ZIP code change

Earlier this summer, we got a notice in the mail that our ZIP code was being changed. This didn't come as a complete surprise, because our subdivision had been rumbling with the news for a while, along with news of possible boundary changes for our school. Had the boundaries for the ZIP change been followed by the school boundary committee, some of the nearby subdivisions would have been split in two as far as which schools their children would attend. There were many meetings, proposals, petitions, etc. Cass and I couldn't be bothered to care, since we live a block from our school and wouldn't be affected. Good citizens and neighbors, we are. In the end, the unity of the subdivisions was preserved.

So anyway, Round Rock has grown so much - in 2000 the census counted 61,000, in 2006 it was estimated at 91,000 - that there was a need for a new ZIP. Our little corner in the far east and south of Round Rock was chosen - well, because it would be too much of a bother for Dell (Computers - international HQ are about a mile from us) to have to suffer the change. That's my opinion anyway.

We got our little notice in June, I think. It went into effect on July 1 of this year, with a 1 year grace period for mail with the old ZIP on it. (Side note: What does ZIP stand for anyway and why do I have to capitalize all the letters every time? Zone Improvement Plan, according to Wikipedia.) So take notes folks, our ZIP isn't 78664 anymore - it's 78665.

I got to thinking about this change that was being forced upon me. I'd have to call AmEx and change the ZIP with them. Oh no, that meant that our "info" with AmEx would be different, and the billing address (and ZIP) must match the address on the AmEx account. No matchy, no charge. So, I couldn't do the change until after we got back from our trip to Europe, since we use AmEx over there a lot.

I also realized that I had just ordered 3 boxes of new checks with, you guessed it, the old ZIP code on there. Now I'll have to cross out the last digit and change it from 4 to 5 on my brand new, cute world traveler/world map designer checks. That's attractive.

There are also many other changes - bank, utilities, the kids' information at their schools, all the automatic debits that come out of our checking account. It's like we moved without really moving. What a PITA that I didn't choose for myself. I'm sure there are lots more changes I haven't even thought of yet. And no, even though we've been back from Europe for more than a month, I still haven't gotten around to making the first change. I've only got 9.5 months left before my grace period is up! Somebody's going to have to tell Weather.com, though - if you go type in my new ZIP to get the weather, it freaks them out.

Do you think that along with this need for a new ZIP from all the population growth, they've hired more than 2 people to run our Post Office? Heh.