Sharks are cool and comfortable!
Elden Thing | Back & Body Hurts Platinugggggh Rewards Member
Profile pic and banner credits: sharkaeopteryx art by @superkiak! eggbug by eggbug! Mash-up by me!
[Alt-text for pfp: a cute sharkaeopteryx sat on the ground with legs out, wings down, jaw ajar, and hed empty, looking at eggbug and eggbug's enigmatic smile.]
[Alt-text for banner: a Spirit Halloween banner with eggbug and the sharkaeopteryx that Superkiak drew for me looking at it with inscrutable expressions]
I'm a Vietnamese cis woman born and currently living in the U.S. You may know me from Sandwich, from Twitter or Mastodon (same username), or on Twitch as Sharkaeopteryx. I do not have a Discord or Bluesky account.
Ask me about language learning/teaching, cooking/eating food, late diagnosis ADHD, and volunteer small business mentoring. Or don't, I'm not the boss of you.
I think people deserve to be young, make mistakes, and grow without being held to standards they don't know about yet and are still learning. So, if you are under 22, please don't try to strike up a friendship or get involved in discussions on my posts.
Please don't automatically assume I follow/know/co-sign someone just because I reposted something from them—sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. Also, if you think being removed as a follower when we're not mutuals is a cardinal sin, please do not follow me.
When you were a minor, did you ever pay attention to "minors dni" and other such things?
This isn't an argument and I'm not trying to make a point, I am simply curious. I am not soliciting responses from people who are currently minors (if they respond anyway, that's a data point).
a couple years ago I got a PO box at the UPS Store. i wasn't sure it would be useful at first until i realized how they work.
they are not obviously PO boxes. there are some services that won't ship to a PO box, or that can't accept the right address format for one. UPS gives you a "suite number" which, generally speaking, nobody can identify as anything other than a business
packages do not have to fit in your box. you can get the smallest one they offer, because they just stick whatever doesn't fit on a shelf and put a claim tag in your box.
your packages are guaranteed to get delivered; you will never get a bullshit "nobody was home :)" message ever again, because people are paid to be there 8am-8pm.
nothing can ever get stolen unless a store employee does it, and they're under surveillance all day.
you can leave a package there indefinitely if you aren't available to collect it right away
you get an email whenever a package is received with the tracking number that was on it
if you're getting stuff that does fit in the box, you can go in after hours with a key to retrieve it. so if you're expecting important documents or a check or something, you can have it sent there and pick it up at midnight if need be.
so in short, if you have ~$30/mo. to spare (it might be more or less at your local store), this will put an absolute end to package theft, or expensive stuff being left on your doorstep without your knowledge. you can be out of town for a week and anything you've ordered will be safe until you return, and you'll even be able to tell that it was delivered safely from afar.
"surely there's a limit to how large a package they'll accept" there is not. i once saw a guy get an air conditioner delivered there. no, not a window air conditioner, a full size outside compressor with hoses and ductless units. it sat in the store for two weeks while he negotiated a return due to shipping damage. a couple weeks ago i went in and saw that someone had received freight. there was an entire wooden pallet stacked seven feet tall with boxed pottery, and it sat there for two days. i had someone send me 50 pounds of laptops literally in an action packer, yes, like the dildo joke i made on twitter. so i can promise, you will not be the most irritating customer they have.
great info in original post but also can we just appreciate this very real copy from the ups store dot com slash mailboxes
