It's always fun to get a notice in the mailbox that I have a registered envelope to sign for at the Post Office, because usually it means an award has arrived from some exotic location halfway around the world. Last week it was a ribbon from Serbia, this week a medal from India.

Funny how these tchotchkes feel so motivating. But someone went to a lot of effort to put one of these things into the mail, fill out a lot of paperwork, wrap it in half a roll of packing tape, and send it off into the international mail. That's gratifying in a weird way. And receiving it, and carefully opening it, surgically peeling away the tape in case whatever is inside is delicate, feels like Christmas morning.

Here's my latest haul, along with the exotic accoutrements. The Indian package smells musty, like the back room of a museum, with a hint of spice. But maybe the latter is my excited imagination.

The ribbon is from the "Man and Work" Salon in Serbia, which closed all the way back on January 15 of 2022 -- almost a year ago! The one from India is more prompt, from the CAS Photo Academy salon in September, and which promised to send awards out at the end of December. They're ironically for the same image, "Rest and Upheaval" featuring Queen Dandelion at Rialto Beach in July 2018, though the ribbon also represents "Old Roots" from that same photo shoot.