We Care

I'm sure our Postal Service works very hard. I know
the folks here at McMurdo's Post Office do. A few
days ago, I received this bag. I had ordered some
travel information (free) from Canada. When it got
here, the envelope was empty of all of the materials
and the envelope was enclosed in a plastic bag, with
a note on it, apologizing for the "condition" my mail
was in. Condition? There was NO MAIL in the bag!
Just the envelope. What kind of rough handling would
this envelope had to have gone through to come here
in this condition? Were people playing football or
frisbee with it? This is one of the dumbest things
I've encountered in a while!

Send No Salmon

In a funny (or maybe not so funny) chain of events,
earlier this week the post office received mail. A
lot of mail! However, amongst all the fun packages
and envelopes for good little girls and boys, there
was the equivalent to a sack of coal delivered as well.
Someone sent someone some "fresh" salmon, canned in
glass canning jars. On the way to Christchurch,
apparently the glass in one of the jars broke. Liquid
was oozing from the box it was in. When this happens,
the mail folks in Christchurch will double wrap the box
in plastic bags so that it doesn't ruin other mail.
When the mail arrived here...the box was full of...
MAGGOTS! Yes, not a pretty site. And within a day or
so, there were also FLIES. Not only was this really
gross, but the introduction of non-Antarctic species
is a violation of the Antarctic Treaty. If we can't
have Dogs and Cats living here, I certainly don't want
to substitute them with Maggots and Flies! So, the
Environmental folks came by and assessed the situation
and cleaned things up. We won't have a problem any
more, but in the future...please Send No Salmon!

Blue Bird of Happiness

OK...the bird isn't blue...it's a penguin! But
the sign is and what's under the sign makes people
very happy. It's the mailroom and when people get
mail and packages here at McMurdo, this is where
they go to pick it up. Not the Post Office. I've
lost count how many times I've seen people go to
the Post Office to pick up their mail. Yes, they
are right next to each other, but in McMurdo's
case, all you can do is buy postage and mail things
from the Post Office with Kathy and Carol,while you
have to pick up things from Arnita in the Mail
Room. Apparently someone got tired of explaining
the difference and had this sign made. I like it!

Last Days for Mail

There is now less than a week to mail packages
and boxes off the Ice for the season. I was
fairly smart this year and mailed the couple of
things I had to send early. Literally 50 people
will be lined up out the door next week to
mail boxes of things home. They've even offered
to have people send things home on the Cargo
Vessel this year as an option to get things
out of here. However, there won't be any price
break and it will have to sit on a boat for over
a month. Plus...it still has to be ready to mail
by February 4th. Doesn't sound like much of a
deal to me.

Selling Books on Amazon

Times are tough for many people these days. However,
there are always people out there with money and willing
to spend it. Now, before reading further, take a look around
you. Do you have any books in your room? Any books in
your house? Any books you're willing to part with that you
haven't read for a very long time...if ever?

Over the last 36 hours I've made almost $25 selling three
books on Amazon.com in their used book section. I just
have to make a little effort of posting them online at a
reasonable price, packing them to send at the Post Office
to the customer (Amazon pays for the shipping) and
then Amazon deposits the payment into your bank account.
It's that easy. Sure, I probably won't sell this many books
this quickly all the time and yes, it's not a ton of money,
but in these times, every little bit counts.

Rare Winterover Mail

It is a true rarity when Winterovers receive mail in April,
but the fact that most folks wintering knew we were going to
get mail two months after the official end of summer caused
many to go on shopping sprees. I have to admit my Amazon.com
account took a beating. Three Thousand pounds of mail arrived
on the last flight and although I didn't get a "before" photo
of the mail room, every single shelf in this room was packed
with boxes, even spilling a bit onto the floor. How badly
did the Winterovers want their mail? Within 20 hours, it
was all gone. Empty shelves were all that were left. I
heard many folks say it was "Like Christmas". Volunteering
my afternoon to distribute mail, it was a little sad to see
some folks that didn't get things they thought they would,
including one friend that didn't get her laptop, but overall
most were happy. Lynn and I also got a lot of fun things,
including newspapers and special treats from Ice friends not
with us this year. It was most fun to see people light up
when they received their mail. To think that powers high up
on the ladder contemplated not sending us mail in April. It's
the little things that go a long way toward making people
happy!