Good news when you can find it

I got good news today. The book return I've been working on for seemingly eternity has gone through. The bookstore is actually sending two books to recompense all my trouble! Thank you, Atomic Comics! It's great to deal with decent people every now and then.

To reach the point of the day in which I received the good news, however, I had to deal with another mailroom snag. This written grievance (below)should explain it all. At least the comic store has shown some understanding. The mailroom just doesn't make sense.

Grievance – July 27, 2009

On the morning of July 24, 2009, I went to the mailroom where I was denied a campus information packet from Boston Architectural College. About two weeks ago, when the packet was sent straight from the college, it was spiral-bound and had a hologram cover. I asked the mailroom if the paper information inside the binding could be cut out. She said no because it would be an altered publication. I told her I had the same thing happen last year with a publication and the mailroom just cut the spiral out. That occurred 4/01/08 and I still have the publication after three unit shakedowns.

I then asked if I could have the Boston Architecture College packet sent home, cut out, and sent back to me. She said I could and it would probably work. At my own expense of $3.00 in postage, I sent the packet home to be cut apart and sent back.

Today it was denied after being taken apart and separated from the spiral binding and sent together with the hologram cover. The mailroom called it an altered publication and would not allow me to receive it even after advising the action that I took would probably be okay.

It does not make sense to deny an informational packet about a college. I am trying to research and prepare to continue my college education upon release and am met with opposition.

Also, I have received altered publications many times in the form of newspaper and magazine clippings. I still have in my possession the publication that the mailroom removed the spiral binding from last April ’08 and have never received trouble for it.

The hologram cover also should not be a problem. There is at least one book in the library I can think of – Pick Me Up - that has a plastic hologram cover that is obviously not thought of as a threat.

There is nothing dangerous about excerpts from a college’s informational publication.

Action Requested: Allowance of the Boston Architectural College information packet to be received by offenders upon removal of the spiral binding.

Red Tape

Back in May I started a long process to order a book for a Warcraft-themed roleplaying game. Before this new warden arrived in January, we were able to fill out a withdrawal request form and turn it in with an order at the commissary window. From there, the request would be approved by the unit administration and forwarded to the inmate trust fund in Huntsville for the money to be withdrawn as a money order and sent with the inmate's order to the company.

Now that's a long enough process itself, but the new warden, in his infinite wisdom on how a smooth-running unit should operate, added more steps to the process. Before an inmate can even turn in the request to commissary, the have to send a request to the mail room asking if the desired book has been approved and, if affirmative, turn in the mail room's answer to the commissary with everything else.

A problem I've run into a few times is that the book I want to order has not been reviewed and permission is denied because it hasn't been approved. Most of the books I receive are not on the list of approved books, but do not have objectionable material and are allowed in. Why we can't order unreviewed books when we receive then all the time is beyond me.

Back to the current order. The order went all the way to completion and my reception of a book. Unfortunately, the book I received was not the book I ordered. Instead of email or phone call to ask about an exchange, I had to write a letter and wait two weeks for a response. The company apologized for its mistake and offered to exchange at no extra cost to me. I got this letter in the middle of June. Since then I have been trying to send this book back, finally meeting success today.

I wrote a letter outlining the exchange, put it with the book in an envelope and asked the mail room to weigh it for postage. They said they wouldn't do it; the book had to be released through property for them to weigh it.

So two weeks ago I had the book, letter and envelope confiscated. Last Friday I went to the property room to confirm that I needed the package weighed. Today I found out it would take $10.30 worth of stamps to go out. I had to wipe out my stash and borrow some from friends for it to go out tomorrow.

I hope this saga comes to a happy ending soon. The red tape and hurdles have made the process a very tiring one.