The Shipping News

So what has been happening this summer on the "normal" days? Well, sometime around 1:30 pm each day, the mail arrives. When it does, I or someone in the house will lean out the door to the mailbox to get it, and very often, if we're in time to actually see the mailwoman who handles our neighborhood, we'll get the news: "One box today!" "Three boxes today!" "Four boxes today!" Actually, the aforementioned woman seems just a little put out by this slow avalanche of parcels. (She has to drive the truck around to our driveway.) In fact, one day (pictured below) when she pulled up with 11 boxes, our exchange went something like this: Her--"How many MORE of these things are coming?" Me--"About six." Her--"Ugh. That's what you said before!" (In Taipei, the postal workers disguised their dismay only slightly better as I dragged box after box to the counter at the Chong Qing - Hai Nan Rd. branch.)

But I've been running a tight ship. When boxes arrive, I tear off the slips and match them to the receipts I carefully kept when I sent them. In total, I sent about 30 boxes of things belonging to me and Kitty (we're both pack rats) ...and now there are only three we'll still waiting for. I guess I owe the mailwoman something nice for Christmas.

P.S. Yes, one of the boxes contains a rice cooker...