Here is something about what our letters doing right now:
How A Letter Travels
Collection
After a customer has deposited a letter destined for a distant address in a collection box, a postal carrier removes all of the mail from the box and takes it to the Post Office where he or she works. That letter and mail collected by other carriers of that Post Office are placed on a truck and taken to a mail processing plant.
Culling and Postmarking
Postal workers send the letter through a machine that rapidly separates mail by shape, separating letters from large envelopes and packages (the culling operation). The machine orients letters so that all addresses face the same way and are right side up. It then applies a postmark with the date and place where the letter was sorted and cancellation lines so the stamp cannot be reused, in order to protect postal revenue.
Scanning and Lifting Images
Every letter gets identified by a code consisting of a series of florescent bars imprinted on the back. The address on the front of each letter is scanned by an optical character reader. Images of letters that could not be successfully read are transmitted to a remote encoding center for further processing. All letters are placed in trays and moved to the next piece of automated equipment for barcode application.
Applying a Barcode and Sorting
Linked with the identification code, a barcode is sprayed on the front of the letter. Representing the specific delivery address, the barcode consists of tall and short bars used for all further sorting. The barcode sends a letter into a bin on the machine for a particular range of ZIP Codes; these identify the next processing plant.
Transportation to Processing Plant
The letter is placed in a tray with other mail for the ZIP Code range it falls into, and this tray is taken to the airport to fly across the country. After the plane lands at its destination, postal workers take the tray containing the letter to the mail processing plant that serves the Post Office, station, or branch that will deliver the letter.
Sorting into Delivery Order
At the plant, the letters in the tray are fed through a barcode sorter, which separates letters for a specific ZIP Code from other letters in that ZIP Code range. After this, the letter will receive its final sortation. A delivery barcode sorter sorts the letter to the particular carrier who will deliver it. The delivery barcode sorter also arranges that carrier’s letters into the order of delivery.
Transportation to Delivery Post Office
Next, all the mail for this carrier is taken by truck to the Post Office, station, or branch in which the carrier works. The carrier loads trays of mail, including the letter, into a motor vehicle.
Delivery to Addressee
The carrier drives to the street where the letter is to be delivered, safely parks, then loads his or her satchel with the mail to be carried to each house or business. Within minutes of leaving the truck, the carrier delivers the letter to the addressee.
More than 700 million pieces of mail are sorted and delivered by the Postal Service each delivery day!!!
I started to think what if mine will not come tomorrow… it is seems like a very complicated path for our letters… :-<
Random question to keep IMSA anxiety away: what kind of music do you guys listen to? I’m a huge Radiohead fan (listening to them right now as I do my HW, lol) and I also like other 90’s rock bands (Smashing Pumpkins, RHCP, Pixies), David Bowie, and Gorillaz.
@corrjayna Reading it at first, I would rather be an intern in a field that I like, however, since you said that I’m not going to be learning much, I would choose the former, as I would not be satisfied at a job where I don’t grow, especially if there isn’t any money to be earned.
@spoonfulofpi It all started when an IMSA sophomore spent hundreds of dollars at an auction to support the senior prom. He then made a post in our lost and found page as a joke, “mourning” the loss of the money he spent. This triggered one of the other students and an argument ensued, leading to the command from above to “cut the dank s@*%”. We then made a meme version of the lost and found group which was turned into “The True Private Property Redistribution Center” and became a communism meme. For a while it was the home of our revolution to overthrow our bourgeois oppressors, but now it just has devolved into a chaotic whirlwind of people trying to outmeme everyone else.
This thread is now a bunch of different topics crumpled together, none of us are actually talking about admissions anymore. I wonder what people who just came here think of us…
@romalex4 The more people talk about admissions the more nervous they get I assume. That’s how it is for me, I’d rather make small talk to avoid thinking about admissions so I can actually get some sleep.
@mk3655 I don’t know, I am not nervous at all, and I don’t know why you all should be. It’s not like you would be denied the right to free education if you don’t get into IMSA. It is still very possible to get a really good education at a normal high school.
I listen to hamilton, I used to like every day and I thought I’d never grow old of it, but by now I know all the words and I only listen to it occasionally but it’s still my favorite and I love it. I also really love the Wicked soundtrack.
@mk3655@romalex4 I think it’s good that you aren’t just talking about admissions, because you’re getting to know people who might potentially come to imsa with you. The summer before I came here, my roommate added me to a chat made of imsa applicants who were on college confidential, and it helped me get to know some of my current friends going into imsa. I also met up with some of them beforehand, and we spent a day at 6 flags together. I would say it’s a lot better to be making “small talk” rn rather than admissions discussions
I think the longer I wait the less exciting it becomes… It feels like a regular routine now: waiting for the mail.
I have to respond to my job offer like yesterday, but I can not until I get my decision letter.
This was posted earlier and I think it got buried in the thread, but I’m a current sophomore at imsa and I really want to get to know you guys, so if you have any questions about IMSA or just want to talk about food, you can add me on: sc- @ potatolo or instagram- @ es.stultus