I am so NOT street smart
When you've lived in the suburbs your whole life and you move to a city, even minor things like finding a place to buy cold medicine turn into a big deal. Where's a CVS? Can I walk there? If I can't walk there, is there parking? How do I walk there without finding myself on a scary street? Do I even know what the scary streets are yet? Am I being a giant baby by even worrying about scary streets?
I'm hoping these anxieties are just from never living in a city before and that they'll go away as I become more street savvy.
Last night I was packing Olive & Clyde cards, planning on sending off both a Bloomington retail order and our first bulk Christmas card order, when I realized I had some problems.
1) I did not bring my printer, assuming that I'd buy a cheap one off Amazon to keep in Cincinnati so I wouldn't have to take my bulky printer back and forth all the time.
2) So, I can't print labels, or the inventory sheet I need for the retail order.
3) I don't know how the mail service works with these apartments – if I get a big delivery that won't fit in the mailbox, where does it go? We don't have an "apartment office." I need a printer now, so buying off Amazon when I don't know how long it will take to actually get it probably isn't the best idea.
4) That means old school going to a store and buying a printer. What?
5) Where can I buy a printer around here?
6) How the fuck do I mail things from an apartment with no mail drop box?
7) Where is the post office?
Luckily (I guess?), my friend Moriya had sent me cookies that were delivered to the post office instead of our house (maybe that's what they do with big packages?), so I was going to be forced to scope out the post office situation, anyway. I'm not going to let cookies sit there for longer than necessary. What am I, insane? But this, too, was a bigger ordeal than necessary. Because I'd accidentally given Moriya a slightly wrong address, I never got the notice telling me where to pick up the package. The only reason I knew it was even coming was because Moriya saw a problem with the tracking number. So first I had to figure out which post office is my post office and then (maybe?) convince them to give my my package even though I didn't have any paperwork.
I found the closest post office on the map, crossed my fingers, got in my car, and then proceeded to drive past the building twice. What's with people not labeling their buildings?
I go in there and explain my situation ("My friend sent me COOKIES and they are WITHERING AWAY IN YOUR WAREHOUSE") and the lady says, "Well, they wouldn't be here. What's your zip code?"
Um, what is my zip code? I haven't memorized it yet.
Long story short, she sent me somewhere else. And I again drove past it the first time. The inside didn't look anything like any USPS I've ever been in – it was more like a big warehouse and there was a random guy standing behind a half door stacking boxes. But my cookies were there, and the guy just handed them over without even questioning me (for the love of god, man, do you not understand that people might try to steal cookies?).
So now I have my cookies, and I know where to 1) mail packages 2) pick up packages. They are not the same place. I still don't have a printer, but that's a problem for this afternoon. And I have to believe all of this is good for my competency level and independence – maybe in 6 months I will no longer be such a pathetic newb. Do people still use the word newb?
I'm hoping these anxieties are just from never living in a city before and that they'll go away as I become more street savvy.
Last night I was packing Olive & Clyde cards, planning on sending off both a Bloomington retail order and our first bulk Christmas card order, when I realized I had some problems.
1) I did not bring my printer, assuming that I'd buy a cheap one off Amazon to keep in Cincinnati so I wouldn't have to take my bulky printer back and forth all the time.
2) So, I can't print labels, or the inventory sheet I need for the retail order.
3) I don't know how the mail service works with these apartments – if I get a big delivery that won't fit in the mailbox, where does it go? We don't have an "apartment office." I need a printer now, so buying off Amazon when I don't know how long it will take to actually get it probably isn't the best idea.
4) That means old school going to a store and buying a printer. What?
5) Where can I buy a printer around here?
6) How the fuck do I mail things from an apartment with no mail drop box?
7) Where is the post office?
Luckily (I guess?), my friend Moriya had sent me cookies that were delivered to the post office instead of our house (maybe that's what they do with big packages?), so I was going to be forced to scope out the post office situation, anyway. I'm not going to let cookies sit there for longer than necessary. What am I, insane? But this, too, was a bigger ordeal than necessary. Because I'd accidentally given Moriya a slightly wrong address, I never got the notice telling me where to pick up the package. The only reason I knew it was even coming was because Moriya saw a problem with the tracking number. So first I had to figure out which post office is my post office and then (maybe?) convince them to give my my package even though I didn't have any paperwork.
I found the closest post office on the map, crossed my fingers, got in my car, and then proceeded to drive past the building twice. What's with people not labeling their buildings?
I go in there and explain my situation ("My friend sent me COOKIES and they are WITHERING AWAY IN YOUR WAREHOUSE") and the lady says, "Well, they wouldn't be here. What's your zip code?"
Um, what is my zip code? I haven't memorized it yet.
Long story short, she sent me somewhere else. And I again drove past it the first time. The inside didn't look anything like any USPS I've ever been in – it was more like a big warehouse and there was a random guy standing behind a half door stacking boxes. But my cookies were there, and the guy just handed them over without even questioning me (for the love of god, man, do you not understand that people might try to steal cookies?).
So now I have my cookies, and I know where to 1) mail packages 2) pick up packages. They are not the same place. I still don't have a printer, but that's a problem for this afternoon. And I have to believe all of this is good for my competency level and independence – maybe in 6 months I will no longer be such a pathetic newb. Do people still use the word newb?