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My xmas wish list
There has been this Christmas wish list meme thingie making the rounds, and I felt kind of uncomfortable with posting a list of things I'd like, because I tend to oscillate between a complete inability to accept presents without feeling inadequate and undeserving and honor bound to pay back the kindness with interest, and utter greed. I suppose you could say that I desire many things, but rarely feel like I actually deserve them. Personally I believe that's a gender related brainwashing thing my family did to me. My granny, who I loved dearly, was the great martyr who always came last and who always acted like a sunflower, turning wherever those in her care were. (i.e. me) So, if you're female, grown up, a wife, and a mom you're basically supposed to give up your own wishes and make those of your family your own. That's the theory and the lofty ideal that the females in my family tried to drum in my head. The thing is, I'm kind of stuck in the middle. On one hand I think that's a stupid ideal, because hey, moms are people too, on the other hand I feel guilty for not happily living up to that ideal.
Which is why it took me so long to decide if I wanted to post a list or not. But hey, all the cool people on my flist did it, so why not me. And I promise I shall list things I truly want, not things that will look good on my resumé. :-)
- Make a post (public, friendslocked, filtered...whatever you're comfortable with) to your LJ. The post should contain your list of 10 holiday wishes. The wishes can be anything at all, from simple and fandom-related ("I'd love a Snape/Hermione icon that's just for me") to medium ("I wish for _____ on DVD") to really big ("All I want for Christmas is a new car/computer/house/TV.") The important thing is, make sure these wishes are things you really, truly want.
- If you wish for real life things (not fics or icons), make sure you include some sort of contact info in your post, whether it's your address or just your email address where Santa (or one of his elves) could get in touch with you.
- Also, make sure you post some version of these guidelines in your LJ, or link to this post (it'll be public) so that the holiday joy will spread.
- Surf around your friendslist (or friendsfriends, or just random journals) to see who has posted their list. And now here's the important part:
- If you see a wish you can grant, and it's in your heart to do so, make someone's wish come true. Sometimes someone's trash is another's treasure, and if you have a leather jacket you don't want or a gift certificate you won't use--or even know where you could get someone's dream purebred Basset Hound for free--do it.
You needn't spend money on these wishes unless you want to. The point isn't to put people out, it's to provide everyone a chance to be someone else's holiday elf--to spread the joy. Gifts can be made anonymously or not--it's your call.
There are no rules with this project, no guarantees, and no strings attached. Just...wish, and it might come true. Give, and you might receive. And you'll have the joy of knowing you made someone's holiday special.
I think this is a wonderful idea.
(I am listing them in no particular order and I'm also listing wishes that I know won't come true anyway)
1. A smooth and happy holiday. That my dad does not die before, during, or shortly after Christmas. I know it's inevitable, at least according to the doctors he hasn't a lot of time left, but I'm not a good actor. I don't know if I could give the kids the merry Christmas party that they are looking forward to. Tina and Toyah are so excited.
2. The impetus to finally finish my original vampire story Family Tree. It sits on my HD like a big fat monument of failure. Not having finished it makes me feel inadequate and I hate that.
3. That my kids learn to tidy up after themselves.
4. That people who read my stories at my site or here in LJ are less lurky. (For example: Artistry had 340 hits at my site, but only one person left feedback) Hey, guys, do you think that just because I'm over forty I no longer enjoy getting feedback? Think again, pals.
5. A banner for my LJ and help customizing it.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
tiashome once helped me with the layout, but frankly, I'm just too dumb to work with CSS. And I'd love that banner to based on wickedfox's truly gorgeous manip of bearded Ethan (which she said I could use). Of course it would also need to prominently feature Spike. As much as I like Angel, Xander, Anya and Illyria, I doubt there's room for that many characters on such a banner. But Ethan and Spike? Would be cool.
6. A vid of Jane Espenson's Q&A in Vegas, and the promised audio CDs of the various panels.
7. More (post-Chosen) Spike/Ethan stories - but that goes without saying, right? I wouldn't mind reading where they actually do the deed, you know? In most stories the curtain falls just a teensie bit too early. post-NFA Spike/Riley might be fun too. And Ethan/Illyria could be intriguing. Post-NFA Spander is always nice as well.
8. A few icons, maybe?sangpassionne was going to make one for LTAS, and I would like one for Perdition, even though I'm still stalled for that one. essene made several icons for stories of mine, and I love the design very much. It's possible to upload icons to my archive, so I use these icons as headers for my longer stories.
9. A copy of the Fool Moon audio book as read by JM, because frankly I'm too cheap to buy it. I want to listen to it once, and for that the price is just too high, especially with p&p and customs on top.
10. Recipes. Your best, easiest, fastest, or most prestigious recipe for: cookies, or pasta sauce, or steak marinade, casserole, or whatever. With maybe a few words on where the recipe comes from or what it means to you.
And if anyone feels really spendthrift, well, I do have an Amazon wish list - mostly to bookmark items so I can buy them when there is a special offer for them. I also bookmark stuff hubby or the kids might like, so the list is kind of corrupted. But I love books on creative writing and I bookmarked a few. Or, if you have books on writing that you no longer need, I'd be happy to have them, even if they are already tatty. I am interested in the content, not the state of the book. So there. I'm being greedy because I actually list 11 things. Bad me. *feels guilty*
*sigh* Last year at this time,ladycat777 were busily collaborating on a Xmas ensemble fic. Man, that was fun. I dusted off our old icon. I think I will reread our story soon, maybe that will put me into a proper Christmas spirit.
Which is why it took me so long to decide if I wanted to post a list or not. But hey, all the cool people on my flist did it, so why not me. And I promise I shall list things I truly want, not things that will look good on my resumé. :-)
- Make a post (public, friendslocked, filtered...whatever you're comfortable with) to your LJ. The post should contain your list of 10 holiday wishes. The wishes can be anything at all, from simple and fandom-related ("I'd love a Snape/Hermione icon that's just for me") to medium ("I wish for _____ on DVD") to really big ("All I want for Christmas is a new car/computer/house/TV.") The important thing is, make sure these wishes are things you really, truly want.
- If you wish for real life things (not fics or icons), make sure you include some sort of contact info in your post, whether it's your address or just your email address where Santa (or one of his elves) could get in touch with you.
- Also, make sure you post some version of these guidelines in your LJ, or link to this post (it'll be public) so that the holiday joy will spread.
- Surf around your friendslist (or friendsfriends, or just random journals) to see who has posted their list. And now here's the important part:
- If you see a wish you can grant, and it's in your heart to do so, make someone's wish come true. Sometimes someone's trash is another's treasure, and if you have a leather jacket you don't want or a gift certificate you won't use--or even know where you could get someone's dream purebred Basset Hound for free--do it.
You needn't spend money on these wishes unless you want to. The point isn't to put people out, it's to provide everyone a chance to be someone else's holiday elf--to spread the joy. Gifts can be made anonymously or not--it's your call.
There are no rules with this project, no guarantees, and no strings attached. Just...wish, and it might come true. Give, and you might receive. And you'll have the joy of knowing you made someone's holiday special.
I think this is a wonderful idea.
(I am listing them in no particular order and I'm also listing wishes that I know won't come true anyway)
1. A smooth and happy holiday. That my dad does not die before, during, or shortly after Christmas. I know it's inevitable, at least according to the doctors he hasn't a lot of time left, but I'm not a good actor. I don't know if I could give the kids the merry Christmas party that they are looking forward to. Tina and Toyah are so excited.
2. The impetus to finally finish my original vampire story Family Tree. It sits on my HD like a big fat monument of failure. Not having finished it makes me feel inadequate and I hate that.
3. That my kids learn to tidy up after themselves.
4. That people who read my stories at my site or here in LJ are less lurky. (For example: Artistry had 340 hits at my site, but only one person left feedback) Hey, guys, do you think that just because I'm over forty I no longer enjoy getting feedback? Think again, pals.
5. A banner for my LJ and help customizing it.
tiashome once helped me with the layout, but frankly, I'm just too dumb to work with CSS. And I'd love that banner to based on wickedfox's truly gorgeous manip of bearded Ethan (which she said I could use). Of course it would also need to prominently feature Spike. As much as I like Angel, Xander, Anya and Illyria, I doubt there's room for that many characters on such a banner. But Ethan and Spike? Would be cool.
6. A vid of Jane Espenson's Q&A in Vegas, and the promised audio CDs of the various panels.
7. More (post-Chosen) Spike/Ethan stories - but that goes without saying, right? I wouldn't mind reading where they actually do the deed, you know? In most stories the curtain falls just a teensie bit too early. post-NFA Spike/Riley might be fun too. And Ethan/Illyria could be intriguing. Post-NFA Spander is always nice as well.
8. A few icons, maybe?
sangpassionne was going to make one for LTAS, and I would like one for Perdition, even though I'm still stalled for that one. essene made several icons for stories of mine, and I love the design very much. It's possible to upload icons to my archive, so I use these icons as headers for my longer stories.9. A copy of the Fool Moon audio book as read by JM, because frankly I'm too cheap to buy it. I want to listen to it once, and for that the price is just too high, especially with p&p and customs on top.
10. Recipes. Your best, easiest, fastest, or most prestigious recipe for: cookies, or pasta sauce, or steak marinade, casserole, or whatever. With maybe a few words on where the recipe comes from or what it means to you.
And if anyone feels really spendthrift, well, I do have an Amazon wish list - mostly to bookmark items so I can buy them when there is a special offer for them. I also bookmark stuff hubby or the kids might like, so the list is kind of corrupted. But I love books on creative writing and I bookmarked a few. Or, if you have books on writing that you no longer need, I'd be happy to have them, even if they are already tatty. I am interested in the content, not the state of the book. So there. I'm being greedy because I actually list 11 things. Bad me. *feels guilty*
*sigh* Last year at this time,
ladycat777 were busily collaborating on a Xmas ensemble fic. Man, that was fun. I dusted off our old icon. I think I will reread our story soon, maybe that will put me into a proper Christmas spirit.
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no subject
I miss collaborating with LadyCat. *sigh* We had so much fun with that story.
I'm glad you still think fondly of it. :-)
no subject
Enjoy and I really like your idea about trolling people's lists for something you can do. That is very thoughtful of you.
no subject
Not my own idea, I'm afraid. It's something that's been making the rounds. I just cut and pasted the text because, like you, I think it's a wonderful idea.
Also, I bookmarked some people's wishes for later, because one can always make gifts outside a festive holiday...