257 Postcards And Still Counting...(Updated)

This was lifted from my Multiply blog written last 16 September 2006.

I've decided to just spend the weekend at home, a first in a long time. The past few weekends I was either working or hanging out in my cousin's house in Laguna. With so much time on my hands, I just thought it was time to unearth my postcard collection.

I have been collecting postcards since I was about fifteen. I have always been fascinated with geography and travel and hoped that I would finally have the opportunity to visit other countries. I thought of starting a postcard collection as a reminder of that fervent dream. Besides, I don’t know of anyone who really collects them so I thought my collection would be unique. Thus, it became a habit for me to ask for postcards whenever I knew someone was going abroad. (Of course, I still have a stamp and a coin collection so those get included in my requests for pasalubong as well.)

My first postcards came from my best friend April, who travels a lot. Other postcards came from penpals from down south in New Zealand and the West Indies, specifically, St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Soon, relatives, friends and their parents, schoolmates, co-workers, bosses and even my mom's colleagues pitched in. Thus, my postcard collection even becomes more special as they cease to be merely souvenirs from a person’s travels.

I keep my collection in three albums: one in blue, one in silver and one in brown. The blue one houses postcards from the United States and Canada. The other two are for the rest of the world and for some special artsy postcards. These three albums are kept in a big red box placed on top of my cabinet.

I have postcards from museums, hotels and airlines. Some are long, round or square. I have postcards capturing important landmarks, sunsets, costumes, scenic spots, and even animals. Most are colored, but there is a special one in sepia.

One-fourth of my postcard collection comes from the state of California. I have postcards from eighteen U.S. states. I am wondering how I can get postcards from Idaho, Montana, Alabama and the like. I would like to have postcards from each U.S. state! I have postcards from Europe, majority of which come from the UK, specifically Wales. I hope to get postcards from Scotland and Northern Ireland as well. I have postcards from Asia and the Pacific, the most prized of which come from Tajikistan (I have 22), Pakistan and Iran. These three are not exactly tourist-y places so you can just imagine how I got them. One of my goals now is to get postcards from the Caribbean, South America and Africa.

To date, I have a total of 257 postcards from all over the world, 22 of which (the one from Tajikistan), are still unmounted. I have yet to include in the count my postcards from the Philippines. I suspect there are still more lying around the house.

The Breakdown:

• 117 – USA (66 – California 8 – Arizona 7 – Nevada 6 – Massachusetts 4 – Maryland 4 – Washington D.C. 4 – Texas 3 – North Carolina 3 – South Dakota 2 – Michigan 2 – New York 2 – New Jersey 1 – Hawaii 1- Pennsylvania 1 – Missouri 1 – Kansas 1 – Louisiana 1 – Wisconsin)
• 24 – UK (England and Wales)
• 22 – Tajikistan
• 19 – Australia
• 14 - Canada
• 11 – Iran
• 8 – Guam
• 7 – South Korea
• 7 – Thailand
• 6 – Hong Kong
• 4 – Saudi Arabia
• 4 – Sweden
• 2 – Japan
• 2 – New Zealand
• 2 – Italy
• 2 – France
• 2 – Austria
• 2 – St. Vincent and the Grenadines
• 1 – Pakistan
• 1 – Monaco

I would like to thank all those who have contributed to my postcard collection. I am eternally grateful to you as you are helping me nurture my dream. You have already earned a space in my heart. I hope you will always remember me in your travels, in the same manner that you are remembered every time I look at my collection. This also serves as an appeal for everyone to contribute to my collection. If you know of anyone who is or who will travel to some faraway place, please ask for a postcard. Do help me in my quest. This is your chance to be “immortalized” in my memory. Ü

As of 30 December 2007, here's the breakdown of my latest additions:

• 17 - Italy
• 3 - France
• 13- Egypt
• 9 - Israel
• 1 - Jordan
• 10 - California, USA
• 2 - Australia
• 1 - Denmark
• 1 - New York, USA
• 2 - Indonesia
• 3 - Washington D.C., USA
• 1 - Singapore

The grand total now is 320 postcards, whew!