Stuff In Mail

Plasticmom loves sending me stuff in the mail: letters, random articles from the WSJ, funny print advertising, Japanese super elastic rubber bands, photos, toilet paper (to pad and cushion other things she's sending me in a box) and the usual out of state parental duty of forwarding my mail (jury duty and DMV renewal info). USPS was her most favored carrier, but now she prefers UPS since she works for a fishing fly mail order company that uses UPS. Getting mail, especially boxes, is just really fun and it was especially great in college when she would flout agricultural state borders sending me fruit from home. She even keeps a supply of extra USPS paraphernalia beyond postage in her home office: priority mail stickers, certified mail forms, return receipt postcards, etc. Joy derived from sending mail and willingness to hang out at the post office must be either genetic or a learned behavior because I also love sending mail to my buddies including plasticmom. Likewise, having just viewed plasticmom's photos of her newly reconfigured home, "style" or what some might call "lack of style" must also be a genetic or learned trait. Plasticmom's apartment oddly looks like plasticann's room and shares similar characteristics. Perhaps I should also mention that both plasticmom and plasticann bought some of their furniture from Staples and plasticmom picked out the shelves in plasticann's room during one of her visits. Lastly, Jessica created an awesome care package for her friend who lives far far away. It had all the right elements of frivolous fun, practical and useful gifts and of course...candy. My favorite element was the free maps and brochures of local attractions she grabbed from the hotel lobby...I'm definitely filing away that excellent care package idea for the future.