It’s not often that an incident would annoy me to the extent that I wouldn’t simply rant about it on my online journal or complain verbally to whoever got in my path. But this one absolutely took the cake.

I walked into my building on Tuesday afternoon, back from a long day, and went straight to my mailbox, as I always do when I get back. I dropped to my knees (stupid number puts my box at rat’s eye level), and peered through the small plastic window. Shadows. I had mail. Sweet.

So I twisted the dial to the right, then to the left, then to the right again, popped it open, and I had the blue slip of doom – the little card telling me I had a package. Well, it was 10 of 7 p.m., there was no way I was going to make it to Speare from West C, so I figured, “Get it tomorrow.”

Wednesday comes and goes, and I go straight to Speare upon getting home. It’s not yet half past six; I should be fine. But oh, wait, there’s a sign on the door there that says ResMail is only open until 4:30 p.m. during Spring Break.

Well, how’s that for downright idiotic?

I think I’ll take a shot in the dark and guess that the majority of the people remaining in Boston during Spring Break are those who are on co-op, like myself. You know, the people who don’t even get a Spring Break. The geniuses among us who decided the spring shift was the wisest shift to go on. The 9-to-5 workers who still go to school here.

That’s right, 9 to 5. The average work day. I work in Waltham, about 15 miles northwest of the city. I walk out of my building at 7:30 a.m. and get back at 6:30 p.m. I can usually make it to pick up my packages.

What all of this boils down to is that I can’t get my package until Saturday at the earliest, and even then it may not happen. Many of us college students try to, you know, do things on the weekend. Especially when we don’t get a chance all week.

God forbid whatever’s waiting for me at ResMail is important or time-sensitive. If it is, I could be in some pretty deep hot water for not being able to get a message back to whomever sent me this package until roughly two days after I receive it. I’m allowing time for me to get the package Monday night. I won’t be able to send something back that night, because I won’t get the package until nearly closing time for ResMail.

And knowing the competence and efficiency with which everything is handled in that department, anything I drop off Tuesday evening won’t even be looked at until Wednesday. That’s more than a week. Actually, now that I look at my blue slip again, it was received the Friday before Spring Break began. So that’s almost two weeks, just to get a damn package and respond to it. It took them five days to put an ‘effing blue card in my box, and it’s another six before I can even deal with it.

So here’s an idea: Hey, ResMail – how about, when you’re serving mostly co-op students, operate on co-op hours? You know, a couple hours in the morning, and then maybe 4-7 p.m., instead of your God-awful system of only being open when ambitious people are trying to learn in the real world.

– Adam Sell is a sophomore journalism major.