365 Project: Day 109

I was so excited when this baby was delivered to my house! A 30"x30" print of my "Shade" image. I almost didn't want to send it off to its rightful owner. Its really amazing to see something I created reproduced that large. I can't imagine what it would be like to have a billboard of one of my images. I don't think I could handle it.

An interior designer from San Francisco emailed me a couple of weeks ago about this image. She was interested in having it blown up for her client's kitchen. I was stoked! I knew the file could be printed this large, but I had never actually tried it before. When I saw that it had been delivered I couldn't wait to tear the package open. It was like unwrapping a gigantic present on Christmas morning! But, a gigantic present that I could only enjoy for a minute because it belonged to someone else. 

I know the people at the Post Office must love it when I walk in carrying packages like this. I sell 20"x20" prints all the time and I ship everything flat. The packages are always awkward for them to handle, they don't fit on the scales properly, they have to be measured with a tape measure. Its just a lot of extra work for them when there is a line of impatient, disgruntled people trailing out the door, which there always is at this particular Post Office. 

That's why I loved Tina. She was my favorite USPS employee. Always very sweet, always smiling no matter how large of a package I brought in, always conversational with a little hint of sarcasm. I make many trips to the Post Office down the street, so I've gotten to know Tina a little. But, sadly, Friday was her last day. She's moving on to another Post Office location. I made a special trip to mail a package out on Friday just so I could bid her farewell on her last day. 

Its funny how you can become a little attached to your favorite people to see in passing. The barista at your favorite coffee house, the guy who works at the dry cleaners, a waitress at a local hole in the wall, the bar tender at the little bar up the street, and the sweet and helpful postal employee. All people who you don't really know, but you do. You see them only in passing, only for a few minutes at a time. You know almost nothing about them personally, but they still have a place in your life and its sad when they are gone. Now, when I go to the Post Office Tina won't be there and that makes me a little sad. I sort of wish she was there to send out the biggest print I've ever sold.