I know this is not the space to rant about things I hate, but until I get this off my chest, I will not be able to have a day full of love and kindness. I have to rant. Otherwise, I might punch my hand through a wall.I woke up at 7:15am! So that I could get to the post office right as it opened. This is because for the past six months, I have been trying to mail a gift to Japan for my friend Yuki (to thank her for letting me stay at her house last July); a gift to Stef in Costa Rica for her daughter's birthday, which was in February!, a bunch of baby gifts to friends that have had babies over the past five months, and my niece's birthday gift. Which is not late, yet. Now, I have tried to mail these packages countless times. Kenny would drive by, I would run into the post office and the line would be so fucking long that it was like they were giving out free televisions. So I would pack my bag of gifts back into the car trunk and we would drive off, dejectedly.
This time, I vowed this WOULD NOT HAPPEN! I WOULD MAIL THOSE GIFTS! So I decided to bypass my neighborhood post office. It is usually full of people buying 100 money orders at a time, each in the amount of $10. So I drove a few miles away to the post office on Myrtle Avenue, which has better parking. I got a great spot right in front, stuck money in the meter, and then noticed that the meter was a failed meter. So right there, I just lost 25¢ to the city. Ok, but I was still excited that I got a broken meter. I hustled my bags of gifts out onto the sidewalk and noticed there were a bunch of people milling around. Apparently, the post office does not open until 9:30am. Huh?! Why are the hours not the same, across the country?! Oh, and some guy pointed out the street cleaner came between 8-9am EVERY DAY, and if I did not move my car, I would get a ticket.
I started getting annoyed. It is like its flat out impossible to use the stupid US postal System. It is like they WANT you to just use FedEx or Email, so that they can fucking whine about the fact that no one uses the mail anymore, and raise postage by like 2¢ every three months. This country is broken.
I got in the car and drove to the post office on Fulton Street. Fulton Street looks like a war zone on those particular set of blocks around the post office, and I practically parked the car in a drainage ditch. As well, the street is full of no parking signs, but when I looked around, I saw that there was no place that did not have a no parking sign. Three blocks are full of construction/no parking signs. There was no construction taking place that I could see, and everyone was parking there anyway. So I do too. I needed to get these packages mailed, already.
The whole time I was in the post office, the two women working there were completely dissing another co-worker who apparently called in sick, and they were really peeved about it. Like "that's why my daughter is kicking her daughter's ass right now," kind of pissed. This banter slowed down their work flow even more than the snail's pace norm that you find the post office, and I was like, "Can I come back there and just fucking do your job for you?!" Finally, she finished. And let me know that I just paid the US postal service $107 to mail packages to my loved ones. The way she kept asking me if I wanted insurance made me have zero faith that any of my gifts will even arrive in one piece, if at all.
I came outside and saw a police car parked next to mine, giving everyone on the block a parking ticket. At this point, I didn't care about respecting authority, and I started yelling at the police man, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" He calmly replies that there is no parking here. And I was like, "EXACTLY. THERE IS NO PARKING ANYWHERE! HOW IS ANYONE SUPPOSED TO USE THE FUCKING POST OFFICE? IT IS A GOVERNMENTAL BUILDING AND THERE IS NO PARKING!" He smiled weakly and said, "I am sorry, I am just doing my job." To which I retort, "I FUCKING HATE THIS COUNTRY." I was feeling such hate for the postal service by then. And then I began to hate George Bush, because as president, he owns the post office, and I hated him for fucking up our country so completely. Which led me to just hate our country in general, for allowing this stupid sort of inefficient behavior to actually happen in the first place. This would never happen in Switzerland. Or Japan. Or Canada. I so wanted to ask the police man "But what about the drug dealers on Vanderbilt Avenue?" Or about the fact that a woman my age was murdered in broad daylight on Fulton Street (see here), less than two months ago. Oh, and what about the methadone clinic people who buy crack at the corner deli? And the gang related violence happening over on St. John's Place and Underhill Avenue? But no, the neighborhood is a truly safer place only now because I got a fucking parking ticket? I am trying to help the fucking country's economy by using their fucked up postal service. And this is my thanks? A fucking parking ticket?
I quit you, US Postal Service. From now on, I am sending everything via FedEx or DHL.
5 comments:
Aimee, this is by far the best post I have ever seen on the crap that the USPS gives you. At least you have a few post offices in range... I have one... that's almost 15 miles from my house... and it closes at four! :( I've been waiting on my paycheques from West Lafayette, IN which is just four hours north for two weeks now... How sad is that? :(
Anyway, great post and I'm definitely adding you to my favourites. :) Keep it up!
Awesome, well done! My own little side bar, I am an unemployed police officer applying to every agency accepting applications. The post office returned my application for .17 cents. How shitty is that! If it was a dollar I would understand, but the post man spent more than .17 cents returning it to me which now makes it to late for the closing date. Thanks post office!
Dear Libtard Morons,
Yes, it is more efficient to use private enterprise to accomplish your goals than the government.
NO: the President does not own the post office. He doesn't have anything to do with the post office. President Bush, and the Republicans are not ruining your life - YOU ARE.
YES: When you park in a no parking zone, you may get a ticket. YES: this is a revenue generation scheme which is used to finance your libtard ways. When I've parked in a no parking zone and received a ticket, I was expecting to receive one. I simply paid the ticket.
EVERYTHING run by the government in the countries you referenced operates in this manner. A good additional example is their healthcare system.
Ironic that you are your own enemy isn't it?
Ironic and moronic, indeed.
Sincerely,
Not a bitter lib
I can give you better reasons for hating the post office- they can't even do their jobs. This has nothing to do with private vs. government. This has to do with taking pride in one's work, something no U.S. postal worker seems to, anymore. I sent a certified, priority lette 11 days ago, schedule for delivery 8 days ago. Do you think it got there? Do you think they even know where it is?? The last scan was three days ago, sitting in some post office that isn't even in the same zip code as the place I sent it. The best they can do is "open an investigation" that will take "1-2 business days." I mean, seriously, they can't even do their own jobs and most of them don't even start until 9 or 10 in the morning. Remember when the post office used to open at 6am? Remember when you knew your mailman and he thanked you for your holidays bonuses? Remember when automatic sorters didn't make you deliver your neighbor's mail, because it can never seem to get your address right? Those days are loooong gone. I vote for FedEx to take over mail in this country. They seem to give a crap about their reputation. Unlike Americans like "Anonymous" who seized the moment by denouncing moral health care in other countries. That's good, Anonymous. Just keep focusing on yourself, not on your sick, starving and poor fellow countrymen. Who cares about them when you've got yours, right? Amercia the Great indeed.
Idiots fedx doesn't want to deliver your letter for 44 cent maybe 19.75. And to the other idiot you probally put the wrong zip code. Before flappng your yap you should know what your talking about I am so sick of the public whinning about service. How can we provide service like other companies when we our so regulated by the goverment. Now mind you no goverment funds by can't make a move without their seal of approval fuck how long does that take let me think. FOREVER And let me think a rate increase evey three months you are plain fuckin clueless once every other year if we are lucky.Lets see my toll went up on my commute went up 1.50 thats per day went on vacation came home cup of coffee from dunkin dounuts went up 20 cent not one fuckin article in the paper. O boo who you parked in a no parking zone and got aticket why dont you bring it to the post office and see if we can take care of it for you should we pay for your gas to what else can we do for you because you buy 10 44cent stamps a month.
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