Presents

[coalescent]

Today, I have been given:

- A plant.
- Matching table mats and drinks coasters with a pattern of pebbles on them
- A UKP15 voucher for Virgin (woo! I can go buy Hail to the Thief!).
- A tool kit.
- A wooden pizza-serving platter, plus pizza-cutting device.
- Car cleaning materials.
- Assorted cards.
- A book of critical essays on popular television (this one from greengolux).
- A small wooden viking. My Dad's just been to Oslo.

Also in the post today, unrelated to the fact that it's my birthday:

- Four tickets to see Eddie Izzard on the 22nd of December.
- A signed copy of His Majesty's Starship (Ben Jeapes was at Cory Doctorow's talk on wednesday. Me: So, when's the creative commons-licensed e-book coming? Him: Hopefully it'll reprint in dead-tree form. Me: Dang. I missed out on the first print run, you see. Him: Well, I do have a few copies left... Me: Ah. So how do I get one? Him: You give me five pounds, and your address.) Now, that's service!
- A politely worded rejection letter from Interzone. At least, I think it's polite; it's handwritten, and tricky to decipher. But going by the Cory Doctorow theory of magazine submissions, the fact that it took somewhat over three months for them to get back to me means they probably didn't completely hate it. Which is enouraging.

Comments

Er...

[xsabx.livejournal.com]

...I have sent you something, but omitted to put that it was from me on the package (thanks to the wonder of Internet shopping). D'oh! Hopefully you should work out what I sent... I can reproduce the greeting on the card if required...

Re: Er...

[coalescent.livejournal.com]

Bum. Nothing else has turned up today, and the postman has been and gone. Guess we'll see what tomorrow brings...

Thanks, though. :-)

Re: Er...

[coalescent.livejournal.com]

Nothing else has turned up today

Famous last words...

An enormous box just arrived from Thornton's, containing various chocolates, some tea, a china cup and saucer and two bottles of wine in a rather fine wooden case. I'm somewhat awed by the generosity of whoever sent it, whether it's you or someone else! However, there is no identifying card. That I've found yet. There was rather a lot of packaging to sift through...

That was me, yes.

[xsabx.livejournal.com]

It's a combined housewarming/birthday present thingy. Thought I'd save on the postage: glad to see it all turned up in one piece...

[tinyjo.livejournal.com]

Wow - what did you submit to interzone? Can we read it?

[coalescent.livejournal.com]

Soitanly. I just have to work out how to get a copy from my laptop to the web. This could be tricky: Whose bright idea was it to make computers without floppy drives?

[mattia.livejournal.com]

Oh, Niall?

Happy Birthday, dude

And, um, Interzone sub? Details? Hope you've had/are having a good'un!

Also, 'cause I'm me..what's in the toolkit?

[coalescent.livejournal.com]

what's in the toolkit?

Well, y'know. Tools. Not power tools, or anything, but screwdrivers, a hammer, a wrench, that sort of thing.

[giantbedsprings.livejournal.com]

Well, I don't know what to say, without being terribly cliche, so... Happy Birthday Niall.