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Wednesday, September 1, 2010

attention deficit

Today, I go to the Post Office. Wednesday is now official Post Office Day.

I go to the Post Office each Wednesday to check our Post Office Box. A few years ago, we got a Post Office Box for financial type things we didn't want coming to our street box. These identity theft days, you can't be too careful leaving that stuff laying around. At the time, we also had an autistic boy neighbor who would occassionally go "play" with people's mail, so enter the P.O. box.

They're relatively cheap at $5 a month, plus the branch office where ours is located is a pleasant couple miles bike ride away. As it was, I only visited the box when we were expecting something of importance in there. Such was the case a few months ago. I arrived, key in hand, and went to open the box.

Nothing.

Key would not turn. I fiddled with it, I rattled it, I checked the number, I fiddled some more.

Nothing.

It was as if the lock had been changed. So I came back home and called the post office - that was actually the quicker alternative to standing in line - and learned that, yes, the lock HAD been changed.

The lock had been changed because we didn't pay our 6-month's rent. We didn't pay our 6-month's rent because I wasn't aware that it was due. I wasn't aware that it was due because I hadn't kept track of when it was due. I hadn't kept track of it because the post office had always sent me a bill a couple of weeks before it was due. They sent me the bill via...

... our P.O. box.

which I couldn't get into because the lock was changed because we didn't pay the rent because I didn't know the rent was due because the due notice was put into the box which I couldn't get into because.... well, okay.

So last Wednesday, I rented us a shiny new box. And now Wednesdays are Post Office Days. I'm not really expecting anything of importance, but I just want to get myself into the habit of paying the lonely box a weekly visit.




I hope there's at least a Lego catalog awaiting me.
.

3 comments:

Duble said...

the problem with the identity theft thing, at least from my experience with it, is they still stuff you're not expecting.
I got a call about 10 years ago from the albuquerque police. It turned out someone was stealing credit card envelopes marked you're pre approved or something like.

Tricky bastagse

brandy101 said...

that situation warrants a big:

"D'oh!"

terri said...

They changed the lock? Just like that? Couldn't they have at least sent you a late notice, last chance kind of thing? To your P.O. Box? Oh.... never mind.