Real Life and What's Happening...

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No one asked for the gories but I am recovering from surgery. Hemorrhoid surgery. Internal and external. I never realized I'm such a woose. But, I gotta tell ya, I've been opened up from my breastbone to my belt buckle before, and the recovery was way easier than this. This sucks so fucking bad. And the drugs they gave me aren't doing shit.

I know, TMI. But God damn.

Can't wait until this is over.
Sorry to hear that. I hope you get through the worst of it quickly.
 
Well, on the lighter side, I have three USPS packages that are just lost in the mail. They're all a week overdue at this point. All that has been happening with them since last weekend are automatic messages "your package is moving through the system" blah blah.

Not a huge deal. None of them are critical supplies, and altogether it's only about a hundred bucks of stuff. Still, I'd rather have my stuff than it be lost in the back of a USPS distribution center.

But now UPS is joining the fun. I got a message today that my UPS package got "delayed due to weather or emergency." It's almost certainly not weather. Ordinarily it wouldn't be troubling, but since it's getting delayed at a time when I'm having issues with MULTIPLE other lost packages (unheard of), it's getting me very concerned. It doesn't help that this UPS package has $400 worth of stuff in it. Nothing critical to life, but nothing replaceable either.

Then again, yesterday a package which had been in limbo suddenly got delivered without warning, so maybe things will turn out OK.
 
USPS is dealing with package overload, Covid, and other...political problems. Media mail is not getting scanned until the very end, packages are piling up, and more product is being ordered. UPS also struggling with package volume that is exceeding Christmas time.

I use USPS informed delivery to track my mail. It's nice because they also will show you a photo of any mail, other than junk or magazines, thst are to be delivered that day.
 
I'm getting really odd updates from USPS about my shitload of flat plastic miniatures from ArcKnight:

Your item was delivered to a parcel locker at 12:30pm on July 17, 2020 in Forth Worth, TX 76177.

Does this mean it's still waiting to be shipped out or do they think I live in Texas?
 
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I'm getting really odd updates from USPS about my shitload of flat plastic miniatures from ArcKnight:

Your item was delivered to a parcel locker at 12:30pm on July 17, 2020 in Forth Worth, TX 76177.

Does this mean it's still waiting to be shipped out or do they think I live in Texas?
I wonder if that's where it's due to exit the US for Europe. Do you know if it's going to travel by plane or boat?
 
No one asked for the gories but I am recovering from surgery. Hemorrhoid surgery. Internal and external. I never realized I'm such a woose. But, I gotta tell ya, I've been opened up from my breastbone to my belt buckle before, and the recovery was way easier than this. This sucks so fucking bad. And the drugs they gave me aren't doing shit.

I know, TMI. But God damn.

Can't wait until this is over.

I am praying for quick recovery Gringnr. Note to self - never have this surgery...
 
I'm getting really odd updates from USPS about my shitload of flat plastic miniatures from ArcKnight:

Your item was delivered to a parcel locker at 12:30pm on July 17, 2020 in Forth Worth, TX 76177.

Does this mean it's still waiting to be shipped out or do they think I live in Texas?
That's local for me :-)
 
Well, on the lighter side, I have three USPS packages that are just lost in the mail. They're all a week overdue at this point. All that has been happening with them since last weekend are automatic messages "your package is moving through the system" blah blah.

Not a huge deal. None of them are critical supplies, and altogether it's only about a hundred bucks of stuff. Still, I'd rather have my stuff than it be lost in the back of a USPS distribution center.

But now UPS is joining the fun. I got a message today that my UPS package got "delayed due to weather or emergency." It's almost certainly not weather. Ordinarily it wouldn't be troubling, but since it's getting delayed at a time when I'm having issues with MULTIPLE other lost packages (unheard of), it's getting me very concerned. It doesn't help that this UPS package has $400 worth of stuff in it. Nothing critical to life, but nothing replaceable either.

Then again, yesterday a package which had been in limbo suddenly got delivered without warning, so maybe things will turn out OK.
This is weird. I am having the same problem. A shipment of floor tile from California to Texas has been delayed three days already. They claim weather but at least in Texas the weather is nice.
 
This is weird. I am having the same problem. A shipment of floor tile from California to Texas has been delayed three days already. They claim weather but at least in Texas the weather is nice.

First USPS: started in Michigan, went through Ft Worth but then got sent to and hung up in Austin

Second USPS: started in Michigan, hit Fort Worth and got stuck

Third USPS: Started in Phoenix, went through Los Angeles, then hit Dallas and got stuck

UPS: From California. Hit Dallas, got stuck. That's the one with the "delayed by weather" note.
 
First USPS: started in Michigan, went through Ft Worth but then got sent to and hung up in Austin

Second USPS: started in Michigan, hit Fort Worth and got stuck

Third USPS: Started in Phoenix, went through Los Angeles, then hit Dallas and got stuck

UPS: From California. Hit Dallas, got stuck. That's the one with the "delayed by weather" note.
Man! Is there anyone you can call?
 
Man! Is there anyone you can call?

Not as of yet. The USPS ones are only a week overdue. Technically one of them isn't a week overdue as the original projected delivery date was today, but it's been sitting for a week. That one package that arrived out of the blue gave me a bit of comfort that they're still moving in the system somewhere, so I'm going to give it another week. But I also know from experience that trying to open issues with USPS is mostly futile.

The UPS one isn't even actually overdue yet. It was supposed to be delivered today, but I'm stressing because it a $400 package of collectible stuff. It's probably just a short delay, but in the context of everything else it has me getting anxious. I'm just perceiving this pattern that anything that goes through the DFW area is getting held up.
 
No one asked for the gories but I am recovering from surgery. Hemorrhoid surgery. Internal and external. I never realized I'm such a woose. But, I gotta tell ya, I've been opened up from my breastbone to my belt buckle before, and the recovery was way easier than this. This sucks so fucking bad. And the drugs they gave me aren't doing shit.

I know, TMI. But God damn.

Can't wait until this is over.
That sounds like a real pain in the ass.
 
I've been opened up from my breastbone to my belt buckle before, and the recovery was way easier than this.

Checks out. You have my sympathy. Water (lots of it) fiber (not too much, though), laxatives and sits baths will be your friends.

I am praying for quick recovery Gringnr. Note to self - never have this surgery...

It’s rough but often preferable to the alternative.
 
Today, my BFF, Wild Billy, asked me to play a song or two on my guitar at his wedding, which is coming up in slightly less than a month.

As long as it's not like when our mutual buddy, J-Man, asked me to play at his wedding!

J-Man, six weeks before the wedding: "Hey man, can you play a song at the wedding?"

Me: "Sure, just get me the music."

J-Man, two weeks before the wedding: "Oh man, I'm so sorry I never got you the music, can you still do it?"

Me: "It's cool, man, I can learn a song in two weeks. Just get me the music."

J-Man, FIVE HOURS before the wedding: "Shit dude, I'm so sorry I never got you the music, can you come over and learn it now?"

I did it, but it was far from my best performance. Fortunately, with it being J-Man & Sue's wedding, I was not really the center of attention.
 
My tabletop campaign is officially restarting on 8/23. One of my players generously offered to host in his nice backyard and after some discussion everyone agreed. Obviously we will be taking precautions etc but this is great news for me.

I've been looking for a new place expecting some good deals but in a bizarre twist rents have increased since I last looked. House and apartments in garbage neighborhoods are renting for shocking amounts of money. Friends and family are experiencing the same thing whether they are looking to rent or buy. Everyone is holding their breath waiting for the inevitable evictions and foreclosures after Covid benefits run out.
 
My tabletop campaign is officially restarting on 8/23. One of my players generously offered to host in his nice backyard and after some discussion everyone agreed. Obviously we will be taking precautions etc but this is great news for me.

I've been looking for a new place expecting some good deals but in a bizarre twist rents have increased since I last looked. House and apartments in garbage neighborhoods are renting for shocking amounts of money. Friends and family are experiencing the same thing whether they are looking to rent or buy. Everyone is holding their breath waiting for the inevitable evictions and foreclosures after Covid benefits run out.
Interesting. I wonder if landlords have come to the conclusion that for the time being the only rent they may be guaranteed to collect is the initial payments of first/last and deposit and raised rates accordingly.
 
I know that here in Spokane it's a huge sellers market, although this has been the case for the past couple years. Currently it's at a 1 month inventory on houses, where a normal market would be a 6 month inventory. I'm unsure how much Covid is affecting it currently.
I'm just glad my apartment is run by a good management company. They've delt with crazy tenant's, constant sink clogs, and a new A/C that broke the minute it was plugged in; all without batting an eye.
 
I know that here in Spokane it's a huge sellers market, although this has been the case for the past couple years. Currently it's at a 1 month inventory on houses, where a normal market would be a 6 month inventory. I'm unsure how much Covid is affecting it currently.
I'm just glad my apartment is run by a good management company. They've delt with crazy tenant's, constant sink clogs, and a new A/C that broke the minute it was plugged in; all without batting an eye.
Rental and home buying markets can get disconnected. The US has had a cronic underbuilding of homes for at least a decade. The home builders got hit hard in 2008 era and did not expand at a pace matching the overall US recovery. They did build a crap ton of apartments. Millennials said "I want to live in the city!" So they build small apartments for them for a decade. Now they are 30+ and want homes, especially in the Covid era. Who wants to shelter in place in a tiny apartment?
So homes are in high demand. Rentals are severely distorted by the no evictions restrictions put in place due to Covid.
 
Went for a walk nearby today. There used to be a mill close to the village where I live, and this weir was put in way back to help manage the water flow. No longer needed for practical reasons, it’s still a really beautiful spot...

5BF79491-5A85-4709-A124-CDAC8CE698DE.jpeg
 
Went for a walk nearby today. There used to be a mill close to the village where I live, and this weir was put in way back to help manage the water flow. No longer needed for practical reasons, it’s still a really beautiful spot...

View attachment 20930
So did they bury Boromir there or did they return his body to Minas Tirith?
 
Back in the late 90s I used to run a LARP club and we would play in similar places to this. Got a few intrigued looks from passers by but everyone was very good natured about it :grin:
 
Not as of yet. The USPS ones are only a week overdue. Technically one of them isn't a week overdue as the original projected delivery date was today, but it's been sitting for a week. That one package that arrived out of the blue gave me a bit of comfort that they're still moving in the system somewhere, so I'm going to give it another week. But I also know from experience that trying to open issues with USPS is mostly futile.

The UPS one isn't even actually overdue yet. It was supposed to be delivered today, but I'm stressing because it a $400 package of collectible stuff. It's probably just a short delay, but in the context of everything else it has me getting anxious. I'm just perceiving this pattern that anything that goes through the DFW area is getting held up.

Yeah...I had a maddening such experience with USPS just recently, when they are usually fine (just a little slower). It's aggravating. And doesn't sound isolated.
 
Yeah...I had a maddening such experience with USPS just recently, when they are usually fine (just a little slower). It's aggravating. And doesn't sound isolated.


I noticed that most eBay sellers seem to have had more transactions in the past few months and also more negative feedback which makes sense given the situation and mood.
 
I noticed that most eBay sellers seem to have had more transactions in the past few months and also more negative feedback which makes sense given the situation and mood.

Deliveries to my PO Box from most places I buy from tend to start with UPS or FedEx and go to USPS. Basically, UPS said they dropped the package off at the postal service. They said they got a bulk shipment but not my piece (I'd be mildly surprised to see that Miniature Market is doing bulk shipments to Tulsa, OK, but alright). Thankfully, Miniature Market took care of me in rapid fashion.
 
Jump scare of the day: It's possible for folks to use paypal as a payment processor for credit cards without the transactions going through your paypal account. This can happen when you pay through Ebay in a transaction that looks like you're using PayPal. When this happens the transaction on your CC statement says it's a Paypal transaction but there is no corresponding transaction in your Paypal account.

It is not at all obvious that this is happening from the Ebay checkout.
 
In Montana. sperry Chalet was wonderful but my body is paying for it. Enjoying a bourbon made where I went to high school with some macerated huckleberries in it. Here’s where I am enjoying myself 6D169F75-5ACA-4A79-AEC8-45EEC5AB1420.jpeg
 
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