mail woes

Lately, I've spent far too much time thinking about my mail, or lack thereof! Suddenly, about three weeks ago, I stopped getting a lot of my regular mail: the New Yorker, Netflix, my paycheck (yikes!)--and then two separate friends sent wedding invitations that I never got. And I ordered two things off the internet that I never got. You get the point.

I was sure that there was obviously something wrong, so I went to the post office Friday to talk with them. I have a new mail deliveryman so I was thinking perhaps he had the wrong house (strange, I know, but I suppose it happens.) Well, after a very long talk with the post office people, they assured me that my mail box was "open" (code for there being no errors in the system)--and that my mail delivery person no doubt knows which house is mine.

This friendly but not-that-helpful postman's advice was to begin sending some postcards to myself with a note on them saying "please call me at x number if this mail is ending up at your house by mistake." This seems like a somewhat faulty plan to me...if someone else has been getting my mail, I would think they would have already noticed it was going to the wrong house and let somebody know. Alas, I'm not sure what else to do so I think I might try it.

The man at the post office seemed to think that my mail is really coming to me and the error has been on Netflix and the University and the New Yorker and my friends' parts...but come on; that many errors and absolutely no mail? Seems unlikely. My only other potential plan (Plan B) is to wait outside all day until I spot my new mailman and follow him. (although this might make me look a little bit like a creeper.) I'm also crossing my fingers (aka praying) that one of these days soon, all sorts of back mail will suddenly miraculously appear in my mailbox. (And trying not to think about all the other mail I might be missing.)