Hey, you know that stack of Severin Films DVD’s* I have here to give to some cinematically deprived soul out there? Yup, they’re still here, all boxed up and ready to go get shipped out anywhere in the US. Instead of picking a subscriber from a list, we’re changing that to whoever (and yes, you still have to live in the US!) replies to this post and is willing to let me be that not so Secret Santa who might have had a few too many Egg Nogs. Anyway, I have to go out for a few hours and will return later this afternoon, so you know what to do (I hope!)
*Note: there’s at least one Blu-Ray in the stack, Maybe Santa will slip up and add another? Who knows?
Nope, that’s not me above. That both my reaction to yesterday’s news (no, not that stupid debate I didn’t watch) about my missing PS4 as well as the general attitude of the seller I bought it from. Both of these are making me wish I had a quart of booze to drink before smashing the bottle over my head if I hadn’t passed out by that point. Whee?
More in a bit. I need to get some squeaky, freaky wheels moving here because that darn deer sure isn’t moving fast enough and the road needs to be cleared without anything else going under the bus.
Suspense! I really hate it at a time like this. Don’t you? Good.
Well, I figured this would happen at some point, but yep, it happened. Step back from your viewing screen and hold onto your butts, folks… this post is going to suck. Up to a point.
I didn’t post yesterday because I decided to try and work a bit and I was in a crappy mood because I decided chronicling this ongoing nonsense wasn’t all that therapeutic after all. I was just getting more annoyed at every person involved in this mess I’m (still) a victim of not being very helpful. USPS was giving me a slow runaround, the seller is kind of lost and asking me what to do (I’ve been passing along as much help as I can), and despite being a longtime fan, I’m about to go postal and recommend anyone I know just NOT use their local post office for anything but whatever passport services they offer. But let’s not pull that rabbit out of the hat just yet, folks.
Anyway, after a suggestion from a message board that I call the number on the USPS web site and another user comment that
The postal service is very serious about employee mail theft. They will get to the bottom of it.
Well, I would hope the hell so. I decided to pick up the phone this morning and try my luck. That turned out to be both a terrifically terrible and (very) good thing to do. Well, maybe on the “(very) good” part.
Tuesday. It’s the same as Monday, but a day later. I actually had to go back to the post office this morning to send out a package (some new Mac power cables I had no use for as I don’t own a Mac), and ha, bloody ha-ha, the same guy at the inquiry window yesterday just so happened to be working the regular window I ended up at. Of course, he recognized me right away and as I step up to the counter with my little box of cables, I get a “Hey, how’s it going?” followed by a “Did the package arrive yet?”
PAUSE.
(Remember folks, this is the same guy who tells me yesterday that my package had been sent or was in the process of being sent BACK to where it came from. Now, unless the return trip was via TARDIS and my box whipped its way back from its original location to my doorstep within 24 hours (and it hasn’t, dear reader)… That would be a NO).
I tell him “No, it hasn’t”, thinking maybe he’ll realize that’s a rather dumb question to ask. Let’s just say I was so annoyed that I didn’t realize I paid $7.05 to send a package Priority Mail instead of the under $4 it should have cost for First Class. Ugh. Well, dammit… GRRRRR!
Feh, at least it’ll get there faster. No wait, I just checked out of curiosity. It’ll be the same three days. Well, just… damn it all.
I was too worn out from being up too late worrying about my backlog and other stuff to have my head explode like yesterday, but fair warning: Day 3 may be that day you all want to duck and cover into your bunkers with those old Civil Defense helmets on and a week’s supply of hardtack, beans and plenty of fresh drinking water.
Back in a bit…
*It’s actually day NINE of this nonsense, as the box hit the routing hub on the 11th.
Anyway, this morning I popped up at 7:08am, made a pot of coffee and had a cup before popping out to the post office. Hey, I’d rather be home and dry writing up reviews, but you know how it goes when you need to go track down that thing you need to play games with so you can write those reviews, right?
Math time: rainy Monday + post office packed before 9am with cranky patrons + SUPER slow inquiry window = Yeah, it’s a Monday, all right. At 9:21am (I was fourth in line), the unusually nice guy at the window sees the tracking info on my phone that shows my refused box being refused at the hub station and my address and without missing a beat, says “Oh. It looks like someone pushed the wrong button on their tracker down at the other location, so your package got returned…”
So, yeah. I’m still in a rotten mood from having my PS4 go missing before it reached my hot little hands, but at least I know the thief works for USPS and they need to do some housekeeping that involves someone losing their job and warming a cold bunk in a prison cell. Still, it’s going to be a stupid as hell Monday going down to the branch here with my tracking number to ask how the hell was driving that truck last week or who the hell at the hub where mail is sorted and went out thought they could get away with their plan. Anyway, I’ve been trying hard to enjoy the rest of my weekend, but it’s not working much… Continue reading →
Okay. I’m taking today “off” just to pore through my assorted inboxes and reply to a stack of Toy Fair appointment requests plus tackle some other stuff. I also need to hoof it back to the post office to get a box mailed out. I woke up to a digital scale that died after years of flawless service, meaning I also needed to purchase a replacement. As that new model won’t arrive for a few days, anything I need to get out has to get walked down to the post office and weighed, taken back here and labeled, then back down to be mailed. Yeah, it’s silly, but it’s actually good exercise (I can always use this) and I like that it baffles people waiting on any long lines when I just walk past them and hand my already paid for item off to a clerk. That place would be a great deal less packed if more people had USPS.com or other accounts that allowed them to purchase postage online at home and just drop it off with no hassles once it was packed up.
Oh, and if you somehow haven’t seen SE7EN yet, oops. Sorry about spoiling the ending for you. Um, “Rosebud’s the sled”, if that’s any consolation…
Back in a bit- my inboxes just grew by something like 70 emails in the time it took to write this post…
FEH. So, I log onto PSN to download the games I bought this weekend (two bucks well spent) and WHAMMO! Yep, PSN is down for maintenance. In the middle of the afternoon. On a Monday. Bleah. I did get some good news in the mail in the form of my FruitChia bar shipment arriving, but as there’s a replacement mail carrier while my regular guy is on vacation, the package was shoved and squeezed into my mailbox instead of hand delivered to my hot little hands. I didn’t see her woman-handling my goods, but I happened to drop downstairs as she finished up and was closing the mailboxes so I know who to give a glare to the next time I have to perform surgery on something packed into my mailbox in order to get the darn thing out. Anyway, whee- more trees to ogle, this time more or less complete. Hey, someone has to have a good day on this otherwise goofball Monday, right?
Yikes. You KNOW things are bad when you go to the Post Office and THEY’RE out of forms anyone can easily get online. Of course, by the time I realized I was running low on 2976-E’s and went to order some last week, the USPS online shop was down for the count for a day or two. Fortunately, I found a few spares in my scanner (of all places… I guess I need to use it more often, huh?), but those ran out yesterday. Amusingly enough, I’d forgotten to ask for a few when I dropped off some packages because a rather silly verbal battle broke out at the post office that involved a supervisor doing her job well and some really cranky people waiting on a really LONG line.
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 