I know that many, many of you are worried that the current government shutdown will impact the delivery of the daily mail. Sorting through all of the valuable brochures, flyers, and random other knickknacks that arrive at our homes or apartments on a daily basis (except for Sunday) remains an exciting part of life. I, for one, have a Pavlovian response every time I hear the mail slot open and shut on our front door. It’s usually a race between the wife and I to see who gets there first.
OK, fine, this is all a bit of sarcasm. I receive maybe 2 or 3 items in a given month that don’t go straight into the trash. And you don’t even have to worry about interruptions to mail service once the government shutdown begins — the postal service operates independently of the feds, so you’ll still get your daily deliveries. Phew.
It didn’t use to be this way, of course. I am currently reading a biography focused on the scientific discoveries of Benjamin Franklin (Derek isn’t the only one who can bore you with tales of his latest literary adventures), and there is a short section of all of the ways that everyone’s favorite founding father revolutionized the mail service during his time as our Postmaster General. Two days to deliver a letter from Philadelphia to New York City? Preposterous!
Because so many of you miss the days of writing love letters to your beau overseas, the big brains at CMEpalooza started our Ask Us Anything advice column at the start of the year, giving our community a chance to regale us with their latest professional (or personal) challenges and invite Derek and I to chime in with our thoughts to help rectify the situation.
I can’t tell you how many times this month I have been on a call with a colleague and they said, “You know, this would make a great Ask Me Anything submission.” (OK, I can tell you. It’s 3. I’m terrible at keeping secrets.)
Of these 3 individuals, I can’t tell you how many actually went onto our online portal and wrote up their submission. (OK, I can tell you. It’s zero. I won’t shame the perpetrators publicly, but they know who they are.)
Because of their laziness, that means that our virtual mailbox is not exactly overflowing with advice seekers. In past months, we refereed accreditation oddities, funder conundrums, and other professional miscellany. Surprisingly, we are still awaiting the first person who wants us to chime in with parenting or dating advice or simply wants our opinion on the best Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavor (I won’t tell you – you’ll just need to ask.) (note from Derek: I’ll tell you. It’s Peanut Butter Half Baked.)
So, c’mon everyone, don’t be shy. We won’t bite.
CMEPALOOZA 