(Originally posted on MySpace)
Because it blows up in your face!

Ever since our postal service (that we lovingly used to call 'tante Pos', auntie Mail) has been renamed to TNT, things haven't been the same.

First it was the mailboxes. They replaced the mailboxes we have all known and used all of our lives by a new and spiffier model. Neat! But... where does the book go?
You see, I'm into BookCrossing, so I leave books in public places for random people to find.
Our old mailboxes had this little sign or display thingie on top, perfect for propping up a book against. I have actually hooked new members this way, by leaving books on top of mailboxes. But the newer models don't have this feature, and the top is much too slanted to put anything on top; it'll slide right off. Take it from one who's tried!

Secondly, everything turned orange. The mailboxes, the vans, the mail carrier's uniform, they all went orange. It spread like a rash. A rather unsightly rash. I happen not to like orange one bit!

Then, of course, the prices went up. Stamps for letters got more expensive, packages too. Another 'neat' improvement: some stamps have advertising on them! Usually, with advertising, stuff gets cheaper. Not so here! See this picture of a stamp with a sausage on? It even says the brand name. But you still pay full price, and it isn't even scratch'n'sniff! (Not that I enjoy sniffing sausages, but the idea in itself would be, well... kind of fun.)

We don't have media mail here, so there is no special fee for books. We just have to bite the bullet and send them the normal way.

And we wouldn't mind so much if only they would arrive! I just found out I lost another book to TNT. And a very nice book it was: 'Not just for Christmas' by Roddy Doyle. I sent it out as a bookring. It was a cute looking little book, hardcover, with a nice foil printed dust jacket. It looked like this: