A Few Words

As I have returned to my old job and consequently to blogging, here is an update on my postcrossing activities...For sure the most important news is, Croatian Post decided to up the postage prices, and that without prior announcement. Actually I got this news unofficially about a week ahead, sent an inquiry to their official e-mail address, to which they responded 'we have no such knowledge'. This made me believe that the info I received was just a rumour, and it was a huge relief - but no, wrong! And I wouldn't be writing this if the increase in price was minimal...it was in fact as follows:

Postage for all countries will be the same, 8.60 kunas.  It used to be 4.60 for Europe, which means the price in that segment has risen by 87%. Whoa. For outside Europe the rise is 50%; in this light the rise for letters which is 13% doesn't sound too bad, when in fact even that is too much esp considering our standard of living.

Last year I swapped only sporadically but sadly it may be even more of a case this year. I have a pile of postcards waiting to be sent, I'd like to find them a new home as their shoe box has become all too familiar and they must feel at least a bit bored. If anyone wants a card please feel free to pick one from my album on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/daldon77/albums . I don't think I am picky when it comes to themes, I do foremostly collect UNESCO (whs, intangible, biospheres, anything), donkeys and reptiles, but then there are landscapes, architecture, history, people, animals, food, drinks...in a nutshell I like seeing and learning new things from the cards I receive. It makes me sad and more than a bit angry that Croatian Post made a huge step in discouraging postcrossers...We all learn about the world from these little images from across the world.

One Year And Five Months

Is this how much time has passed since I've written a post here? Amazing! Do I even have to say how time flies...Since my last post I have done preparations for a cruise ship job, one (pretty darn awesome) trip to Caucasus, and then I got on mv Oriana as a photographer and had...lets say enlightening experience of working on a ship for two contracts. As I have slowed down with postcrossing even prior to that, I haven't really sent many postcards last year, and sad to say I am still not being bitten by any bug that would re-kindle my passion for postcrossing...as harsh as it may sound. That said, I do cherish all the postcards that I have received so far, and still have many to share, so this blog is not perishing just yet!

I wish I could have surprised some of my pc buddies with posties from some of the quite exotic places in the Caribbean...I will try to excuse myself with the fact that I really haven't earned that much money, in fact now that I've come back I'm in the worse financial situation than before. I have sent postcards to my family so that they can see where I've been (I will post them here at some point for sure) but still I have skipped quite a few countries and ports, as sometimes you don't get to go out, sometimes you have very little time and you just rush around like a headless pigeon, sometimes you have time but its sunday and everything is closed, or maybe you do find postcards but then finding stamps turns out to be a feat of its own. I have sent occassional postcards to my friends back home, but not as many as I wish...Sometimes you had to make a decision, to send a bunch of postcards or to have a bite to eat so you can sample local cuisine, or buy a souvenir if you really liked the place. There were times when I surely would have opted for postcards only! But knowing that I'd probably never get to those places again...lets just say I mixed and matched and made my decisions on the go, sadly I wasn't able to do it all.

And now that I'm back home, and looking for another job, I will have some time to revive my blog, as I have many great postcards still waiting in line to be shown :)

Oh and here is perhaps a curious fact: when I was on the ship, I had to make a presentation in front of a trainer and a group of crew members, and I have chosen postcrossing as a topic. As I have fear of public appearances of any sort, I almost s*** my pants lol, but here was a subject that I knew a fair deal about, and that I still love and appreciate, so yeah, it turned out alrite..! Some peeps even said to send me a postcard next time they get the chance :))

After this elaborate explanation, I do wish everyone a supa dupa New Year!
May the 2018 be better and happier, and maybe that bug will bite in the end, who knows ;)