No, it doesn't say male oddities. That's another subject and I have only limited experience with certain kinds of male oddities. Never you mind.
So, about mail, real mail that is. The kind that comes in an envelope and is delivered by a mail carrier. I have received a weird selection of things over the last few days.
First, I got a letter from one of the banks about a RIF cheque that had been issued to my friend, The Bear, in 2000 and never cashed. I found a lot of uncashed cheques in The Bear's apartment when I took over his affairs, but I didn't find that one. I am amazed that the bank has offered to reissue it. However, I filled in the required paperwork and sent it in. If I receive a replacement cheque, I'll be re-amazed.
Then, I found one of my self-addressed stamped envelopes returned by certain Canadian literary journal. I knew right away it contained a rejection because I could see the tiny little slip of paper inside. So, I have another "no" slip to add to my growing pile but the thing is, I can't discover what I sent to them. Normally I write down my submissions in three places, sigh. I know I'll figure it out, it's probably a late, late, late, reply, but I can't figure out why that little envelope took over two weeks to arrive according to the post mark. Maybe it came by lame pony express, or maybe the mail sorters (out of luck writers?) knew what was in it and decided to delay the bad news.
I never expect mail to be swift but once in a great while, I'm surprised. I was surprised today, because I ordered four books from Chapters/Indigo on Monday - ship by regular mail - and they were outside my apartment door today (Thursday). The books wouldn't fit in my mailbox and I wasn't home, so the mail carrier, who is male, brought them upstairs. I don't know if it's legal to do that but he did. Now I have four Christmas presents on hand, but they're not for the males in my life.
Also, today I also received another book in the mail from a friend. "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" is a wonderful title and I'm looking forward to reading the book.
The last item in the mail was a cheque for a little bit of technical writing I completed last week. Things go in streaks, so probably next week there will be nothing in my mail box except bills.
Have you received any good or weird mail?
7 comments:
Hello Diane; I enjoyed your mail oddities blog and thought you picked exactly the right book to mention. My friend loaned me the same book and I found it a delight. It is written (almost entirely) as correspondence. It's a charming book that made me laugh and cry and regret that I didn't live through those times in that place. Cheers,
Liz
I'm glad to hear that someone else gets weird mail. And I hope you discover which story that @#!@#! magazine rejected (fools!),
I don't tend to get weird postal items, I have received books with weird gifts for example one was an Urban Fantasy that landed with some free jelly fangs, another came with a free toy soldier that had no relation to the book whatsoever.
I sometimes get rejections so long after the submission that I've forgotten all about them!
Right now I'm getting nothing but holiday catalogs, which remind me it's time to start shopping soon . . . ugh.
DBR
No, but I have a good and wierd male. :)
I received a rejection in the mail while we were on vacation this past August from an agent I had queried in November (and nudged in February as it was a snail mail query & I wanted to be sure she'd received it). By the time I received the rejection, I just laughed since I'd given up on her by the end of March (since it was supposedly "at the top of her inbox" in February).
Generally we don't get any weird mail, but at least yours has been (mostly) positive :D
LOL! I love how you had to define the kind of mail that has a stamp and comes in an envelope.
I agree - some mail is lightning quick when I don't expect it to be. Others come far too slowly.
Like you, I get all sorts of odd things in my mailbox that make me wonder what the sender was thinking.
Post a Comment