Sent Real Mail to Tweeps

December 13, 2012 at 1:00 PM | Posted in I am on the Sussy Squad., I ♥ Twitter. | 2 Comments

This is the card I mailed—paper and ink with a message written by hand—to several people I have come to know via Twitter:

Listed below, in alphabetical order by last name, were the lucky recipients of this snail mail sussy series:

I came to know Robin after she responded to one of my tweets about the local public library. We started tweeting about book-related things at first but quickly progressed to food, fitness, politics, and a variety of things silly and serious. She lives on the same side of town as I do and we have tentative walking dates on the calendar starting in spring 2013. [Robin's reaction is here.]

I think I learned about Katy from this post on Angie’s blog. I started reading her blog and, later, chatting with her on Twitter. Last year I met her in person after she led a food demonstration at the Harrison Center for the Arts, and Suzanne and I made the hard sell for her attendance at the Swap. I’ve crossed paths with her several times in person since then but the bulk of our communication happens in 140-character-or-less doses. [Katy's reaction is here.]

Melissa is married to Dana, who is friends with Jennette, who is the author of a book I read and the cousin of my friend Max. I mean, I’m sure Melissa is friends with Jennette too, but that string of relationships is how I came to know her…well, in reverse. Confused yet? No matter. What’s relevant is that Melissa is interesting and real and a treasure to have stumbled upon. [Melissa's reaction is here and Dana's reaction is here.]

I think the first exposure I had to Melissa of Operation NICE was of her drawings of Philly…although I don’t remember how I found them (or if that’s even true). But I’ve been following her on Twitter since I first joined and over the years we have tweeted enough for her to trust meeting me in person: last year Melissa and her husband came to a party at my dad’s house in NJ!

Marianne was local when we started tweeting—we even worked for the same company—but she has since moved to North Carolina and we never managed to meet in person. We tweet regularly and I also keep up on her life through her blog, where she writes about all sorts of adventures. TOTAL COINCIDENCE: At the same time my card was travelling to Marianne she was sending me this—wow! [Marianne's reaction is here.]

My earliest memory of Bria is making her gnocchi recipe. I think I tweeted about it and she responded and the rest, as they say, is history. We share a love for snark and hit it off right away. It’s hard to believe that I haven’t actually met #littlespoon or #babyspoon in person, they seem so familiar to me. [Bria's reaction is here.]

I met Tamre for the first time at Angie’s Food52 Cookbook party. I knew her only as the head of the Indiana chapter of Girls Pint Out and, since I don’t drink beer, I didn’t bother following her. In the last few months, though, I became aware that she is so much more than that (and not even that, anymore), and our tweeting has really added to my Twitter experience. [Tamre's reaction is here.]

Jasmine is someone else I met before we developed a Twitter relationship. She forced her introvert ass to attend a Swap and I remember her saying that she had a great time as we packed up to go. I got a peak at her handle from her name tag and we started tweeting right off the bat. She is smart and funny and crotchety and she bakes a mean cake. I adore her. [Jasmine's reaction is here.]

Scott has become one of my dearest friends in Indy. We started tweeting a few years ago and have become real-life friends since. Our relationship is so much more than our tweets but that is still our main mode of correspondence. Everyone (who is on Twitter and follows both of us) can read the range of emotions that comprise our online conversations—from bitingly sarcastic to schmoopily adorable. It’s sickening.

I have no recollection of  how I fell upon Angie‘s blog, or when I started following her, or how long we’ve been tweeting. I met her after I invited myself to her book club and showed up at her house for my first meeting. (I think I brought hummus.) I was so impressed when she took a photo a day for the entirety of 2010. Her daughter, Elena, and Anna went to the same rock-and-roll camp in 2011. She continues to be inspiring with The Risky Kids. She cracks me up. [Angie's reaction is here.]

Incidentally, I became aware of Marianne and Scott through another friend, with whom my relationship is not Twitter-based…although we do occasionally communicate that way.