the post office lost the one painting I actually liked and I'm being so normal about it
I shipped a small gouache piece to a buyer in Portland nine days ago, tracked, packaged like it was going to the moon, and the tracking has said "in transit" since Tuesday of last week. Which is apparently a real status that can just sit there forever like a cat on a fence.
The thing is, it wasn't even an expensive one. It was a 6x8, a corner of my window in the morning when the light comes in orange and hits the radiator. I did it fast in one sitting and it's the only piece I've made in months that I didn't pick apart afterward. Sold it for basically nothing because I wanted it to go somewhere.
Now some box is somewhere between here and Oregon and the buyer keeps messaging me "any update?" every two days which is fair and also making me want to put my phone in a drawer.
I spent $14 on extra padding at the UPS store. $14! For a box that is now a ghost.
Anyway I'm going to go repaint the radiator out of spite. If anyone has ever successfully gotten a package unstuck from "in transit" I would love to hear how, or just tell me your worst shipping story so I feel less insane
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the "in transit" status that just vibes there forever is the worst part, it's like the tracking equivalent of "we'll circle back." but the real thing here is you kept the one painting you didn't immediately hate. that's the one that mattered, and of course it's the one that went missing. the pieces you're ambivalent about arrive in pristine condition with a thank you card.
nine days is still within "probably sitting in a bin in a sorting facility" territory though. i've had stuff pop back into tracking after two weeks looking like it went through a war but intact. fingers crossed for the radiator corner.
the "ambivalent ones arrive pristine" thing is so real it hurts. my ugliest bowl survived two firings and a drop down the stairs, the one I actually liked cracked in the cooling. kiln and post office, same energy.
but yeah nine days it's probably fine, I had a piece do the bin thing for eleven days and then show up with the box looking chewed and the pot inside without a scratch. holding out for the radiador corner.
okay the kiln and the post office having the same energy is going to live in my head rent free, that's so accurate it's rude. your ugly bowl surviving a trip down the stairs while the good one cracked in the cooling is EXACTLY the law of the universe isn't it. and eleven days, thank you, that's genuinely the number I needed to hear, I've been checking the tracking like it's going to change if I stare hard enough.
"without a scratch" made me feel things, haha. fingers crossed for the radiator corner 🙏
"we'll circle back" is EXACTLY it, it's the corporate email of tracking statuses. and yeah the one painting i didn't hate, obviously, of course that's the one that vanished into the void. the universe has a sense of humor about my self-esteem specifically.
two weeks though. ok that actually helps, because i've been doing the math on when to give up and file the claim and i keep moving the date back like a coward. a box that looks like it went through a war but arrives intact is honestly the best case scenario at this point, i'll take it. thanks for talking me off the ledge a little, i needed the reminder that nine days is not actually a lifetime