Postcard Races

I was in two minds where to post this one, but I think this is the most appropriate place. I'm in Argentina, and I'm playing a game. I like to write, and I love to write postcards. One of the things I was always going to do out here was send lots of postcards. And I've sent lots of postcards, in spite of what seemed to be huge postage costs. $5 for a stamp to send a card to Europe. That's more than £1, which is a lot of money over here. Still, I spent those pesos and sent some cards. This was back in December: at the beginning of December (I think I sent the first batch on the 9th). Not one card has arrived at its destination yet. This pisses me off greatly.

Back in December, I wrote a card for my friend Anita, but I didn't have a stamp for it, so it didn't get sent. I felt bad. I decided that I'd have to send her two, to make up for the fact that I'd sat on the first one for so long. And then I realised that maybe I could make a game out of the postcards... This is when I decided to have a postcard race. The idea was simple: to send postcards to the same address, on the same day, from different postboxes...



(I put on a happy face for that picture. I'm actually fed up today.)

Anyway, as you can see, the three postcards are all the same: the race had to be fair. Although, there's a slight weight difference between them, due to the different amount of ink on the back of them. In the end, I decided to send three postcards: I had three of the same type, so I figured I might as well. Sending two would make it a race, and sending three would potentially intrigue the postie. If they all turned up at different times, then the guy or girl delivering the mail would surely start to wonder what was going on. The same card, delivered three times?! They'd be confused. Perhaps they'd even think they were caught in a twist in the fabric of space, where time becomes a loop?

So, I went out with my camera, ready to snap the various places I sent the cards from. First, I had find a place where I could buy stamps. Upon asking for stamps, I was told that the guy there would have to stamp the card and send it himself. The game suddenly looked like it had been jeopardized. I wouldn't be able to send the cards from three different postboxes :-(.

Well, the cards have gone. Who knows what will happen to them? They may well get separated in transit, or they may stick together for safety. After all, those cards have been together for a while. They may find it hard to part with each other, even if there is a prize at stake for them.

But anyway, I myself am now doubly annoyed with the postal service of this country, or at least the people who sell stamps. The guy today told me he had to stamp the cards for me. At the other place where I've been buying stamps, they've done no such thing. The guy there has sold me stamps, I've affixed them to the cards myself, and then posted them in the box outside the store. The first time I bought stamps there, I stuck them to the cards and then tried giving the cards back to the guy so he could send them, but he told me to put them in the box. He never offered to stamp them for me. Now, if those cards haven't been sent because they were lacking a rubber stamp, then I'm going to be rather annoyed... I mean: really annoyed. I've spent a small fortune on cards and stamps, and I promised people a card.

Well, all we can do now is wait for the five cards I posted today to arrive. Three for Neets in Croydon, one for Sutton, and one for Paris. Let's see how long it takes them to arrive... I might well be home before they get there...