Postcrossing is undoubtedly one of my favorite hobbies. I joined the site in 2010, and since then, I’ve collected thousands of postcards, both official cards and from pals. I was inactive for a while due to the moving process from the Philippines to Europe, but once I was settled in Norway, I started the hobby again. 

When I was in college (in UPD), I wrote an essay about Postcrossing for a Creative Writing course. I can’t remember the full content of the essay, but I recall writing about how humans have this inner urge or tendency to collect things. For one, it’s a status symbol. And two, it’s always nice to have something you can call your own or your property. Postcrossing is not for every one, though. It is an expensive hobby that requires patience and forgiveness. Patience for incoming and outgoing postcards.. And forgiveness for all the expired postcards and the demanding Postcrossers. 

Postcrossing is also a rewarding hobby. As mentioned, I’ve met wonderful people from the site, like-minded people, some of whom became very good postcard pals. At this busy “age”, I am more into postcard penpalling than letters. It gives me more time, and I love nice postcards with nice stamps. 

How I got to know about Postcrossing was pretty random. It just popped up on Google search. Then, I decided to give it a try. I was excited to see if the postcards would make it. My first sent postcard was https://www.postcrossing.com/postcards/PH-18719, to supukka from Finland. And the excitement doubled when I received my very first postcard: https://www.postcrossing.com/postcards/US-847418, from vair from the USA. 

Right now, I have over 2000 sent and 2000 received postcards. And I have sent and received cards from 75 countries! Hurrah! 

Milestones:

• 1000th sent postcard: https://www.postcrossing.com/postcards/NO-227439 to Tescha (Germany)
• 2000th sent postcard: https://www.postcrossing.com/postcards/SE-223987 to yuri_g (Russia)
• 3000th sent postcard: ?

• 1000th received postcard: https://www.postcrossing.com/postcards/DE-11535301 from ManyWonders (Germany)
• 2000th received postcard: https://www.postcrossing.com/postcards/PH-183169 from Bubblylady (Philippines)
• 3000th received postcard: ?

So, how do I store my postcards? When I first met my husband, he openly said that he couldn’t understand why I collect postcards. Later on, he said he found it “cute”. And then, he just learned to live with it. Once you find something you enjoy, you don’t really have to explain yourself. 🙂 

He went with me to IKEA and helped me put up my Postcard Corner. I bought the albums from the Dollarstore in Sweden. Each album can hold 300 15cmx11cm postcards. For huge cards, I have a trimmer sitting in the corner (NO! Not the cat, but a real trimmer ;-)). So, no stress..

I categorize the cards according to Postcrossing ID by country. Then, I have separate albums for my postcard pals and for Inge Löök collection. From time to time, I love looking at the cards and reading them. I also enjoy sorting them out. At present, I’m, satisfied with their arrangement. 

I don’t know for how long I’ll be collecting postcards. I have joined three Postcrossing meetups (1 in the Philippines, and 2 in Norway), but I haven’t met any of my postcard pals. I would love to, in the future. But I also like the mystery behind their postcards. We’ll see.. 

So, hopefully, this entry would inspire someone to enjoy their hobbies, no matter how small or cute they are. 🙂

#spreadloveandpositivevibes

ALL PHOTOS AND VIDEOS ON THIS BLOG ENTRY ARE MINE. 🙂 Cheers!