I AM SO LATE!!!

PEOPLE! It is time, really two or three weeks, late, BUT NOW, now is the time - time for the Annual Buffista (and lurker) Gift Exchange Not Specific To Any Belief System Except Awesomeness - ABalGENSTABSEA for short (this year, again, I like to change it up).

If you want to participate, email me at b . org . msbelle @ gmail . com (no spaces) and I will send you an invite from elfster. If you are not already a member at elfster, you will need to sign up - DO NOT FORGET TO PUT IN YOUR BOARD NAME AND YOUR ADDRESS.

Since I am so late getting started, let's say that Sign-up deadline is 11/13 Drawing names (done electronically - you cannot have who you had last year) will be 11/15 Gift Giving Deadline as always is 12/31 - so plenty of time.

And as I do every year I encourage people to communicate or gift multiple times (I am always willing to send items from my home on behalf of others - and I know of other like-minded b.orgers) and generally mess with your giftee. Otherwise it is just me doing that and it ruins it. This exchange is as much about contact and surprise as it is about the gifts - notes, handmade items, inexpensive things are ENCOURAGED - There is no minimum you need to feel obligated to spend.

You should be able to sign up on your own here: [link]

And if everyone could email me who you have drawn the last couple of years, I can block you from re-drawing those same people.

ONLY 2 days left to get in on ABalGENSTABSEA (the gift exchange) - We are at 19 21 participants, I would like to break 25 this year. Click on the link 2 posts above to join up.

Well NOW you have done it! You have waited 'til the last day to sign up for the gift exchange. We are at 24!! Only 1 person away from the goal. Goals were meant to be exceeded though, so my sights are now set higher.

3 posts up there is a link to click on and get signed up. It is all very simple. I am available to answer questions, help out, and pinch hit if things become too stressy.

Gift Exchange Draw has occurred. If anyone has any issues with their draw, please email me asap and we can get it resolved.

If anyone cannot see their draw's address, please email me, asap or anonymously message your draw within elfster.

And finally, if anyone has any problems as this goes on or if you feel overwhelmed, please please please just email me and rescue elves with jump in.

I might have been gray in the past weeks and can't join this year's ABalGENSTABSEA, but I'd like to revive a past tradition: my annual-Christmas-announcement/reminder to Buffistas with religious affiliates.

For those of you who don't know: I live in Israel, and spend pretty much equal amount of time in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Haifa. I also know this board has religious people on it, or people with religious families and friends.

So if any of you of any faith would like something from here - the Old City, the inter/cross-faith festival in Haifa in December, or anywhere else - for Christmas or any other occasion, it's really easy for me to get it and send it overseas. In fact, I'd LOVE to do this for you, given enough guidance and information (I am and was raised Jewish, and pretty much everything I know about Christianity came from popular culture TV and a BA in history, which mostly covered the Middle Ages). I'm also OK with rubbing objects against graves/approximated graves/holy locations, if that what turns you on.

Profile addy is good (notice it is changed), and again - it's not a hassle. It's the opposite of it.

Happy holidays!

Has anyone who DID NOT sign up for the ABalGenSTABSEA been sent an assignment (I am aware of this happening with one person already, I wanted to see if it was widespread)?

For all who DID sign up, please check that the person you drew is on the participant list, if not , send me an email.

Thanks.

The problem with the HTML and quick-edit formatting links is resolved now.

Thanks for your patience.

I should have done this earlier, but! If you're shopping on Amazon, don't forget to use the affiliate links -- the board gets a cut of that, and it adds up.

Thanks!