I’m sure that I’ve posted about being second shift, going to bed at 4am and getting up at noon… So when I say I like to sleep in on the weekends, I mean I like to sleep in on the weekends.
All in all, it makes it pretty difficult to do things like, oh, go to the post office. I mean, I can’t even go at lunch like normal people since my lunch is around 7pm. Break is at 4pm, but there are no shipping places close enough to work to be able to make it there and back in twenty minutes let alone 10 or 15 (they’ve never been clear on exactly how long break is, so I just kind of guess).
I was trying to think of a post office that would be close enough that I wouldn’t have to get up a full hour earlier just to ship out a package or two. Couldn’t think of one. But then, I turned my mind towards other shipping options. FedEx? Don’t know of any around here. UPS? Ditto. DHL? Close, but the traffic jams in that shopping center are legendary.
And then I remembered. There’s this little mailing center in a shopping center just up the street. I’ve never been in because they were always closed by the time I got out to do my errands. And yet, I do my errands around 5 and 6 pm on Saturday and Sunday.
So I did a little digging, and lo and behold! I found a mini website for them. And they’re open till 4pm on Saturdays. I’m usually up around 1:30 on Saturday- so if I just dress and do hygiene stuff, wait for food and other things until after I’m back… I could totally make it there before they close! Of course, I still have to see what extra fees they have and how it all works, but…
What does this mean for you?
Well, awhile ago I mentioned that I’d like to have book contests to get rid of my overflow instead of lugging them out to a used book store for credit. Share the wealth, and that sort of thing. The stipulation being that I’d wait until I knew I could get up early enough to get to the post office. You see where this is going, don’t you?
No, I’m not announcing any contests yet. But I think I’ll be checking that place out this weekend, and if it looks as good as I hope, I’ll be announcing the first one soon.
And in addition? I made over $700 worth of jewelry that I barely even photographed because it’s such a pain to get up. If I’m making trips to a mailing center anyway, then selling my jewelry and crafts, and who knows what else, won’t be any more trouble than writing out a few extra address labels and tracking sales. Which, I need another hobby. Cross stitch is driving me cross eyed.
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Here in Anchorage, we have a post office (yes, a USPS) at the airport that is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It’s all the way across town from me, but sometimes it’s worth it.
And you should see the lines around April 15 and Christmas.
Dang. Now that’s a post office I’d love. Oh, to be able to drop in for stamps after work…
Yay! Contests are fun! (Not that I need anymore books) I’m always amazed how even in NYC, no post office is open later than 6 or 7 on weeknights and 1 or 2 on weekends. This is NEW YORK, people. Half the population works the night shift and the rest of us don’t get out of work until at least 7! Unless you’re ::ehem:: unemployed, in which case the whole point here is lost.
As a postal employee I feel compelled to share a few things with you. One you can do nearly everything from your computer that you can do at the post office and many PO now have kiosks in their lobby which can do nearly everything but passports as well. These are open 24 hours and the post office even has package pickup through your carrier.
Colleen- Just wait till I add my recipe books into the giveaways! I’m photocopying the recipes that I think I might actually use and making my own recipe book (for personal use, of course), and then I’m going to give away the whole collection of books. It’s making a huge difference in my kitchen, but unfortunately is breaking my give-away book shelf.
Travis- Our post office branches are not that up to date. Most of them only have a few boxes and labels with a drop off bin in the open room, and usually a stamp machine. I always liked shipping priority since it’s a flat rate (so I always knew what to charge customers), but if I want to get fancy at all (or be cheap), I’d need a postal scale. They run about $30 at wal-mart. Plus, hooking my laptop up to the printer is not a pretty thing, which is why I don’t participate in many MTM’s lately- I need the printer to upload pictures from my memory card.
Our delivery guy shows up about 1 hour after we leave for work, and I’m not paying almost $15 to tell him to get his butt here earlier. Not to mention that the delivery guy here isn’t the brightest we’ve ever had. You don’t want to know the stories…
I do, however, fully intend to utilize the package pick up if/when I’m able to work from home. I don’t particularly like the people who run the local mailing center, so I have no issues with taking my business away from them when I’m able.
Just another reason why I need to finish my book, and preferably sell it for over 10K.