Back in my day… I’m only 51 so perhaps I shouldn’t talk that way. But, FedEx drop boxes were everywhere. I had to ship out two loan signing courses to customers. One was a few days late so I wanted to get it out fast. I typically walk to my local FedEx spot on Wilshire. They have no parking but it is only 20 minutes by foot and I enjoy the exercise… usually. They were closed for Covid-19 and there was no drop box. What is the world coming to.

So, I searched the internet to see where some local drop boxes were. My handheld wouldn’t tell me, so I walked back home after I got a salad to go. My computer showed me one drop box behind our local Farmer’s Market and another one half a mile West of my complex’s entrance. So, I went to the first location. Security told me where the box was. I went looking all around and there was no box by the newsstand as I was told. I went to the other location. Also no drop box. I had already wasted two hours looking for locations.

My housemate told me to call the 800 number. On my way back I did exactly that. I talked to an annoying machine which had me clarify everything I said about four times, and then make me wait for a long array of menu options so that they could serve me better before handing me off to a representative which is what I requested. After I finished the ordeal (I have no patience talking to robots) they told me to go to a particular web page and offered to text me a link. I swore at the machine and hung up. Then I started calling local FedEx providers and found one downtown which is too far to go at night, plus they were in the hood and I’m not going there after 6pm in any case. They found me a nearby place that was open in Beverly Hills.

So, I drove to Beverly Hills. I didn’t know where the intersection was, so I was in the right lane, and FedEx was on the left, so I stopped in the middle of traffic hoping people would pass me. One guy just stuck to my tailgate and wouldn’t pass. So, I waited for the others to pass and then made a left turn into the left lane and then a left onto the side street. This FedEx had parking, staff, and I dropped my packages at 8:46pm and they close at 9pm. Close.

So, now I know where to go. It is only an 11 minute drive. And they told me where an outside drop box is. These days there are very few outside drop boxes. They are mostly in buildings and those buildings close at night. What a pain. Back in 2004 when I was doing signings there were outdoor drop boxes all over town and just as many as USPS boxes…. almost.

So, that was today’s ordeal. Yesterday the juice place I liked closed 15 minutes early and I had to wander all over town looking for fresh spinach and celery juice. Same kind of exasperating day, except that it only took me 20 minutes to find two other high quality options. Why do easy things have to be so difficult?