidating. You just don't know what to say. But a postcard offers a small space to say a little about you, like your hobbies. The task seems easier, since sometimes just putting your favorite quote is enough. And of course, it's fun to look at the different pictures of places and things around the world.

Last week, I received my first postcard from a site user :D
It was from a lovely lady named Eva, who lives and plays the violin in Budapest. Eva and I have one thing in common: we both love resting, when we are not busy. I think the card she sent is perfect. It gives me a chance to see where she lives. 

Monster Friend Series: The Zombie

Misery loves company and your zombie friend would love a sad-sorry-for-themselves companion.   They are the negative friend who usually has a negative lifestyle. But other than trying to help themselves, they find people who are overcoming a similar struggle to latch onto. Your zombie friend will make you think you can help them, if you try. But what the zombie really wants is to bring you down to their level. They prefer to be friends with people who “understand” them. But rather than let you help them, they lure you into the same lifestyle you’re trying to escape.

They use emotional triggers like the vampire, and do little for their friends like the ghost. Zombies fear being judged and that’s one of the main reasons they’d rather have you sabotage yourself. To them, you can’t judge if you’re just like them.
 
They can be very clingy, and often take advantage of people. They fear being alone, so when they see you trying to "get back to the living" a zombie friend will bring you back down. They can be enablers or they can exhaust you into trying to think you can save them, which leaves you no energy to help yourself. They're a little like the gremlin, in that they don't want you to prosper. But unlike the gremlin, the zombie friend isn't envious. They're scared of being abandoned.

If you’re coming out of a difficult situation, you need to stay away from zombies who want you at your most vulnerable. They know you’ll be able to relate to them, and they will try to undo all the hard work you’ve done. They aren't looking to be saved; they're hoping to pull you down with them.

Common characteristcs of zombie friends

• needy
• clingy
• manipulative
• self loathing
• negative

Other monsters
The gremlin
The vampire
The ghost
The werewolf

Monster Friend Series: The Werewolf

The werewolf is the person who has a nice side, but when they get mad…beware. The trouble is werewolf friends often have overly sensitive natures. You begin to feel like you have to tip toe around them because anything can set them off. They often have anger issues and large egos.

Werewolf friends can be physically mean but they can also cut you down emotionally. They may make snippy comments or mock you in openly. They have no problem humiliating and belittling people.

Werewolves like to be in control and they will try to control their friends either emotionally by making you feel bad, or they can be physical about it. They often feel powerless and thus seek to maintain power in their friendships. In their group of friends, they seek to be leaders and often are the ones who dictate what’s going to happen and when. If you have an uncompromising friend who is always deciding what the rest of the group members are doing, they could be a werewolf.

Werewolves rarely ask for anyone’s input and in their minds any contradicting opinion you have is wrong. They do not take criticism well due to their overly sensitive natures but they love dishing it out.

The werewolf when tame can make you feel like they’re nice. They are often full of fun ideas, or surprise you in some thoughtful way, but no one should be emotionally or physically abused. Werewolves are bullies and you don’t have to put up with the brash tantrums just to have a friend.


Common characteristics of Werewolf friends

• Aggressive
• Tempermental
• Moody
• Sensitive
• Insensitive
• Demanding
• Controlling

Other Monsters
The Vampire
The Gremlin
The Ghost