Fun with prezzies aka the Great Tram Adventure (TM)

[wiseheart]

So, I got a package of the size of, oh, the Lonely Mountain from the wonderful and generous lhun_dweller. Since Hungarian postal service doesn't deliver anything bigger than a matchbox to anyone's house, I had to go to the post office and fetch it.

Well, at least they hadn't thrown the alert notice into someone else's post box, which is a positive development, I guess. Poor ithilwen and archet had both gotten back their lovely prezzies because of postal service idiocy a few years ago and had to re-send it. Yeah, we do live here under a rock when it comes to service... how have you guessed?

Anyway, I got my Preciousss and stuffed it into a plastic bag - fortunately, I took the biggest one of our entire household with me. I told you, the package was big. Now I had to ride the tram home, where I could finally see the wonders that were hidden within. Would you have been able to wait another forty minutes or so? Well, I wasn't.

Unexpectedly, I found an empty seat (trams in Budapest are usuallys crowded). I just had enough space within the bag to feel around the box, which lay on its narrowest side... nicely sealed with transparent tape that could have withold Judgement Day. But not me.

Since I couldn't remove the tape, I began to tear apart the upper end of the box, and let me tell you, it put up an embittered resistance. I needed six of the nine stops from the post office to home to create a large enough hole, so that I could take a peek inside. As the plastic bag was a rather stiff one and made quite a noise while I was rummaging within, the other passengers were only moderately happy. But I didn't care. I was a woman on a mission, after all.

Now that I had my peeping hole, I went for the jugular and tried to drag off at least something - I was dying from curiosity, after all. Guess what I found first? Yes, another stiff and noisy plastic bag that the very practical lhun_dweller used to keep the things in place. *g*

Removing said second bag, my look fell on "The Cadfael Companion" first. I didn't squee, I swear! But it was a close call. Then I managed to fish out a DS9 novel from an incomplete series of novels that I've been trying to complete for quite some times - and no, we don't get any Star Trek novels over here, not even in the few bookshops that sell English books to begin with. I was a very happy woman.

But then... then my grubby little hands encountered within the box something big again. A great, thick paperback book that could have replaced the Bridge of Khazad-dum in the LOTR movie easily. Drat, and it lay in a position where I couldn't figure out what it was! That was pure torture, I tell ya!

Luckily, by then I had to get off the tram, so I stuffed the DS9 novel back in place and got home. Mum nearly fainted seeing the size of my prezzie and told me that my friends were spoiling me rotten - as if I didn't know that already! *hugs spoiling friends*

Now I took the biggest pair of scissors in our household and began to tear the box systematically to pieces, until I revealed the nature of the mystery book: it was a vampire lexicon! Mum and I were howling with laughter, and she declared that my friends know me all too well. Which, again, is true. Said lexicon is a true fountain of knowledge where the undead are considered, and it will serve me well... not to mention the delight of leafing through it just for the fun of it.

I got another interesting book of the non-fiction sort, as well as a CD with pretty music. Now I'm reading several books at the same time, while listening to the music, and my only problem is where to make room for a new book-case. ;o))


BTW, does anyone have an idea what this new pingback feature is supposed to be and whether we should turn it off???

Comments

[lethe-lloyd.livejournal.com]

Now that is what I call a good day!

HUGS!

[lissas-elves.livejournal.com]

Can just imagine you in the tram, rustling with paper and plastic and everybody staring disapprovingly. lol

Sounds like lhun dweller found just the right books for you. And it's weekend. No wonder you're in the 7th heaven. :-)

PS: What 'pingback feature' is that???

[ithilwen.livejournal.com]

Your postal service does seem to provide you with endless adventures!

This is the first I'd heard of a pingback feature. If i ever figure out what it is myself, I'll let you know.

[crowdaughter.livejournal.com]

Shows you how much you are appreciated. *HUGS* :)

[crowdaughter.livejournal.com]

BTW, does anyone have an idea what this new pingback feature is supposed to be and whether we should turn it off???

Does not seem to work for me. Maybe my noscript software clashes with it. :(

[artemis10002000]

I'm very happy to hear that you've got some great presents, congratulations!

Hungarian Postal Service sucks. Even DHL is better, though some mailmen are too lazy to carry big packages upstairs and come to us claiming that the neighbours from upstairs aren't at home (we live on the ground floor.)

[lhun-dweller.livejournal.com]

I've just finished reading your account to The Beloved, who seconded the vampire lexicon purchase. We both had a good chuckle. I'm delighted to hear you are enjoying your prezzies! And you're easy to shop for: if I ask you, you tell me what you're looking for. None of this guessing and wondering if it's the right one or if you have it already.

In the future, I'll try to send smaller packages: I forgot you might have to haul the loot home from the Post Office.

Enjoy!