elanya

So, I needed a paper clip to clip together my story for submission. Not having been able to scrounge any throughout the day, as had been my earlier plan, I stepped into the campus bookstore and bought a package. The timing of this resulted in my walking up to the mail window just in time to see it finish closing. Apparently the campus post office closes at three. How pleasant.

I figured that i could survive this setback, as the big post office is literally across the street (well, the highway anyway) from my complex. I I walk in as straight a line as possible from my building, I wind up at the front door. There is even a bus stop that would put me between the grocery store and the PO, so that I could stop and buy some juice to mix with gin tonight. No biggie, all still worked out, more or less.

Or so went the theory. In fact, the bus driver failed to stop at the right spot (this is not the first time this has happened either! Possibly even with the same asshat driver!), which, probably due to bees, ensued in me having a little rant in front of some unsuspecting Mormons that I didn't notice disembark behind me (whoops!). I went to the liquor store and bought some amaretto, and then got juice, cheese, and a little package of frozen strawberries, somehow walking right by the 99cent pineapple display on my way in (I think I'll be going back though!). The point of listing this is so that you realize I had my hands full of heavy stuff, in addition to my gym crap, etc, that was overstuffing my book bag.

I walked over to the PO. here was a line, as there was initially only two people working. One of whom, this older lady, is seriously the slowest, least competent, least efficient postal worked I have ever encountered in any post office in any state/province/country/continent ever in the world. She drives me craaaaaazy! Fortunately she didn't wait on me.

This was probably for the best, as I doubt I would have believed *her* if she'd told me that the USPS no longer carries international reply coupons. which makes it impossible to include a self-addressed, stamped envelope if you are trying to send one from the States! That is unless you can magically conjure Canadian stamps from the ether. Grr... Can you tell how impressed I am at having to wait in line to hear that?

Bah. And when i crossed the highway and made it to the complex office to pick up my HP and mail, I got my official rejection for the MacKenzie King scholarship.

So, extra, bah. Does this seem like a sign to you?

Luckily, I am as stubborn as hell, so instead I am trying to decide if my best bet would be to try and find time to mail it while I am in Canada in August (the submission deadline for this quarter is August 31, I'm there from the 9th to the 14th, but most of that is weekend and I'm going to be busy), or see if I can find someone in Canada who would be willing to print the 13 page story plus my cover letter, find a manila envelope and a regular legal sized one, and then pay shipping to Edmonton *and* return post for a SASE to the US :P