I was the younger of two daughters, and the more into house stuff. (Mostly so I wouldn't have to go out where the other kids were, because they sucked.) So I learned how to clean, cook, sew a little, do laundry, etc. My sister learned as little of that as she could get away with.

Twenty years later my sister's the one with the house, husband, and kids, cleaning every weekend, making meals every night, and doing laundry all. the. time. (Seriously, it's like the dryer is on all the time when I visit.) I live in an apartment that was vacuumed a week ago, dusted some time in May, and dinner will probably involve either pizza or something currently in a box in the freezer. Or perhaps the rest of the Ben & Jerry's Dublin Mudslide ice cream that I'm currently eating, except I doubt any will be left then. I can clean. I can cook pretty durned well, if I do say so myself. But I rarely have to.

Huh. I was an only child (half-sister is 21 years older), and by the time I was 8 I was doing everyone's laundry and the dishes. And the dusting. And a few other chores. Was main cook by 14, but that's another story.

Most of my childhood I didn't have any chores beyond not making my room nasty (we had a maid for the time we were in Jamaica). Even in England, I didn't have to do anything.

Magically, however, at university I started doing all my chores, and apart from a few bleach spills (I just bleach less these days), never had a problem with any of it. Everything was either detailed in instructions, or common sense.

I was washing the dishes by 8 or so. My smarter siblings never got good at it; my mother got a dishwasher when I went to college. I also cleaned bathrooms by about that age. My mother was big on chores and independence. I packed my own school lunches (with help as needed) at 6.

Basically, UPS was going to deliver assloads of the (pre-packed and addressed) books to local USPSs yesterday, who would then deliver the books today.

This is how mine came (still unopened...sniff). IME, if your UPS tracking # says "Out for delivery" it will come via UPS truck. If it just shows as being close to your house, it shows up via US Mail (and the tracking number just tracks it to your post office).

So if it says "In transit to final destination," and my mail's already come today, I'm not getting my book until Monday, am I?

That completely bites.

I guess now the decision is, do I wait until Monday, or do I walk up to B&N and just return Amazon's copy when it arrives?

Sweet. I had my HP sent super saver and it just arrived in the mail today. I didn't expect it until next week.

I wish I could email you my copy. Sounds like it's not coming today. i think steph was right about costing too much to ship via UPS for today.

However, at Christmas, I have seen the post office make separate deliveries of packages and mail, but that seems like a long shot. i forget where you live but is your post offce small enough that you could call them?

yes, she is an only. Really sweet, good tempered ,etc. Mom and dad don't have her do the dishes because she does a bad job. I kind of understand what has happened, because - she is an only and an easy child too.

BF (a younger son) doesn't know how to do anything-- doting mother and fastidious roommate ensured his general fecklessness-- but he's completely willing to help out.

DH ordered ours Standard (which blows away the Amazon discount), which came with "guaranteed" delivery today, and it's not here.

I could call the post office, but they're pretty flaky. [Actually, I can't -- they close at 1 on Saturdays. Screw this, I'm going for a walk.]

I think I'm just going to walk up to the bookstore. At this point, it's more the principle of the thing than the book itself.

I wish I could email you my copy.

Aw, thanks. There's supposed to be a torrent of it floating around, but I want a book. Reading it online's not the same.