Thirty Years of Change from a Postal Viewpoint

A couple of days ago, I heard a postal worker tell a customer that she was retiring after 30 years of service. Yikes. That means she started working for the U.S. Postal Service in 1979.

In 1979:

• Postal employees had no idea what a toll the Internet would have on their business -- or what the Internet was, for that matter.
• They didn't have to worry about people sending dangerous substances through the mail.
• Every mail carrier probably knew most of the customers on his or her route.
• The post office was probably the only place to buy stamps.
• The number of personal letters mailed was likely much higher than now.
• Netflix did not exist.
• Nobody paid bills online.
• The term "going postal" did not exist.
• The USPS didn't advertise on TV.
• It cost 15 cents to send a letter.
• Nobody used the term "snail mail" in reference to the USPS.
• Identity theft was not a concern.

Walking on a Clear Path

When I turned a corner and walked past a building today, I found myself walking behind a trio of leaf-blowing landscapers. As I walked, they cleared a broad path in front of me. They probably didn't even know I was walking behind them, but I felt like a queen. Thanks, guys!

The Psychology of Numbers

While I normally rely on numbers for factual information, sometimes I look at them with suspicion.

The latest grocery store ad is riddled with prices that end in 99. That's no mistake. It's a sly move by the food sellers to make their prices appear lower. Lots of retailers do this because they want the number before the 99 to attract attention. It's the highest price they can set without going up to the next dollar. Once they go up to that next dollar, the item appears to be more expensive.

Flight times, on the other hand, are exact. Of course, this makes it look like the plane will take off or land at the specified time. I think the airlines are rounding up the on-time estimates. If it says a flight is 70 percent on time, I'm guessing it's more like 66 percent.

One number nobody wants to round up is the scale readout. Did you ever go for a checkup at a doctor's office and see a sign warning patients of higher numbers on the office scale than on a home scale? That's like saying, "You can just ignore that home scale, because it's lying to you. You weigh more than it says you do." The number on the office scale doesn't look good, even if it ends in a nine.

What's the Secret Password?

Remember when you were a kid and the only time you needed a password was to get into your friend's treehouse? I miss those days.

I just got an error when signing into my blog because I mistakenly typed in the password I use for Facebook. To complicate things, I have several email addresses I use and I have to remember which email address I use for each account.

I tried to call the cell phone company today to ask about a mysterious charge that showed up on the bill, but they would not tell me anything without the password. Feeling like a 1950s housewife whose husband handled all the bills, I had to tell the lady I didn't know the password for the account. I told her I would call back later after getting the password from my husband. And I pay the bills. I feel so powerless. I can't get information about our account even though I have the bill in my hands. At least I know nobody else can add a bunch of phones to our account. If they did, I would really have questions about the bill.

Stubborn Leaves

Like a captain who stays with a sinking ship after the passengers have gone, a few lingering leaves refuse to abandon their tree. They cling to it proudly and hold on, knowing that it's only a matter of time before they can't hold on any longer.

Blisters, Bug Guts and Bananas

I wonder if reference librarians are feeling bored and unloved these days. Does anyone call them anymore? If you're like me, you go online for answers to your questions.

After I got a blister on my hand from my first leaf-raking session of the season, I wanted to make sure that blister was my last. I went online and learned from some nice motocross racer with "sissy-boy hands" (his term) that you can prevent blisters by putting tape on the skin that's prone to blistering. I found some tape that was left over from adhering a large bandage to some long-forgotten injury. I stuck the tape on the skin that blistered last time. It worked beautifully. Thank you to the racer with the sissy-boy hands.

When ladybugs started showing up inside our old house, I went to the Internet for help. I learned that the simplest way to get rid of the little buggers was to vacuum them up. If you squish them, the article warned, they will stain whatever they are squished on. Not wanting to chance staining anything with ladybug guts, I fired up the vacuum and waved the wand attachment over those spotted creatures. Done!

This last odd bit of information I learned was not something I was trying to find. I stumbled on it, really. A friend of mine posted a video on Facebook about how to peel a banana like a monkey. Apparently, they are smarter than humans, because I tried their method and it sure beats the fruit out of the human way. All you do is pinch the bottom of the banana, pull it away, and peel from the bottom. Then you get a nice handle to hold too. Who says there's no useful information on Facebook?

I've only scratched the surface of the vast stores of knowledge available on the Internet. What will I learn next?

I've Pre-read This for You

Lately, I've been noticing how many step-saving, time-saving products are available. Pre-cut fruit, shredded cheese and shredded cabbage have been around for a while, but I've also seen pre-sharpened pencils, pre-charged rechargeable batteries, and computers with software already loaded on them.

But some products should never join this list. Remember the childhood joke about ABC (Already Been Chewed) gum? Yeah, gum should never be sold pre-chewed. Eeeeew. Even if gum were mechanically softened into an irregular-shaped wad, that would be weird.

Key Clues

You can tell a few things about someone based on the number of keys on his keychain.

My key collection is simple right now, but it wasn't always that way. When we were living in an apartment in Ohio and selling our home in Pennsylvania, I had keys for both places, plus keys for a storage unit and a mailbox. When I was working, I had keys to the office and to the company's post office box.

At one of my newspaper jobs, I had a coveted key to the newsroom's front door. This allowed me to park on the well-lit street at night and enter through the front door instead of the back door.

Several car keys have come and gone from my keychain throughout the years, and my keychains have changed from the whimsical to the practical.

What do your keys and keychain say about you?

Cherishing an Autumn Day

A sunny and reasonably warm fall day like today is like a visit from an out-of-town friend. You cherish it because you know it's rare.

Why Don't Men Eat Yogurt?

Is it just my perception or do men dislike yogurt unless it's the frozen kind?

My husband turns up his nose at yogurt. He jokes that the brand I buy is "Yobleaaaaah."

I think yogurt tastes like pudding, unless you buy the plain variety of yogurt. Follow the logic with me here. Yogurt tastes like pudding. Pudding tastes good. Yogurt tastes good. What's the problem?

The Lure of the Pumpkin Patch

Taking children to a pumpkin patch seems to be a must-do outing these days. Heck, even celebrities have been spotted helping their kids pick out pumpkins. It must be the thing to do.

While there may be plenty of kids picking strawberries and blueberries during the summer, those moments don't hold the same fascination as choosing a pumpkin in the fall. For whatever reason, pumpkins get all the attention. Maybe it's the size of a pumpkin that makes it so interesting for photos. It is kind of amusing to see a baby surrounded by pumpkins that rival his size.

For older kids, maybe it's the Charlie Brown cartoon that makes them eager to see a real pumpkin patch. Of course, that's assuming they still show that cartoon on TV.

Happy pumpkin hunting. And let me know if you see Linus.

The Growing Popularity of Halloween Decorations

The other day, a radio announcer was complaining about the excessive Halloween decorations in his neighborhood. He felt pressured to decorate for the occasion because all of his neighbors were adorning their houses and yards with spiders, ghosts and pumpkins. And you thought peer pressure ended at adulthood.

I'm glad someone out there shares my lack of enthusiasm for decorating for this "holiday." How did Halloween become important enough to merit lawn decorations on a scale previously reserved for Christmas?

Learning From Each Other

Yesterday's in-class technical writing assignment showed me how much we can learn from each other. Each person communicated the same important information, yet each student approached it in a slightly different way. The differences showed up in how we expressed, organized and presented the information.

I found myself admiring aspects of other students' projects as we reviewed them one by one. If we used all of the best ideas from each project, the project would leap from "good" to "great" status.

The Ups and Downs of Driving a Stick Shift

I got a good laugh the other day when I saw a comedy skit about a robber who tried to take someone's car but was unable to drive it because it had a manual transmission. He ended up making the carjacking victim drive his own car while the robber sat in the passenger seat.

I wasn't laughing during a slow drive in rush hour traffic today. First, second, third, stop. First, second, stop. Those are the times when it would be nice to drive an automatic. The rest of the time, I really don't mind driving a stick shift. In fact, I think it gives me better control of the car, especially in snow.

I realize that I'm part of a shrinking number of people who use both hands and both feet to drive. Yes, that means I can't do anything else while driving. What a concept. Even with all that, I still manage to use the turn signal too, which is apparently an optional feature on some vehicles here in northeast Ohio.

Catching the Blog Bug

When I mention my blog to people at networking meetings or events, I am often asked how to start one. This is kind of amusing to me, since I haven't been at this very long. Believe me, I'm not an expert. I told another job seeker/aspiring blogger the other night that it's easy to start a blog. Keeping up with it is the hard part.

People start blogs for various reasons. Some use them as a way to keep family and friends informed about their lives or their kids. Job seekers want to share their expertise, whether it's in recruiting or marketing. I've seen blogs that display the blogger's own photos or drawings. Today, I found a blog that's written by an American chef who's working in Australia. He writes about what he eats, recipes included. The Blogger home page (www.blogger.com) has a little "Blogs of Note" section that features different blogs. That's how I found the chef's blog. You can find countless others by typing a topic of interest into a favorite search engine. (I'm resisting the popular practice of using Google as a verb.)

Deep down, I think people just want to get their thoughts out and be heard. And it's a lovely bonus when those thoughts make a connection with someone else.

It's a Sickness

Senior citizens talk about their own ailments.
Young to middle-aged people talk about their kids' illnesses.

Early Bird vs. Late Squirrel

The early bird may get the worm, but the late squirrel gets the seeds.

While I was eating lunch, I noticed quite a gathering of birds in the backyard. Since it's getting colder, I thought they might be having trouble finding food. I decided to throw a couple handfuls of bird seed outside after lunch. The previous homeowners had left an open bag of bird seed behind. What else am I going to do with it?

I was feeling pretty good about looking out for the birds. I even thought about the "Feed the Birds" song from Mary Poppins. Later, I took a break between tasks, glanced outside and saw a rotund squirrel grabbing all the seeds without a bird in sight. So much for feeding the birds.

This made me think about how job seekers have different strategies for searching. While I would expect that most of us do our best searching during the day, I know of at least one seeker who is a night owl on the computer. I guess he'd be the squirrel. Then again, maybe he's the early bird who finds the openings posted in the evening. The morning searchers wouldn't see those listings until hours later.

Seasonal Tastes Differ by Zip Code

It's clambake season in Cleveland. Apparently, that's a normal thing for this time of year. When I lived an hour or two south of Cleveland, barbecue chicken was the item of choice for a fall fundraiser. In northwest Pennsylvania, it was spaghetti dinners.

It's funny how much difference a few miles can make to the local food scene. I once ate a famous Primanti Brothers sandwich in Pittsburgh, Pa. Personally, I don't like cole slaw and french fries inside my sandwich, but the popularity of that sandwich tells me that lots of other people do. Then again, I initially turned my nose up at the meatball omelet that is the pride of Dominick's late-night diner in Erie, Pa. Once I tasted it, I was a fan.

I haven't been to a clambake yet. I guess I won't know if I like it until I try it.

The Many Faces of Light

Shorter autumn days make me more aware of the importance of light in our lives. Everything seems better when glorious, mood-boosting sunshine fills the sky. At night, it's our car headlights and the streetlights that guide the way. Traffic lights tell us when to stop and go. Flashing lights add excitement to a concert, while a simple spotlight adds drama to a play. Industrial lighting illuminates workplaces and gathering places.

Lights glowing through a house window lend a warm, cozy feeling. A small nightlight calms a child's fears or provides a path for sleepy eyes to follow to the kitchen. A flashlight shines a concentrated beam on a leaky basement pipe.

Candlelight, the subtle cousin of bright, artificial lighting, can lend a romantic mood or a somber one.

May we appreciate the waning natural light as we rely more on man-made light in the coming days.

Blog Milestone

Since I started this blog in June, I've watched the number of blog posts creep up slowly. This is number 100. Veteran bloggers may look down their noses at me because they passed their 100th post long ago, but it's as good a reason as any to look back. If TV shows can make note of their 100th episodes, I can too.

Over the last few months, I've written about many observations of everyday life. It's emerged as a favorite topic, but so have these: writing, music, job searching and figure skating.

I'm still surprised by which posts move people to comment. I'm also amazed that people I don't know have found their way to this blog.

Thanks for the encouragement and thanks for reading.

Why We Like Mysteries

I have a theory about why people like to read mysteries or watch detectives solve crimes in TV shows or movies. I think we just want to make sense of things. We want the satisfaction of figuring something out because so many things in life don't make sense from the limited viewpoint of what a person knows and understands.

For example, despite scientific explanations, it's hard to comprehend why natural disasters happen or why someone becomes seriously ill.

Some things I've struggled to make sense of in my life have made sense later, after I had a greater understanding of the situation and the events that followed. Or maybe I found a reason that quieted my questions for a while. My reason for anything I don't understand is simply that God has a plan and a reason for things happening (or not happening, or not happening the way I planned.) It's the best reason I know.

Rejection Letters and the Rock Hall

I couldn't help smiling today when I saw two rejection letters from record companies to the now-famous band U2. Seeing those typed, impersonal letters made me feel a little better about the current job market and my own collection of emailed rejection letters.

I happened to spot the letters during a visit to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland. I ought to be boycotting the place because of its continual reluctance to recognize my favorite band of all time: Daryl Hall and John Oates.

While I don't know the nomination rules intricately, I believe this duo has met the qualifications for induction.
They've certainly had plenty of hits.
It's been at least 25 years since they began in the business.
They've influenced younger artists.
Did I mention that they've sold more records than any other pop duo in history?

They've made their mark on the music world by creating their own distinct sound. They fit nicely in the music continuum (Hall's term) between the Temptations (who were a heavy influence on H&O) and today's young musicians who credit H&O with influencing them. Most importantly, they are incredibly talented songwriters and performers. That in itself should be enough to qualify them for the recognition they deserve.

Muscle Memory

Since I've been off the ice for a while, I was wondering the other day if I would remember how to do some of the figure skating elements I learned. When I tried to do a couple of moves on the floor, muscle memory kicked in. My body knew what to do.

I think muscle memory works for the brain muscle as well. It can help you recall words in a foreign language or remember how to play a game you haven't played in a long time. Ever notice how quickly you're able to sing along to a song you haven't heard in years? I think that's muscle memory too. Once you're put into a familiar situation, the brain seems to know what to do.