Postage Tip

Do you have an online store? Do you mail lots of packages? Or do you just mail out packages once in a blue moon? Did you know that, in the U.S., you can get free boxes delivered to your house from the USPS? They have these great "flat rate" boxes, and just as the name implies, it's one price, no matter how much you are able to stuff into that box.

My dilemma was that I had a package to send, but the cost of mailing it via the flat rate was more than it would cost if I packaged it by weight. What to do?

Well, you could do what I did.

Here we have a flat rate box; one in a bundle of ten I received free of charge from the USPS:

If you deliver this as is, you will be charged the priority mail flat rate, which, at this time, for this particular sized box is about $10.70. The problem is that when I calculate postage by weight it's $4.00 less, and I'd really like to save that $4.00, wouldn't you? Especially if you send a lot of packages, which is why I bought a postage scale a while back:

So, this is what I did:


You guessed it. I cut open the box and turned it inside out:


Looks legit, doesn't it?

You can't beat this, really. Free flat rate boxes delivered to your home and printing your postage online? What could be easier? So, go online to the USPS and order your free flat rate boxes and save your pennies on packaging and postage. SHHHHH. Don't tell them I told you, though.

Oh, were you curious about what I was mailing out? I thought so. I framed one of my photowalk pictures and sent it to a friend. I hope she enjoys it.* =)

*Naturally, I made sure my package arrived safely at it's destination before posting this.

La Bella Luna

photo taken Saturday, August 21, 2010

A/C DC'd

Just what I need. You remember my water heater debacle back in the winter? Well, I've had ongoing A/C issues in the past few months and tonight, as they say, third times a charm. Yes, this will be the third time I've had to call the warranty company (thank goodness I bought it!) after I came home to find my furnace dripping in the laundry closet. For a split second, I thought my brand spanking new fat boy (aka water heater) was leaking. I was about to break down and cry. Can you see that born-on date of 01/28/10? He's fresh, and he better stay that way. 

So, before I called the warranty company to have Nyugen come out for the third time, [Yeah, by now, Nyugen and I are best buddies] I had to pull out my MacGyver skills to rig up something to catch the water leaking from every nook and cranny. 

You like? It's a delicate balance, but it does the job. So, now, the A/C is off to avoid further leakage, and I'm back to making some awesome bean soup, and tomorrow morning I'll get a call from Nyugen who is in big trouble, as I told him that if I had to call them back again I was going to kick his rear end.

Memory Lane

I've been feeling nostalgic lately, looking at old pictures and talking to old school mates on facebook. It's been fun. I thought I'd lost a lot of memories but then you talk to old pals to find that each of you has certain memories, which in turn, fills in a lot of blanks and knocks old memories loose from deep down in the caves. 

I was looking at my yearbook from junior year and just had to post this awesome note from a friend, Hung Bui. We were in government class together, if I remember correctly, and he just sums my high-school-self up perfectly: 

For those who can't see the picture, or read his writing:

"To a reject from Little House on the Praire. Keep up the good work. I hope you learn your lesson after you keep hitting me. Have a wonderful summer. Don't work too hard. Have fun dreaming about Sting. Maybe one day you might be his wife. You never know! See you in the fall. Then we will be seniors. (Boy that will be great). '88' Hung Bui"

Funny story about Hung. Well, at least I think it's funny and something worth writing down in case it ever actually does slip my memory. Hung sat in front of me in class and one time he turned around and had blue ink allll over his mouth and tongue. Seems he liked to eat pens or something. Anyway, it cracked me up so much. Thank goodness he was a good sport. He had a great sense of humor and we were always joking around and busting on each other. [wonders if that dates me to say "busting on"]. So, forever after that, Hung was affectionately known to me as "Tongue Bluey". Get it? Hung Bui (prounounced boo-ee). Of course, I'd probably get sent to the principal's office if I said that now.  I'd like to see what I wrote to him in his yearbook. I'm pretty positive that's how I referred to him in it.

Oh, and here's the reason for the "reject from Little House on the Praire" comment: 

My sister made this dress for me. It had a tiny little flower pattern. I loved it and wore it all the time. I had a few of them, too. And of course, there is the awesome trench coat to complete the ensemble. Another reason I identified with Ally Sheedy's character in "The Breakfast Club". Which reminds me, August 6th was the anniversary of the death of John Hughes, my teen savior. RIP sir.

I Think I Need A Kick To Get Me Out Of This.

If you have not seen Inception this blog title will mean nothing to you. But don't worry, I will not be giving out any spoilers. Though, even if I did, it would not spoil your enjoyment of the movie, and even if I tried I don't think I could.

I decided I needed to see this movie tonight, 1) because Monday through Thursday they only cost $5.00, and 2) because I figured this was the kind of movie that was best enjoyed in a theatre, and 3) because I hadn't heard anything this good about a movie since Avatar, which I have no desire to see, yet I can't neglect the fact that it was the most successful movie in the history of all time...I think... and I keep hearing that Inception is even better.

Now, let me tell you that I saw this movie one and a half  times tonight. Was I dreaming? I don't know. Have I been extracted? Beats me! Was I incepted? I doubt it. All I do know is that what happened is just another entry in the "strange things happen" category of the "history of foo". That is..me.

So now, it's 5:30 p.m. and I get to the ticket window and tell the kid I want one for the 5:40 showing. He kindly informed me this is the IMAX version, therefore it will be $9.00. I said, "It's not in 3D, is it?" He assured me, "Oh, no! That would be way too much sensory overload!", which kind of made it sound even more promising.  I shrugged and thought, what the heck, I'll go for the IMAX. Besides, the next showing isn't until 7:00 p.m.

So, I go inside and hand my ticket over to another theatre employee. He rips it in half and points me toward screen 11, straight ahead. I walk to 11 and notice the time over the door saying "Inception 3:30". I thought maybe they hadn't changed the time yet and walked in, but the movie was still playing. Then, I looked across the lobby and saw listed above screen 13, "Inception 5:40 IMAX". Hmm! Well, that's the one I want. Why did the guy direct me to screen 11? I looked at my ticket and realized the kid didn't charge me for the $9.00 IMAX version. He charged me $5.00 for the 7:00 p.m. showing on the regular screen. Maybe he was just being nice and giving me a deal or maybe he thought I really didn't want to see the IMAX version. I had no idea, but it was fine by me. I figured I'd just go into the IMAX theatre and if anyone said anything I'd play dumb. But, as I should have known, no one noticed or cared. (I might have to remember this in the future. wink wink)

So, I enter the theatre and there is no one else there. I daydream that I will have the theatre all to myself, because, really, that would be very cool, don't you think? But, then people started trickling in and eventually there were all of 9 or 10 of us. Close enough.

So, the movie starts after 57 previews and I am completely enthralled. Oh yeah, this is going to be good. Right away I am thinking to myself that Leonardo DiCaprio has finally grown up! He's a man and I no longer see that little baby face anymore. He's pretty hot! And he's...wow...he's really good! But that's beside the point. I'm watching this movie and it's awesome. I'm loving it. I'm moving around in my seat. I'm gaping at the simple elegance of the effects. I even liked the foot chase...don't worry! No spoilers! Wow, this is getting pretty intense! But,wait, here's where it gets strange. The scene changes and the screen goes dark but they keep on talking. Is this part of the movie? Oh, okay, yeah, maybe it is. Or, wait, no, this is going on way too long. This isn't right. No. Something is definitely wrong. They are still talking. I can hear everything just fine, but there is no picture. Well, it'll just be a few seconds and they'll fix it. But no, wait, this is still messed up. Okay. I'm getting anxious here. What is going on? Come on guys! I can't see the movie! I'm missing the movie! I hear the other 9 or 10 people rustling around, murmuring to themselves. I turn and look and there is some guy in the back row and he gets up and starts knocking on the projection window. Oh, good, he's got it. It'll be back in a jiff. No problem. But, no, still nothing. Okay, this is getting ridiculous. Should I get up? Should I wait? Oh, no, there ya go, someone walked out the door. They'll tell an employee and it'll be fixed in no time. It'll be right back on. No problem. Yeah, but we've missed an awful lot. Are we going to be more lost than we already are? I mean, you really need to be on your toes watching this movie. Watching, that is, not just listening. Okay, nothing is happening. This is going on 5 minutes now. We are past the point of no return. I think we are at the point where we need to a) get our money back, or b) get some free passes, or c) both.

Then, what we've been waiting for; an employee comes and she'll make an announcement assuring us the movie will be right back on from the exact point it messed up on us. But, we can't even hear her because the movie sound is still on. Speak up! What? When we finally do hear her, all I notice is that she's got an attitude of being inconvenienced....by us! It's like she's poised for defense (or is that offense?). She tells us that they are having problems with the projector and it should be on in just a few minutes and continues on in her couldn't-be-bothered monotone,  "and yesssssss, you will get free passes after the movie", which sounds like "geeez people, why do you have to be such a pain in my butt?" It's as if I can just see her rolling her eyes at us... and we haven't even done anything wrong! We're the ones being inconvenienced yet she's got an attitude? Where do they teach these people customer service? High school gym class? How about a little compassion for our plight here? I mean, we are so sorry to bother you or expect you to do your job. I mean, really! Just who do we think we are? Customers? Who are always right? The nerve of us!

So, then, after a few flicks and farts of the screen, we see this:

Now, yes, this is a movie with effects, but up until this point, there were no psychedelic cyans or magentas to be seen. This is IMAX, people. Get it together! Then, everything goes dark again. And quiet. Oh, man. That means Mary Sunshine will be coming back in to make another friendly announcement. Here she comes. This time we can at least hear her. She tells us, with as much boredom as a teen being lectured by their parent, that they need to recalibrate the screen, it should take about 5 minutes, that the room will go completely dark, and not to move so we don't trip and kill ourselves.

Five minutes? Five minutes? Do you know how long five minutes is in dream time? That's one hour in dream time. In Inception time. And man, it really feels like it. Kind of like this post, aye? Are you feeling me? So, we sit, and we wait, and the screen changes from light to dark and we're sitting and waiting.

And nothing.

And Sunshine comes back in with the bad news. No movie for you folks! Sorry. Please leave the theatre and show your tickets to guest services to get your free passes. And just like that we are banished after seeing a little over an hour of this 2 hour movie.

I walk out and remember that I have a ticket for the 7:00 p.m. show. Oh man. They aren't gonna give me anything because my ticket isn't for the IMAX! Then, Mary Sunshine walks by me and I point to screen 11 and ask, "can we just go watch it in there?" to which she says, "No, you have to go to guest services" and points to the front of the theatre and walks on by.  I look at her. I look at guest services with my 9 or 10 pals all lined up.  I look at screen 11 across the lobby. I look back at guest services. I walk across the lobby and enter screen 11, which started at 7:00 p.m. It is 7:36 p.m. when I sit down in an almost full theatre and finish watching one of the best movies I've ever seen.

Go see Inception. We'll talk about it later.

The End. 

One Last Time

I just wanted to show you the winning photo from my city's photowalk in Yorktown, Virginia. You can click the picture to go to the photowalk site to see the rest of the entries from our city.

photo by Kristina Johnson

And here is the excellent entry of my photowalk mate, Miss Poo:

Another friend of mine, 3,000 miles away, participated in the walk at Descanso Gardens in La Canada Flintridge, California. Here's his lovely shot:

As of this posting, his walk leader hadn't chosen a winner yet, so he's still got a chance! Sorry, strike that. I just went back and saw that his leader has now picked someone else as winner. boo.

See ya'll next year!

Oh, and in case you were wondering, my (losing) entry was the cyclist. Ah well, better luck next year.

I'm A Vicarious Winner!!

Remember that photowalk I went on? The decisions are in. The walk leaders have made their choices and I am a winner.....vicariously! My SISTER, who participated in the Leesburg, Virginia walk, won for her city!! And I feel like a winner, too!

Here's her winning photo:

(click on picture above to go to her city's walk page.) 

Do you want to know what the best part of this win is? Do you know why I, too, feel like a winner? It is the fact that this picture was taken with a Canon Elph. A little point-and-shoot camera! She beat all the big guns! Just goes to show, and they even stated this in past years on the photowalk site; "Gear is good, vision is better."

Congratulations, Deeroo!! 

See The Sea?

I'm sure I'm not the only person who finds and saves inspiration pictures, right? You're browsing through magazines or photos online and you see something and it makes an impression, so you rip it out of the magazine and put it in a "dream" folder, or via computer you right click and save it to that "dream" folder.

I just found these hiding in my pictures folders.

found at Completely Coastal 

{I'm sorry to the owners of these pictures. I guess I should have saved their locations so I could give them all credit. 

For all I know, they came from the same place.}

 It seems I have a definite color palate emerging here. So, why have am I having such a hard time picking paint for my new home?