Current mood:	nerdy
Current music:	Amelie soundtrack

USPS? More like USBS!
I just read in the news that the cost of stamps went up two cents today to 44 cents? What the hell is this? Didn't the price go up about a year ago? Nonetheless, on Friday I was at the post office and decided I need a sheet of about half a million stamps. The postal lady was reaching for some generic, non-Forever ones and I said, "no no, the awesome Simpsons stamps that are on display, of course." She asked if I consented to the fact they cost 44 cents, compared to the usual 42. I thought, 'there's no price on good taste,' and complied. I remember thinking, why are these two cents more? Obviously they're cooler than the other flower stamp option, so I thought it was a novelty fee or something. Or the two cents benefit a charitable collection for that Simpsons character who has lupus or the one who lost a son in the war or something.



Luckily, my decision for the more expensive stamps was well played as I don't have to buy penny stamps like the last time this situation rolled around--this kind of good fortune never happens to me, hurrah! But the woman who tried to sell me generic stamps, oh I am not pleased with the likes of her. She must have known that prices were going up and didn't warn me prior to my Simpsons selection? What a bitch. Good choice, Lesley, no thanks to the United States Post Service.

Besides actually needing stamps, I thought I'd buy a half a million because I was entertaining thoughts of sending old school MAIL invitations for my birthday gathering- a social attempt I haven't done since I turned..hmm..exactly. My line of thinking is- nowadays with facebook and evite, it's actually a rare treat to get hand-crafted letters from friends in the mail. I get a few post cards a year and oh yes, they instantly are secured a prominent location on my fridge. Yes, in the event I decide to go through with this social gathering plan, I thought, 'oh how nifty it would be to mail people.' You know what USPS? Suck it, I'm not giving you a large stack of business. I'll just utilize your bastard cousin, "electronic" mail. You'll probably lose my mail anyway, like my aunt's graduation check and thus far, my Mother's Day card. Assholes.



Ok, I somewhat understand the logic behind inflation, increasing production costs and compensation for the decreasing amount of revenue generated from sending snail mail. But at the same rate, I'm still annoyed. I remember that from what felt like all of my youth, stamps were 29 cents (or realistically, three years' worth). I remember these things cause I was one of those stamp-collecting kids who had hundreds of pages to show for it. Whatever, it was bitchin; I even had 2 cent stamps from my relatives' saved love letters from 1900 that we somehow inherited. Stamps were two cents for twenty five friggin years! And in the past three years alone, stamps have cost three different prices.

I just realized that kids of the future probably won't have stamp collections, with all the electronic bills and the post office pissing off its civilians and all. Can I again just say how cool my nerd collection was? I'm saddened for all of the children of the future. They say that with every passing generation, our children should thrive better than their parents. Well kids, no stamp collection for you, I win.