the perils of sleeping in

A few minutes ago, I awoke to the sound of banging on my door. My wits were too curdled, though, and some executive part of my brain knew it, so I didn't get out of bed until I had processed what the banging might be all about.

"Ah-- Amazon delivery," I thought. I have no idea how much time had passed by the time this thought finally coalesced, but I eventually managed to roll ponderously out of bed, slip on some clothes, don my old pair of glasses, and shuffle to the door.

Sure enough: when I opened the door, I saw the pee-and-poo-in-snow color scheme of a UPS delivery sticker hanging in a visible spot. "Amazon.com" had been written on the sticker; the "first attempt" box had been checked, as well as the "In your absence the package was left at OFFICE" box. "Rental Office" had been written in a blank, per the customary ritual. I wonder whether the office is even open: in theory, it's supposed to open at 9AM, but in practice it's usually open sometime after 10AM.

I don't have to be at work until 2:30 today, which means I need to leave by 1:40PM at the latest. This gives me plenty of time to clean up, dress up, and swing by the rental office before I hit the road. I suspect that today's delivery is the first of two: my buddy Mike ordered something (several somethings, actually) off my Amazon Wish List for my birthday, and I had pre-ordered the paperback version of Stephen R. Donaldson's Against All Things Ending a few months ago; just two days ago, I received an automatic email saying that Donaldson's book was being shipped. It could be that both orders, Mike's and mine, have arrived at the same time, but I doubt it.

We'll soon know, though!


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