Opening Mail

I'd sent about a dozen (or more?) packages to Michael Kraiger at our office over the ten months I was traveling.

And now, I've been steadily opening the boxes up and bringing my souvenirs home.

On Monday, my Polynesian paddle showed up. Our receptionist laughed at me, but she's used to us getting strange things in the mail.

Yesterday, I got a "material removal pass" and took my odd-shaped package out of the office building. I kept it wrapped so no transit police would get cranky at me on the way home.

And I opened it...and it was intact. I'd been afraid something would break. I'd gone to a lot of trouble to pack this properly on December 23rd in Tahiti, picking up cardboard boxes on the curb, bubble wrap from Tourist Information, and brown paper from a stationery store across from the post office. Fish and Wildlife had opened my package up when it hit the US, but they'd wrapped it back up without breaking anything.

Now I just have to figure out how to display my Polynesian paddle.