My Postal Dollars at Work

I'm not into all the ins and outs when it comes to the operations of the USPS in Dayton, Ohio, but I did know that if I mailed a letter from my house to downtown Dayton, they'd get it the next day. Two, at the latest. Not so anymore.

Apparently the Dayton processing plant has closed down. Mail now gets shipped to Cincinnati for initial mail sorting, which makes sure the mail is all upright with the stamp in the upper right hand corner for cancelling. Then it is shipped back to Dayton for the automation machines, which sorts the mail for the appropriate post office.

This added a day to the delivery (at least).

But wait. That's not all.

On June 23rd, the automation process is being transferred to Columbus. So instead of Cincinnati sending the mail back to Dayton, they'll now send it to Columbus. Once the mail has been sorted, then it will be shipped to Dayton for delivery.

This means, when I mail a letter from my house to downtown Dayton, I shouldn't expect it to get there in less than four days. Four days to travel nine miles.

I can only assume the volume of mail has reduced so much to cause this "consolidation." Seems like when I have to pay more for postage (of which I believe has increased by a penny today), I should at least get the same or better service, not worse. But hey, maybe that's just me!

Okay, end of rant.

On Saturday I had a wonderful time with the Central Ohio Fiction Writers group as they put on a workshop featuring Donald Maass. That guy is funny! And I learned so much. I'm so glad I was able to attend and I've been able to put some of his processes to work. I love workshops that make me crave writing and this one did just that.

I found out my guest post with the Romancing the Genres Blog will occur on Saturday, February 16th. That is also the day I am to be on a romance writers panel at the Wilmington Stroop branch of the Dayton Metro Library in Kettering, Ohio. And it's my dad's birthday. Popular day, huh? Let's hope I don't go into media overload!

Hope your Monday starts the week off with a blast! I'll be spending some of my time at Time Warner Cable, swapping out our failing DVR and checking into getting a whole house system. Should be fun. Not!

 

 

 

Mail

When I was younger (I could say “a kid”, but I was 13 and wouldn’t have liked to be called that THEN), I anxiously awaited each day for the mail. I loved getting mail. I had several pen pals and I would usually get something from someone. I got so much mail, I was friends with the mail man. His name was Don (and later on I would say hi to him on my letters to my parents – written on the front of the envelope so he could see).

Now, this was before e-mails and texting and blogs. I think I would have loved blogging back then! Texting, too! And Facebook!

I loved writing letters, but I loved receiving them more.

I haven’t changed.

I look to see if anyone commented on my blog. I look to see if anyone sent me a message on Facebook. And now I anxiously check my e-mail – several times a day – to see if I’ve heard back from an agent. It’s ridiculous the amount of times in a day I’ve gone and checked. I’ve read about others who have done that and I thought – not me. I wouldn’t do that. HA!

So beware – those of you who have yet to send out queries. Your obsession with e-mail will come! I think it’s a rite of passage.