Can the rest of you start calling it that, too? I think that name has a nifty ring to it.
Anyway, despite the fact that all the awesome raffles have been getting the lion's share of the attention, I've already heard from six folks who want to contribute to the Care Package. I'm not sure if I should start naming names -- some folks may want to remain safely anonymous (if you want to be publicly recognized, let me know in comments or email) -- but this means that our goodie bag has already tripled in volume.
Since plenty of folks have been emailing me with questions like "What can I contribute?" and "Where should I send it?" and "Which great opponent of Cartesian dualism resists the reduction of psychological phenomena to a physical state and insists there is no point of contact between the extended and the unextended?", I figured I would just make a blog post about it rather than keep answering all these questions over email.
1) The goal of this package is to raise her morale and make her smile. Therefore, I suggest you donate one of the following:
- Something savory. I'm told that Tam likes meat and things which are salty. If you go this route, make sure it ships well and isn't going to go bad in a few days.
- Something silly. A toy, a stuffed animal, something that references a joke you two may have shared. It doesn't need to have any practical value -- if it makes her laugh or smile, then mission accomplished.
- Something fun. Tam loves books, so get her something from her Amazon wishlist. Alternately, pick up a trashy adventure novel in the Mack Bolan vein; I'm pretty sure they're more her thing than a Harlequin Romance. (Although truth be told, I am sorely tempted to buy her a trashy novel about a time-travelling viking who becomes a Navy SEAL, just for the sheer WTF-ness. If you do something like this, you've just got to let me know!)
- If you've got no clue, then email Brigid or Roberta X asking for ideas. I'm sure they can think of something.
2) The_Jack is going to be our Point of Contact, since he lives in the same city as Tam. He has requested that his physical address not be posted across the internet, but if you email me (erin DOT palette AT gmail DOT com) requesting it, I'll get it to you within a day.
3) Henri Bergson.
And if you do end up contributing to this care package, it will increase your chances of winning the handgonne auction that is being run by The_Jack. Everyone wants a 50 caliber firearm with no moving parts, don't they?