Back when I was in high school, friends of mine and I would send each other letters for no particular reason other than to scam the post. (I probably shouldn't admit to this here)
We would write a note, seal it in an envelope, address it to ourselves with the return address reflecting where we wanted it to go, and drop it in the box with no stamp. A few days later the letter would show up labeled "Return to Sender/ Insufficient Postage".
Done and done.
I'm noticing a lot of my bills are coming with the self-addressed enveloped self-addressed in both the To: spot and the From: spot and you have no idea how tempted I am just to drop it in the box stampless and see if my bill gets paid on time. But now I have a soft spot for the US Mail (mostly a fascination of the inner-workings of it. How the heck do they do it? No matter how illegible the handwriting, it seems to end up in the right place in a reasonable amount of days. I guess it's like pharmacists. No matter how scrawly the script, it seems there is a shortage of drug mix-ups and confusion.) and I try to post as much as I can. Within reason. I pay most of my bills online or with autopay. I've neglected to send Christmas cards for a couple years. I am so far removed from writing letters that I hardly check my email anymore. Did you know that email is a dying thing? I didn't believe it until two interns at two separate agencies laughed at me when I asked them for their email in the past year. One said "um, yeah. My MOM does email. I don't have that. Gross.". So I guess I don't post as much as I can. But I never use UPS or Fed Ex if I'm sending something out. And I always request that anything sent to me at my house is done through the US Mail. I don't buy those Forever Stamps, even though I accidentally did this time because I wanted the cherry blossom ones and those are Forevers. I feel guilty.
Did you know that Philadelphia has amazing cherry blossoms? We don't get a stamp or anything, dammit. DC steals our thunder. We also have incredible azaleas and hydrangeas that are out of this world. We originally got the cherry trees as a gift from Japan, but they grow so well now that the city plants them all over the place. And I'm not sure about the azaleas, but we do have an azalea garden that I've been meaning to get too. Hydrangeas, I hear, are dependent on the acidity of the soil they grow in. I'm not sure if that is true but the hydrangeas that grow in some of the worst neighborhoods in this town blow away anything that I've ever seen anywhere else. The colors are stunning and the bushes grow a story tall in abandoned lots, blooming from spring to fall.
Put that on a stamp and suck it.
Lick it.
11 comments:
you are right cats do come better in pairs and if I ever get another cat, I will get two girl cats that never leave my house.
the azalea gardens in Philadelphia are beautiful. hurry b/c they will be losing their blooms soon.
i may be in Philly tomorrow into to Sunday to see the Broad Street run. somehow we must check each other out!
I use USPS whenever possible and request people use it when sending me packages- if nothing else because UPS in Philadelphia is the worst place on Earth. Just typing the phrase "UPS in Philadelphia" got me really mad.
I still have email- anything else goes over my head. I refuse to carry around a cell phone. I have this need to trip mothers who walk into the school with a cell phone on their ear (or in their hands texting.) Literally you haven't seen your kid in like 8 hours give them the time of day.
Wow! That felt good to say. Thank you.
Are you having kitty shows at your house now? How about a video!!!
Oh, those kittens are adorable!
My husband can't stand Country music.
I mail cards all the time and my family loves to make fun of me but they look for them. I mail Easter cards, Thanksgiving cards, Thank you notes, Thinking of you cards and so on. I was so mad at the post office in Flagstaff, I accidentally put the Zip code for my daughter's University on it and she is in an apartment right off of campus, now using Flagstaff's only other Zip Code and get this, it is off by one number, one flipping number and they sent the card back and it had a Gas Gift Card in it that she wanted. C'mon, they knew where it was suppose to go, seriously.
Oh my gosh those kittens are adorable. If only they didn't turn into cats...mine is not my fave right now!
I used to mail cards all the time, but honestly I couldn't tell you the last time I was in the USPS. Hmmm. Maybe I should get back to those cards again...
email a dying thing? That is sad... and strange. I can't type you an email from my phone I can't get into detail with my thumbs. There's no way I could have told you all about my avocado obsession the other day. ;)
Cherry Blossoms you know I was born and raised outside of DC and never once went to the blossom festival OR saw them for that matter... so sad.
So DC steels Philly's thunder and so does the South. In NC they have the Azelea festivals {I think I just spelled that flower incorrectly}... We always had those bushes outside of our house where I grew up. The bright PINK popped against the not so bright Civil War type Gray/Blue paint we had on our Colonial style house. Damn I miss that house.
You've inspired me to finally get my Thank You cards out from the wedding. I've written them all, I just haven't mailed or addressed them yet... SO behind!
Cherry blossoms are beautiful. But note to self re: moving to your area - my allergies would DIE. Kill me. For reals.
Hope you're well and omg, kitties are adorable heaven! Love 'em!
There is nothing sweeter than a pile of baby cats sleeping in a pile. Love your picture and it brought back a load of memories. Good one, too.
Before I go any farther I had to look up about the post office today, because my little brother was saying snarky things about them. So here is the best link, in case you were wondering about them.
http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/consumerawareness/a/uspsabout.htm
We buy the forever stamps and do not feel guilty at all. I'm a post office supporter, too. In that article it says the post office is ahead a billion dollars each year even though they are supposed to be a break even enterprise.
Now, about the hydrangeas. The deal with the soil is about which color they will bloom. In alkaline soil like we have here in N. Central Texas, our bloom pink. I areas with acid soil they bloom blue. The Ph of the soil can be changed with additives to get whichever color you want. I've tried growing azaleas here, because they are so beautiful, but it just didn't work out.
I have email, but am starting to use texting more. It is easy and doesn't take time and if you don't notice and get back to me, it is ok. You will when you see it. At least that is the way my daughter and I roll. I just don't have the time or interest to tweet.
Oh yes, you don't like honky tonk music? Well, you can't account for all tastes, I guess. *grin*
We have three cats, and each firmly believes he should be underfoot at all times. This is mostly a calamity.
I have sorted out some more words, and have 7 in the queue. Gah.
Those kitties are adorable and are you kidding me about email dying out?? I feel like I just started doing it!!
Post a Comment