Going Postal

I hate the post office. Well, I love the post office because...well...they're the post office. But I hate them at the same time. Last Monday I sent off a care package to DH. I arrived at the office around 1 PM with a taped up box, clutching a customs form. I walked up to door and found a horrendous line streaming out of it and halfway around the building.

I started looking around at people standing in line and realized they're all MORONS! I was the only person actually holding a package. The guy behind me was buying stamps, the woman in front of me was mailing ONE letter and needed ONE stamp. Someone else in line had dragged their entire litter of kids out to get passports, but had forgotten to bring any form of identification for them and was arguing with the clerk about "needing to go to Costa Rica".

And how did the Post Office respond to this sudden rush of people in dire need of stamps? They sent everyone on LUNCH! They have 4 counters, but had only 2 clerks there, and the second clerk was standing in front of her computer putting on lipstick with a nice little "lane closed" place card in front of her. Finally Mrs. Costa Rica stormed out and we all moved a whole 3 inches.

I was in line for almost 45 minutes. I got up to the postal worker and he looked over my box, looked over my form, stamped it, and I was about to pay and then he walked away. Then the other cashier walked away, and for about 10 minutes we were all standing in the post office looking at each other like "WTF!" When he came back, he had a third cashier with him (whew!). But this 3rd cashier spent the next 5 minutes shuffling papers.  It reminds me of being at a DMV in Hell.

Finally, as I was walking out with my receipt, a guy from the back of the line cut in front of everyone and walked up to the 3rd (new) cashier and started asking him questions and asking about certain forms. I thought perhaps the other 40 people in line were going to lynch him, and that's when the other clerk (the woman) came out from the back and literally went postal on him.

"GET IN THE BACK OF THE LINE! GET BACK THERE NOW! DO YOU SEE ALL THESE PEOPLE WAITING? WELL YOU CAN JUST WAIT LIKE THE REST OF THEM! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR YOUR EXCUSES, MOVE THOSE LEGS AND MOVE THEM RIGHT BACK TO THE BACK OF THE LINE"

So now my weekly trips to the Post Office are going to have to be meticulously coordinated so as not to show up at the same time as every other person in San Diego.