Amazon And Other Stuff

I spent HOURS yesterday trying to negotiate Amazon Japan to no avail.  I already have a regular Amazon account, wasn't sure if I could use the same password, kept getting blocked, and so on.  Anybody who has tried to deal with the mysterious minions of the Internet knows it takes a big chunk of time and frustration.  I finally called, but had difficulty understanding the person on the other end, and didn't really get anywhere.  I just want to avoid paying postage, if possible, but may just give up.  To add insult to injury (yep, I'm back in cliche mode) I was electronically informed that items would not arrive in time for Christmas.  Must think of something else.
Aline called to ask if we could celebrate my birthday with lunch on Friday instead of yesterday, as there was "a crises" in the library and she was asked to work longer.  Yeah, sure, no prob.
Otherwise, I readdressed and sent off a large package to Singapore (postage came to seventy-nine dollars and change), received a shirt sent from Honolulu (purchased, according to the invoice, for twice the previously stated amount) and re-wrapped it; will sent today.  Otherwise, went to Shop-Rite and a few other places, talked to Betty, started listing stuff to take to Florida, and occupied myself variously.