Maybe if the United States Postal Service would stop being asinine to its customers, it would be in a better financial situation.

I know some of your parents or even you yourself work for this business, but I'm sorry, your employer as made me miserable repeatedly.

In the process of mailing books, dealing with the post office as been the worst part of the entire process. I will not recount all the previous assy things multiple post offices have done in the past year.

Today was the candle on the cake though.

I put together a big box of comic books to mail to *RadiusZero for A-kon. I packed it all nicely, weighed, measured, looked up shipping rates, everything was prepared. I planned to send it media mail, because it is a BOX OF BOOKS.

Definition of "Media Mail":
Media mail is used for certain types of books, films, manuscripts, printed music, printed test materials, sound recordings, play scripts, printed educational charts, loose-leaf pages and their binders consisting of medical information, video recordings, educational reference charts, and computer-readable media.

I sent the nicely prepared box with my parents, because I live so far away from the nearest post office.

Now understand. In the many cities I've lived in, in the many things I've mailed, I've sent comics via media mail MANY times. Sometimes by themselves, sometimes in collections of other books, sometimes with fiction paperbacks, sometimes with textbooks.

BUT TODAY, NOOOO. NOOOOOOOOOOO WE CANNOT MAIL COMICS IN MEDIA MAIL.

Why? BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT EDUCATIONAL MATERIAL.

Are paperback fictions educational? Are sheets of music educational? Are books about God educational? Are books about evolution educational?

YES. YES. YES. AND YES.

It is all educational, whether or not its fiction or nonfiction, whether or not the music is good or bad, whether or not it's a religion that may someday be outdated, whether or not it's science than changes every other hour!

What makes my comic different from a sheet of music? Or a novel? Or religious myth? Or constantly outdated science?

I'm not saying my comic is GOOD, but why are those things better than a comic? Since when does the post office define what is worth reading and what is not?

You go to hell, post office.

I'm not proud about what I said to that woman on the phone when I called her with my complaint, but damn it felt hella good. And to be fair, the next person that tells me comics aren't educational will also be called an idiot and hung up on. (No, I did not curse at her. Basic English is sufficient.) I'm no saint. I'm some sort of crazy bitch. Whatever. I give back what I get. Jesus forgives so I don't have to.

I wish there was ANYTHING I could do to change such a stupid mind set, but trying to explain why a comic can be worth reading wouldn't help anything. At the end of the day, they'll just claim shipping comics as media mail is against their (rather ambiguous) definition of media. Anything to make me pay a higher price to ship less. <~ which is actually the point. More money.

At the end of the day, comics would have shipped just fine if all my mother had said was "books" instead of "comic books."

But my point is why should it even matter? A BOOK IS A BOOK. What about childrens' books or art books or illustrated novels? Educational?!?

a;ljdf;lajdfaf Sorry for this rage journal. I'll have to find something happy to write about in the near future. This is just the combination of both my frustrations with the post office and my frustrations with telling people I draw comics and getting weird reactions. I don't want a different passion. I WANT TO KICK PEOPLE.

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WHAT IS TOILET GENIE?
TG is a weekly webcomic that I draw, write, and publish. c: It is dark fantasy, currently rated 13+. The story follows a pug which discovers a genie living in a toilet. Through a series of odd events, the pug is turned into a woman. Before she can forfill her destiny (whatever that may be...) she must learn the story of how the genie came to live in the toilet.

WHEN DOES TG UPDATE?!
TG updates ~ Thursdays. But if the page is done early, it updates early. If the page would benefit from more time, it updates late.

COMMISSIONS/TRADES/FREE ART
I'm always interested in commissions, but I may turn them down if I'm cramped for time. Trades are a possibility, but unlikely. If you have to *ask* me for free art, chances are I will not give it to you.