Another Failed Government Institution...

The U.S. Postal Service.

So, my mom sent me a letter Express Mail overnight. Of course, it didn't get here overnight. That would be too easy. The letter didn't arrive on the specified day. My mom called the post office to track it and the lady could only tell her that it was shipped from Florida. DUH! My mom knew that because she's the one who sent it. I tried to track the shipment online, but the USPS only updates it's information once in the evenings. Today I tried again. The tracking information says it was missent to Illinois. Yes, you could ask, how could mail marked for Pennsylvania end up in Illinois? I mean, they could mess up on a couple of zip code numbers, right? But the envelope clearly stated the correct city and state. If you think I'm being a little harsh, then let me introduce you to:

Melissa's Saga with the Post Office to Date

• I pay $1.00 (online) to have my mail forwarded to my new address, which is located 4 buildings down from my old address...yet, half of my mail still goes to my old address and the new resident marks them "return to sender". There is no explanation for this madness, since some of my new mail arrives at my new, correct address and some does not.

• I send a "Thank You" card to my friend in Virginia. The next day I find the card in my mailbox postmarked and everything. This was not bounced back because it was addressed wrong. It was just sent to the return address. Apparently the postman thought it would be fun to do everything backwards that day and sent the card to the return address.

• My friend in Maryland sends me a wedding "Save The Date" postcard. Days go by and I haven't received anything. I give up and decide it must have been lost. Over a week and 1/2 later I receive the postcard. My friend's aunt in Taiwan received her postcard before I did. Apparently it takes longer to send mail to Pennsylvania (remember, only 1 state separates Pennsylvania from Maryland) than to send mail to another country thousands and thousands of miles away.