Having had the same mailing address since this blogs creation, I don't really know how to go about letting those who would care, know that I will soon have a new one.
And no, I haven't moved, and am not moving, just switching to a PO Box (more on that in a second).
I guess the best way to do this will be to send out one of those mass emails, which I'll do sometime within the next few days. In the meantime, since I don't want to bother those that are no longer around by sending them an address of someone that they no longer have any interest in, I've made a short list below of the folks that I've either interacted with a bunch over the years, or those that I've received mail from in the last few months. I'm probably forgetting at least one person (apologies if it's you), so if you're not on the list, and want to be, just let me know in the comments (or via email, the TCDB, or Twitter). I suppose too, if there's anyone else that I haven't had the good fortune to interact with outside of the blogs, that also wants to be included in the email, just let me know.
As it stands right now, here's the list:
Jim
Chris (The Collector)
Bo
Greg (GCA)
Greg (Nine Pockets)
Matt (Diamond Jesters)
Trevor
Johnny
Tom
Not much of a list anymore, all my people keep leaving!
And even though the PO Box is already up and running, I won't be filling out the official change of address card until the end of the month, so there won't be problems with anything that may or may not currently be in the mail.
As for the reason behind the change: Most of you probably already know that I live out in the sticks, but what you don't know is that I also live on one of the longer mail routes in the state. It wasn't a big deal back when I moved here almost 8 years ago now, but with so many folks fleeing to TN from the numerous bat-shit crazy cities now dotting the Country, it's starting to get a little more crowded around here; thus creating even more stops for the overworked mail carrier on what was already an undesirable route (there have been more than a few carriers over the last 8 years, and they all hate this route). This route should've already been made into two by the time I got here, and really should be now, but like everywhere else, the local post office is having trouble finding people who actually want to work, so if it they couldn't split it up back when they were at full-staff, there's little reason to think that they'll be doing it now that they're understaffed. Obviously, with more people living along the route, there's now more mail to deliver, and it's gotten to the point where, because I live near the end of the route, that some days it gets so late that the mail person stops delivering before getting this far. In those instances, which are starting to occur more frequently, the mail that didn't get delivered will either be in with the next days mail, or one of the on-call part-timers will be called in, and they'll go out and finish delivering the previous days mail the following morning. They will also sometimes be called in to take on just the packages, usually around this time of year, which does help alleviate the load for the primary carrier, but it can be a bit frustrating for everyone else that might have to check their mailboxes multiple times a day because you don't know how many times the mail is gonna get here, or when. A lot of people around here live far back from the roads too, so it's not fun walking the equivalent of multiple city blocks out to check the mail, in the dark, and in the rain; multiple times on the same night. Trust me, I know this firsthand.
And don't even get me started on the informed delivery, that's completely useless most of the time. It's just not a good situation, and I should've switched to a PO Box sooner, but kept hoping that things would improve. I'm sure that they will at some point, and when that time comes I'll probably switch back to the home address, but until then...
