How the Post Office (and My Apartment Building) Stole Christmas

It all started last weekend when I went to pick up a package from the front desk (my apartment building is responsible for receiving/distributing all packages). I knew the package, which had been sent through USPS, had been delivered because I had received tracking information on it. But the front desk couldn't find it. They looked and looked but the package (which just so happened to be something for Jason for Christmas) could not be found. Finally, someone asked for the last name again and said-- "Oh yeah....I remember now. We sent that back."

"Um, excuse me?" I said in total disbelief, "You SENT IT BACK??!?"

"Yes, we sent it back...there was no apartment number on it and we didn't recognize the name" was the (unapologetic) reply.

Turns out that despite statements to the contrary, not to mention a willingess to cash monthly rent checks that contain my married name, my information had never been updated in the system to reflect my name change post-wedding. So when they looked me up to see which apartment I lived in, nothing came up and they sent my package back.

I have spent a good portion of this week calling and emailing with the postal service and the retailer trying to track down the missing package-- you know, since I spent money on it and it's a CHRISTMAS PRESENT FOR MY HUSBAND-- to no avail. No one has any idea what it currently is (or at least every time I call USPS Customer Service I am told there is no new information...but they are looking into it. I'm not buying it). And I'm pretty sure the retailer is not going to just send me another one, which means I have to decide whether to just buy another item and hope the original package can be tracked down and returned or if I just wait it out and hope Jason will be content with a picture of his gift.

If that wasn't bad enough, our mail carrier decided that since the package was returned we must not live here any more and, without any sort of follow-up to make sure that was the case, stopped delivering our mail. After three days of a completely empty mailbox (no ads, no nothing), we got suspicious and called the post office to see what was up. They confirmed that they had been told we no longer lived at the address. After we assured them that we do still live here (in fact I've lived at this same address for almost 4 years now), we received  mail today.

However we are still missing four days worth of mail in addition to Jason's package--I'm pretty sure another gift has been lost in the mix as well (and this one did not have a tracking number associated with it). We decided to go by the post office this morning and ask about the missing mail in person but the clerk was totally unhelpful. So I left a note in our mail box that read

"Dear Mail Carrier,

Do you know what happened to our undelivered mail?
Thanks,
Lindsay"

No response....of course.

Next up-- calling the post office again on Monday to ask whether all of our mail was returned to sender or if they might have it hidden somewhere.

All I want for Christmas at this point is my missing mail (which now includes TWO Christmas gifts I paid good money for) to show up.

Come on USPS, don't be a Grinch! Help a girl out.