I feel more like Little Egypt than ever before! January 3, 2011 10:56 PM   Subscribe

This might be something like flogging a dead horse, but I need to thank my secret quonsar immediately.

I'd almost forgotten about SQ in the Christmas/New Year rush. (Still hoping the stuff I sent arrived safely.)

And despite it being the height of summer, I've now got goosebumps. The bellydancer prints are just beautiful. I'm going to hang them in my lounge room and send good vibes your way - whichever Mefite you are - every time I see them.

Such a lovely thoughtful gift. You are a sweetheart!

And my daughter is fascinated that your polysterene packaging is shaped exactly like peanuts. Yep, she's easily entertained.
posted by malibustacey9999 to MetaFilter-Related at 10:56 PM (21 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite

A man, peanut shaped polysterene is da bomb! I'm really easy to shop for secret quonsar, really.
posted by dabitch at 2:36 AM on January 4, 2011


Oh God, they actually got there. I can breathe again. :)
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 2:51 AM on January 4, 2011 [1 favorite]


Dabitch, I'll be your secret quonsar next year, I've already got your gift. (My daughter insisted we save the peanut-shaped polystyrene and refuses to entertain the notion of recycling it as packaging, I kid you not.)

Fairytale, you are an absolute gem.
posted by malibustacey9999 at 3:12 AM on January 4, 2011


I have no clue who my secret quonsar was, but thanks for the Christmas scarf!!
posted by iamkimiam at 4:11 AM on January 4, 2011


And my daughter is fascinated that your polysterene packaging is shaped exactly like peanuts. Yep, she's easily entertained.

Put one of them rounded thumb tacks in the bottom of one, and you've got an instant balancing toy thingy.
posted by Think_Long at 5:45 AM on January 4, 2011 [1 favorite]


I still haven't gotten my quonsar gift, but I *know* it was mailed (julen checked!) and now I am waiting with happy anticipation for the blasted USPS to bring me nifty things from (most likely) the other side of the world (especially based on the loooong time it's taken to arrive).

I think I'm driving my co-workers crazy asking repeatedly if the mail's arrived yet, though.
posted by bibliogrrl at 6:50 AM on January 4, 2011


Is this a Secret Quonsar Sharing Time Post?

Okay so awesome - back in the day, and by back in the day I mean over 10 years ago, I was a proto-nerd living on IRC in an obscure channel called #avalon, a fan-channel for the webcomic of the same name, about Canadian teenagers. But really it was a group of about two dozen people who all had astounding chemistry with one another and I guess I really needed somewhere to belong. From #avalon, I learned many things, including vitally important lessons about love and growing up and friendship and also of the existence of Metafilter. And, more specifically, the fact that I was not the smartest damn person on Earth, and here was an entire webblog full of whipsmart people, and damned if they weren't intimidating and always posting interesting things and having cogent discussions about them.

So one of my #avalon compatriots, Mary, lived up in Boston, and when I went to college in the same town, I figured we'd meet up and be best friends for life. But we managed, miraculously, to never meet in person, despite living in the same town, and even the same T stop! for going on 5 years. At that point, #avalon had nearly dissolved, and we had nothing else in common, not really.

Most of #avalon isn't on MeFi. I bought an account only recently. I had no idea, but Mary is apparently on here, too. Why do I know this now? Because, of all the people on the Quonsar Elfster list, Mary was my Secret Quonsar. She sent me a box stuffed FULL of goodies from our old mutual hometown in Boston. All the shops I would go to, all the windows I'd pass every day, she was passing too, and walking the same sidewalks as me, and we never bumped into each other. Except here on Metafilter, now that I've lived all the way across the country from her for going on two years, she showed me with remarkable clarity just how often our paths overlapped.

The internet is a small place.
posted by Mizu at 7:14 AM on January 4, 2011 [40 favorites]


This seems like a good time to say:

If you haven't thanked your Secret quonsar, please do! Here, via MeMail or eMail, or via Elfster.

If you haven't gotten your gift, and you haven't mentioned it to me, please do. I will find out what is going on. Some folks were running a little late for a variety of reasons.

If you haven't heard from your Secret quonsar and would like to make sure your gift got there, I will be glad to follow up on your behalf and see if it got there.
posted by julen at 7:26 AM on January 4, 2011


I haven;'t done mine yet - I have an excuse! - but it will happen. I know what I'm going to get them, I just haven't been able to :)
posted by mippy at 8:51 AM on January 4, 2011


Me too! -- and I'm afraid I'm dumb enough to have no idea how to figure out how to email them directly through elfster, assuming such a thing is possible.

I got a giant -- and by giant I mean SERIOUSLY BIG-ASS vinyl pull-down map set of the world, America, and (oddly) Alaska (perhaps a set made for Alaskan classrooms??!)

What my sender could not have possibly known is that when we moved a few months ago, I lost my also giant but comparatively cheap (i.e., easily ripped) paper map of the world that I like to have hanging in my office. And so my new, vastly superior, map is proudly hanging for all to gawp at with envy.

So, if you are reading this, giant-map sending dude/dudette: you are awesome.
posted by the bricabrac man at 9:13 AM on January 4, 2011 [2 favorites]


You just made me listen to Elvis' Comeback Special--the Road Melody, which includes "Little Egypt."
posted by Ironmouth at 9:51 AM on January 4, 2011 [1 favorite]


I already thanked her personally, but IndigoRain is a super-duper SQ! Adorable Scrabble tile charms from Etsy, including one with pink Converse; some lovely cherry blossom bath stuff, which has been stolen by the original Lulu (my daughter); AND a Kindle book, Moloka'i, which I am enjoying immensely.

In other words, THANKS!
posted by Lulu's Pink Converse at 9:54 AM on January 4, 2011 [1 favorite]


My SQ has utterly concealed his/her identity from me. My most dedicated efforts failed to decipher the single clue -- the signature on the beautiful card I got with my gift. OK, maybe there were two clues as I think my SQ is in Sweden.

So, I thanked via elfster but just in case that didn't get through, let me say that the hand picked mushrooms in the nice jar and the beautiful, beautiful placemats were one of the nicest gifts of the season. SQ, you are wonderful. Stay warm.
posted by bearwife at 12:41 PM on January 4, 2011


Man, I actually really dug Avalon when it was running. A really solid strip that ended too soon.
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 12:56 PM on January 4, 2011


Thank you kindly, Mizu. Or, as I knew you so long ago... Mizu.

And allow me to give a shout out to my own Secret Quonsar, EmpressCallipygos. She not only thrilled me by sending me Baked goods (from a bakery whose cookbook I've been meaning to try out), but sent me a candy bar from my all-time favorite chocolatier, disguised as a common off-brand supermarket candy bar. Three cheers for her excellent taste in chocolate!
posted by maryr at 3:03 PM on January 4, 2011 [1 favorite]


I want to say thank you to my Quonsar for the fabulous artwork! I tried to say so on Elfster but I'm not entirely sure it went through.
posted by mlle valentine at 5:19 PM on January 4, 2011


The internet is a small place.

The world is very small is what I like to say. Sometimes, as Mizu's story demonstrates, if we're meant to meet someone we'll go round and round many a time but it'll happen. The universe decides...
posted by infini at 7:07 PM on January 4, 2011


I have thanked my SQ several times for my Mr. P Be Happy desktop trashcan, but saying it agian doesn't hurt. :)

Thanks to Julen for all her help this year, she really went above and beyond with the country organization, and hopefully that will help us out with some better ideas for next year.
posted by IndigoRain at 7:07 PM on January 4, 2011


I'll thank my SQ again for the coffee and the grinder and the sponges! I'm enjoying everything!

I wish I could have done more for my giftee, but this was a rough year... even though she's thanked me several times, I still wish I could have done more. Next year will be better.
posted by patheral at 7:19 PM on January 4, 2011


Mizu, that is a wonderful story. Wow.

I'll definitely add my thanks and kudos to julen and IndigoRain for organizing/managing/wrestling with the SQ project this year.

I've sent my still-secret SQ a note through Elfster, but just in case it didn't go through...I'd like to thank my SQ again for introducing me to Caravan of Thieves, a tight acoustic swing band that also has really interesting/lively original songs. The CD's been in regular rotation since I got it. Thank you, SQ! (I hope you'll let me know who you are so I can thank you by name, but I totally understand if you want to preserve the mystery.)
posted by rangefinder 1.4 at 10:54 PM on January 4, 2011


What my sender could not have possibly known is that when we moved a few months ago, I lost my also giant but comparatively cheap (i.e., easily ripped) paper map of the world that I like to have hanging in my office. And so my new, vastly superior, map is proudly hanging for all to gawp at with envy.

YESSSSSS!!!! (outing myself as your SQ)

I hoped you would like it, but I had no idea it would actually be useful!! I comment-stalked you enough to know that you shared my fondness for thrifted things, so I was pretty sure I could go kind of off-the-wall (no pun intended) with whatever I sent. Then I went to a school district auction where, among other things (including an old set of civil defense geiger counters) I scored four school wall maps. (The school was in Pennsylvania, so I, like you, am baffled by all four maps including giant maps of Alaska.) Even when you count the packaging to mail it, the map still came in under the SQ spending limit. I hoped seeing this on your doorstep would get a laugh even if you didn't need a giant map. But it turns out you did need a giant map. It's the Circle of Life.

And thanks again to my own SQ, who sent me the lovely cat-startling device I mentioned in the previous thank you thread.
posted by MsMolly at 10:29 AM on January 6, 2011


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