Going Postal

Ah, it's good to be back in Chicago. One of my rituals after returning home from a long trip is going to pick up my held mail from the Post Office. That would be an easy task in most towns, but in Chicago, it's an adventure. First of all, the post office where I pick up my mail is not really a post office, but a postal sorting facility, that is conveniently open for just 3 1/2 hours, Monday - Friday. And in Chicago fashion, there's no parking but street parking. Fortunately, I was able to find parking with ease this morning, only to find a lady in the lobby yelling at the postal clerk. From what I could gather from the lady's raspy, cigarette-infused voice, the mailman refused to deliver her mail because of her dog. The evil, flesh-thirsty dog would madly bark when the uniformed postal employee would approach the front door, and if it were to happen again, the lady was informed that she would be required to obtain a post office box if she EVER wanted to see her mail again. What kind of dog does this lady own, you ask? A cocker spaniel.

After the canine capers, I proceeded across Clark Street to the oddly placed Best Buy to rectify my iPod situation (see yesterday's post). I'll be honest, I love Best Buy. Just about anything with a plug in my house was purchased there. Aside from their low prices and wide selection of products, I appreciate their return policy when you purchase the service plan. While some people think it's a waste of money, I find it to be an investment in future technology. Anyway, brought my iPod into Best Buy, told them about the battery issue, member of the Geek Squad played around with it for a minute, told me that since the model I had was no longer sold, he would give me the new, improved, fourth generation iPod, with more memory and a longer battery life. Can you see the smile on my face? And, it was fully covered until the warranty.

It's great to be back in Chicago. I was reminded of that on my way to work this morning (well, late morning) when I heard the familiar sound of someone shouting into their cell phone while on the L, explaining to the person the other end of the phone that "I am on the train, so I can barely hear you. Please speak LOUDER." What a warm welcome home.