hey kids -- i just got back from the post office after mailing out the money order to ogata shinji at framebank. i sent it global priority, so it should be there within 6 business days. fingers are crossed.

i asked the woman at the post office what she thought about potential customs issues with receiving a bike frame from japan. she said that, like others have, that whether or not it even gets questioned is really just contingent upon whim. so, if the customs guy's father was blown away by a japanese guy riding a bicycle in the pacific theatre of WWII, you might get screwed, but who knows. although she admitted that she didn't know exact rates for items from every country, she said that it should definitely be no more than ~20 if the frame is declared at $410 -- the price paid before shipping. granted, i've already spent a chunk of change on the frame, but i can absorb $20 in the case of bad luck.

we'll see how it goes.