A couple weeks before Thanksgiving I decided I had better get into Christmas present buying mode.  Family was coming to town for the holiday and being the fiscally retentive (aka cheap) person that I am, I wanted to send them home with Christmas presents.  I’d finish Christmas early and forgo having to pay postage to send gifts (it costs 55 cents just to mail a regular letter!).  I successfully ordered all my presents and waited for them to come in.  I even splurged a little and ordered some Christmas presents from me to me because I sure have good taste.  I’d say it was just like Christmas with all the packages but it was, in fact, Christmas.   Also about this time I overheard my co-workers complaining about Amazon packages they had ordered that came via China Post.  Their orders were delayed because of the riots in China.  I heeded my eavesdropped knowledge and tried to avoid the same pitfall. Continue reading →