USPS

The First Item I Ever Bought on EBay

Ten years ago today, I1 signed up for EBay. I was in 8th grade and so very badly wanted a LEGO set that had recently ceased production. Specifically, set 4555: Freight Loading Cargo Station.

4555: Freight Loading Cargo Station

4555: Freight Loading Cargo Station

I think I paid somewhere around $77 for it, which was a pretty good deal, since Lugnet says it retailed for $66. The other interesting fact, PayPal did not exist back then2, so I had to pay by certified money order via the USPS.

This involved me getting on my bike, riding to Washington Mutual, withdrawing cash from my savings account3, riding a couple more blocks to the post office and getting the money order. I sent the money order to the guy, which took several days, waited for him to deposit it, then waited several more days to get the package in the mail. The whole transaction probably took several weeks to complete, and certainly none of this instant pay crap that we can do online now.

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  1. technically my parents, but I was the one who used it ↩

  2. PayPal, as we know it, didn’t form until March 2000 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PayPal#Beginnings ↩

  3. I wouldn’t have a checking account for at least two more years, I believe ↩

FOIA Request Delivered

My FOIA request has been delivered, now it’s just a matter of time:

From trkcnfrm1.smi.usps.com:

Label/Receipt Number: 7006 2760 0003 0877 1109
Detailed Results:

  • Delivered, October 02, 2007, 9:20 am, WASHINGTON, DC 20229
  • Arrival at Unit, October 02, 2007, 1:35 am, WASHINGTON, DC 20022
  • Acceptance, September 27, 2007, 3:22 pm, GOLDEN, CO 80401

    • “OMB guidelines say that Homeland Security “should” acknowledge your request within 10 business days and provide access to the records within 30 days.” [1]

    [1] http://www.unsecureflight.com/request.html

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