Showing posts with label post office. Show all posts
Showing posts with label post office. Show all posts

Sunday, September 3, 2023

Better Than McDonald’s

             We learned that Ryan and his family would be doing a tour of the main post office where he works.  We asked if we could join them.  On Saturday morning Richard drove Jaime and me downtown as she was still set on finding souvenirs bearing Utah’s name.  We also went to Trolley Square before driving to the post office to meet Ryan’s family.

It was a nice experience learning more about the structure of the post office.  Here is a more detailed example of what we saw.  Of course not exact.  We were not allowed to take pictures except in certain designated spots. Our tour guide spoke in a very soft voice.  He asked questions and gave out tee shirts for correct answers.  We walked away with two T-shirts and two string backpacks.


Afterward we asked if they would like to have lunch together and ended up going to the Old Spaghetti Factory (putting ourselves at Trolley Square once again).  Emma was most impressed and announced it as her new favorite restaurant.  She said the food was better than McDonald’s which made me laugh.  Well, yeah . . .

We parted ways after lunch.  Ryan's family had a ward bbq to attend that was different from  the ward reunion that we attended.  It was nice to see some faces from the past although all the visits among us felt quite brief.  Jaime was only five when we moved from the ward and so did not remember many but was able to visit with a few.

 


Tuesday, June 15, 2021

Well This Day Hasn’t Gone According To Plan

 I suppose it’s my own fault for having a “not exactly stressful day” but “not the way I would have done it day” and it isn’t even afternoon yet.  What’s up with that?

Pre-pandemic the Relief Society presidency would hold our meetings on Wednesday either at 10:00 a.m. or 1:00 p.m. depending on whether I had accepted an assignment to work at the school.  Meetings were basically arranged according to my schedule.  Ahhh.

Then came the pandemic.  It really didn’t matter what time or what day of the week our zoom meetings were.  Even before we had returned back to the two block meetings and held our meetings in person, we had somehow changed to Tuesdays at 10:00 am. which I hadn’t even thought about one way or another until just this very moment.

Yesterday I went to the pool for the first time in almost two years.  It had rained before we left and Roland had tried to discourage us from going.  But I knew Carol would be there.  Rain is different in Oregon than in Utah.  We don’t have lightening storms.  The pool is open when it is overcast or raining.  It’s a part of life.  Deal with it.

I had planned on going to the pool today as well.  One of the presidency says she plans on going to the water workout also but was unable to do so yesterday.  She had mentioned it the other day and I freaked.  I had forgotten!  But I then received messages from both her and the RS president that the meeting had been cancelled. 

“Oh, good,” was my initial thought but I do have some things address but did not wish to press the pres. as her brother is a victim of COVID and she was planning to go out of town to be with him.  We had a small messaging conversation before she changed her mind and said the meeting was back on for 10:30.    

Meanwhile Jenna had reminded me of some other commitments I had made – specifically taking her to the theatre and her friend to the high school.  Oh, yes.  I told the RS pres that I would need to drop Jenna’s friend off between 11:00 and 11:30.  Thus the meeting was cancelled again.  But I would still like to have a meeting.

So this morning I created an agenda for myself :  Forego the pool for this morning. Drop Jenna off at the theatre at 9:45.  Pay water bill (as I am headed that direction; I might as well continue) go to the post office to mail the Fathers’ Day Cards that Roland had created.

Carol had asked if I could meet at Soco which I thought would be yesterday, but it’s really today.  Since I’ll be downtown mailing the letters I may pop in at Soco just to say Hi.  Spend a few minutes before I return home to take Jenna and her friend to the high school – even though the school season has ended.  Ruth is eligible for a program that Jenna isn’t because of finances and education or something.  Both Roland and I have graduated from college and the program is geared to students whose parents don’t have college background – or something like that.  I don’t totally understand it – just know that Jenna does not qualify.

Sometime between six and seven this morning Roland informs me he wants the cards taken to the post office the minute it is open.  What?  My belief is that the mail is collected only once a day.  It will go out at 3:00 – but Roland believes there is another time scheduled for first thing in the morning.  I don’t think so.  But okay.  I will leave just before 9:00 a.m. so that I can hand it to somebody personally.  Got it. 

Though it takes only seven minutes to get downtown, Jenna and I left the house at 8:45.  She couldn’t understand why we were leaving one hour before she needed to be to the theatre.  I figured she would want to come with me and I wouldn’t have to stop off at the house again.  We could take our time.

She opted to stay in the car which was nice because then I didn’t have to drag my purse inside.  I just left it in the car with her and went inside the post office, handed the Myrtle Creek and “everywhere else” mail to the postmaster.  Returned to car.  Drove to the pool.  They were just getting started which meant there’d be no line.  I decided to buy a pass but thought it would be easier for everybody if there wasn’t a line.  I will start my pass tomorrow.

Returned to the car and saw class members lifting the water weights.  They looked like giant flyswatters from my point of view.  My eyesight has become so horrible without corrective lenses. Jenna got out of the car and took some pictures which I may post whenever she sends them to me . . .

I had time to pay the water bill before dropping her off at the theatre which worked out really great for me as I would only have to make one left hand turn instead of two.  Funny thing about the water bill – they come on postcards that have a fold.  Customer is supposed to rip at the fold and return with payment.  Only I never saw the part I am suppose to return.  My neighbor said she had the other part in her mailbox.  We are one digit apart and our mailboxes are on the same side of the street.  It hasn’t happened often, but we have gotten each other’s mail before.  Usually it has been the sender who was in error and not the post office itself.

I then dropped Jenna off at the theatre and knew I’d have at least 30 minutes before meeting my friends at SOCO.  I really had to use the toilet and figured that using one at my house would be more convenient than anywhere else and so drove home and started an email agenda which I still need to finish with.  I remembered that Roland takes his break at 10:00 and told him that I’d be taking the car downtown.  He said he wanted to go with me but I was going to meet my friends and hadn’t planned on having Roland there – though they seemed happy to see him. 

He ordered a burrito and the absolute worst drink that I have ever tasted.  I suppose it was somewhere between an energy shot and a beer.  He thought it would have more juices as it was labeled mango and passion fruit.  Don’t know whose imagination supposed it tasted like it resembled any kind of fruit.   Carol wouldn’t taste it as Roland had already had his mouth on the bottle.  But Jenna, Ruth and I had all tasted it and I think Ruth was even more grossed out by it then I was.  Jenna didn’t seem to mind and ended up drinking the rest – but more out of just not wanting to waist it rather than her low standards of food and drink.  I was willing to throw it out. 

Jenna reminded me that I had agreed to take her and Ruth out to the wild life safari but Roland has the day off Friday and I thought it would be great if he could drive us out there.  Jenna’s day didn’t go according to plan either.  I said I would take them to the safari.  But we’re each at home doing our own thing.  Though now that I’ve posted this, I will go hang out with her.