Mule again!

I don’t know if people generally have heard the term ‘Mule’ used before. And I don’t mean the animal, and I don’t me someone’s nickname, nor do I mean a term for someone who is stubborn. No the term Mule is used to identify people that transport illicit goods into a country for a larger organization. Usually these goods are narcotics, but it could really be anything. Now that I am making cross Atlantic trips on a regular basis I am beginning to feel like a mule. The goods that I have been transporting on a regular basis however are not illegal. Instead they are mostly everyday objects. In fact a lot of it is very boring stuff. But that is what my lovely wife and sister in law need. Things they like, need, and normally can’t get in Russia.

So normally when I get back to my house in the states I see half a dozen or more boxes in the entryway. From all sorts of stores: Amazon, Anne Taylor, Kohl’s, JC Penny’s, and more. Then I normally get 3-7 emails with items that they would like me to go shopping for. Normally I only have to make a stop at Walgreen’s (don’t ask), Target, and the grocery store. The most common items you may ask, well Reese’s PB cups, Hershey’s with almonds, tea, Ziploc bags (these are hard to get in the UK too), pain killers, a few new movie DVDs, a new CD or two, and girly books. I would say on an average trip I bring at least 20 pounds worth of stuff back and forth. Of course none of it is for sale it is all for there personal use but I still wonder what TSA thinks when my bags get scanned!

So this last trip was not really that different. Except that most of the things I brought this time were books; six or seven of them actually. And books are not that light to be honest. In fact I had to leave some of the books I wanted to read at home because I ran out of room. Can you believe that. I thought the handle might rip off of the bag for a second time. Thanks again Mom and Dad for letting us use the big bag BTW. It has upped the amount of booty I can bring in a trip. Now I am dragging some of my co-workers into the game. We needed a part for my sister in-law’s computer. It was too hard to get in Russia or the UK so I ordered it to his house and he is bringing it to me when he comes over for work. I find that a bit rich.

I really don’t mind being a mule though. Now that I have spent more time outside the states, and in a much more capitalist developed country, I understand that we get a lot of good things in the states that for some reason aren’t sold in other places around the world. Seriously, why aren’t Ziploc bags available everywhere, they are probably the most useful thing to have in a kitchen. Now though I have to bring stuff for myself and for my extended family.