The Postman Hates Me

We live in an apartment in a really large complex that looks something like a Palm Springs resort. It is a lovely apartment near the ocean, with vaulted ceilings and two large bedrooms, 2 baths and a rather nice deck. We are surrounded by big, beautiful trees and we have an abundance of wildlife around us, including coyotes, eagles, bunnies, raccoons, etc. The whole place is really nice, for an apartment complex. There is a point to this; click Wanna Read the Rest? to find out what it is.


Despite all of that "luxury", our mailbox is about 3" x 3" and is located along a wall where a bank of all the other mailboxes are. You know what I'm talking about. It holds about a day's worth of mail if you stuff it in there creatively. So, you need a special key to unlock your box, plus you have to actually walk or drive all the way over there when you want to check your mail. I presume they expect us to check our mailbox everyday. At any rate, since all we ever get is the standard 2.2 cubic tons of junk mail and a small stack of bills each week, it is not among my highest priorities to check the mail.

When my daughter lived here, I could usually persuade her every other day to check the mail for me and it would be neatly stacked on the table when I got home. It was like magic! Since she left, I have no one to check the mail. So, I forget sometimes. And the times I remember to check it? Go something like this: "Self, go check the mailbox." "Aw, screw it. I'll check it tomorrow." Like I said, it's not my top priority. Most of the mail goes directly into the garbage anyway which makes me feel horribly guilty (since the nazis very competent management team that runs the place won't set up a recycling program) .

Well, guess what happens when you don't check your mail for over one week? You get a nastygram from the Postmaster telling you that you need to go to the Post Office (where in the world is that?) and pick up your mail they are holding for you. If you don't pick it up within 3 days of the notice (the notice that is in your mailbox that you aren't checking regularly), they will send all of your mail back.

I wonder where they send all the junk mail? And, can I do that myself? I would love to send it all back to where it came from.

Anyhoots. About two weeks ago, my husband did the duty of going to the post office for us, seeing as how I am held hostage and kept confined to my desk 50 hours per week and have no way to get to this so-called Post Office during their so-called Operating Hours.

You should see the mail. It's one of those big, white, US Post Office bins, the kind you may have seen at work to carry around bulk mail. It is FULL to the top (with mostly junk mail). It is a Giant Bucket O'Mail.



And all that mail? It is still sitting in the bucket. I am scared to go through it. But I am checking the mailbox more frequently now. I've checked it at least once this week!