a chocolate pizza would help right now 🧃

Severus Snape has at least one functioning arm.

I read this, and I can tell from the “review” that the package was NOT shipped by a professional.

One: two inch tape. Professional establishments use three inch. It’s MUCH easier to seal boxes with, especially around the edges. Two inch is what you can buy from office depot or lowe’s. It’s fine for moving house, but it’s definitely not professional grade.

Two: no edge tape. Just seal your edges, people. UPS basically plays soccer with your packages. Even the light ones, just on principal, give them the structural support you can offer.

Three: centered label. Looks pretty on a package, sure, but it makes it very likely that the label will be covered up when the box is sitting in a stack or a pile, and that increases the chance that it will be manhandled to get to that label or even potentially mis-scanned or missed altogether in a stack. Label the SIDE of the box if at all possible! And put it to the side if you can’t! Visibility!

One: two inch tape. Professional establishments use three inch.

Nope. For packages I see, two inch packing tape is the norm. Today I had one package with three-inch water-activated reinforced paper tape and one (from Uline) with 2.75" packing tape. Everything else used 2" packing tape. Yes, it's exactly the same kind of stuff that you can get at Office Depot or Lowe's, and people use it because it gets the job done.

Two: no edge tape.

Not uncommon for small, light packages. I just don't see box failures on packages under a pound where more tape would have helped. Where I do see failures is overloaded boxes, thirty pounds and up, where the corrugate simply ripped, and no amount of tape would have saved the package.

PSA: please don't fill an 8x8x6 single-wall box with machine screws and expect it to arrive intact. Fastenal, I'm looking at you.

Three: centered label.

Label on top is standard. I had only one box today with the label on the side, and all the rest on top.

Looks pretty on a package, sure, but it makes it very likely that the label will be covered up when the box is sitting in a stack or a pile, and that increases the chance that it will be manhandled

Your package will get manhandled, regardless of where you put the label. Plan on it.

to get to that label or even potentially mis-scanned or missed altogether in a stack. Label the SIDE of the box if at all possible!

Heck no! I expect labels to be on top and that's the first place I look for them. If it's on the side, that's potentially four other places I have to look, which is a pain in the ass when I'm busy. And I'm always busy.

UPS, incidentally, says you should put the label on the largest surface. For the packages I get, that's usually the top.

Someone who has shipped too many boxes would comment on whether the box was new or reused,

Okay, that's legit. I do see a fair number of reused boxes.

whether there was any special hazmat (mostly lithium-ion battery) labeling

Hazmats aren't common enough to mention it every time when there isn't one present. (My hazmats are usually solvents or paint, and that's not something I get every day.)

the condition of the package post shipping

Not usually noteworthy. My internal monolog (which is what the above fanciful review is based on) doesn't bother to mention it unless something unusual happened to the box.

whether or not the weight of the package matched the stated weight on the label

Although I ship just as many packages as I receive, if not more, it never would have occurred to me to check. And I don't have a scale in the receiving department, so it would be guesswork anyway.

AND they’d have commented on the two-inch packing tape.

Which everyone uses. There's not much need to comment when it's far and away the most common type of tape.

It’s no problem. I’ve written about that here and probably touched on this in many other posts. 

I wouldn’t frame the question as would they “still love each other with how much they’ve both changed.” It implies that their feelings were already understood as love by them when they were together. What they had was a confusing mess of conflicting emotions that neither were fully capable of understanding or accepting at the time. Each had their reasons for why that was so, which goes to some of the issues that stood between them. While there is chemistry, intimacy, and empathy shown, IMO, it’s better to think of them as possessing the building blocks that can lead to love in the future.  

On the other hand, there was also:

The fact that she’s too young, immature, and unready for a consummated romance with anyone. She needs space and time to grow up and figure out what she wants. Until AFFC, she’s still only comfortable consciously fantasizing about Loras Tyrell, who is non-threatening, conventionally attractive, and uncomplicated. They are still relatively chaste/borderline erotic fantasies. The unkiss takes time for her to consciously accept and embrace as reciprocated erotic desire.  

The fact that he has no idea how to express himself without resorting to the language of violence that he understands best.

The fact that he copes with the unresolved childhood trauma and PTSD in unhealthy ways like his abrasive Hound persona, his overly-cynical worldview, and sometimes abusing alcohol when he’s under stress.

His immaturity and inability to simply ask for and accept the emotional support he wants (which she was perfectly willing to give) without freaking out over being vulnerable with someone. 

The fact that they are on opposite sides of a war where Sansa’s family is in open rebellion against her captors who Sandor owes fealty to. 

The fact that she’s the king’s betrothed. She’s his property. To explicitly act upon any romantic attraction would be considered treason, punishable by torture and death.  

The fact that there is a massive class disparity between them that overshadows the age difference in their world. That’s one reason why neither can put a name to this thing between them. A future queen / high lord’s daughter from an ancient house should not be fraternizing with a non-knight from a house only three generations old. That’s why they struggle even knowing what to call each other because using first names shows too much familiarity and intimacy. This would be true even without any of the other conflicts. Class controls everything in Westeros. 

And yes, he still owes her a big heartfelt apology for his abhorrent behavior during the Blackwater, and he should beg her forgiveness.  

Most of these points I elaborate on in more detail in the links above. If you notice, though, most of these things have either been resolved or are in the process of being resolved. None of these issues were ever insurmountable obstacles. 

The ways in which Sansa and Sandor have evolved even in their separation has been largely positive and complementary of each other. They haven’t grown apart or become incompatibly different at all. If anything, it’s pushed their feelings further along, and it’s clear they are very much on each other’s minds. Since we can see Sansa’s perspective firsthand, she’s only thought about Sandor more since he left.  

Sansa has grown and matured a lot more when we see her in the TWOW sample chapter. Had the five-year gap panned out, she would be legally an adult in Westeros; however, dropping it doesn’t seem to have affected GRRM’s intentions for any of his POVs. She’s in the company of unconventional, sexually mature women in their early twenties who can be role models in navigating adult relationships. The sassy way she takes no shit from a brutally honest Harrold Hardyng shows she has confidence and the ability to go toe-to-toe with Sandor’s gruff personality without getting flustered and running away. After she wipes the floor with him with her wit, she ends up winning Harry over to the point he’s begging for her favor. There is no point in the sample chapter where she voices any anxieties about not feeling ready for marriage, sex, or children. This no longer seems to be an issue for her, so we can assume she feels okay with having an adult relationship at this point.   

Her time as a bastard girl has made her warmer and friendlier. She was always kind, but proprieties and courtesies can also read as aloof and re-enforcing strict class boundaries. Can you imagine Kings Landing!Sansa hugging someone like Lothor Brune, a landless knight, as she does in TWOW? Or preferring the company of a sex-positive widow who enjoys taking lovers or a bastard girl over the “perfect sister” she saw in Margaery Tyrell and her cousins? Hell no. That would never happen. This new Sansa lacks those prejudices and is openly affectionate towards people she was raised to keep at arm’s length. Once she loosened up and stopped reciting courtesies, people actually got to know her and like her for who she is. That’s what Sandor always wanted from her, right? To drop the courtesies and flattering bullshit and just be a real person with him, not a talking parrot. While that criticism was harsh and rudely put, it had a lot of truth to it. It seems to have made Sansa into a happier person and more in touch with her authentic self. Now that she has accepted in Feast that she wanted Sandor like that, what is there to stop her from acting on it later?

The Quiet Isle didn’t exist before Feast. It was written for Sandor to recover and rehabilitate. Not just physically, but he’s getting what constitutes psychological counseling and a treatment plan that deals directly with his worst traits. He appears to meet with the Elder Brother often enough because the latter seems to know quite a bit about Sandor’s backstory, what his issues are, and exactly who Sansa Stark is. The rest of the time, he must observe the no talking rule and do meaningful work as a novice. This man, who once flaunted his contempt for those who couldn’t defend themselves as weak and deserving of death, is put to work digging graves for the innocent victims of violence. All day long, he has to look at the faces of men, women, and children killed by evil men with that philosophy. One brother even yells at him for carelessly tossing dirt around with the shovel, and he silently takes it. No smart ass backtalk. In the evening, he has to serve food and clear plates for men he would have once mocked. They’re men of faith, they’ve renounced violence, and Sandor sits lower in status than them. To Sandor’s credit, he humbly submits to all this in a show of respect and humility. It’s like he wants to learn these lessons they are offering and is allowing himself to be schooled. Now Sandor may always be Sandor on some level (if Stranger kicking down the stable doors and refusing to be gelded is any indication). Still, it does look like he’s become a gentler, healthier, and sober version of himself. The only part of Sandor that Sansa rejected was the Hound, and it’s both stated in the text and by George himself that the Hound is dead. Period. And yeah, it seems like Sandor is in a place where he is unlikely to backslide into old behavior, and he can make that heartfelt and necessary apology to Sansa. I don't think Sandor could ever be okay with moving their relationship forward without making amends first. It wouldn't sit right with his sense of remorse and personal responsibility, which is a good thing. 

All these changes are for the better for them as individuals and as a possible future couple. Contrary to your ask, I would say a positive, fully-fledged romance with "HEA" potential wouldn’t be possible or believable without all the growth and changes they've undergone. When they reunite, they can do so on more equal footing. 

No, because her feelings for Sandor (that I wouldn't even fully describe as being in love just yet) have nothing to do with why she never developed the same level of attachment/compassion towards Tyrion.

Despite her already strong bond with Sandor, she constantly notices Tyrion's attempt at being kind to her. Before anyone ever thinks of marrying them to each other he already tries to comfort her when she's upset and protects her from Joffrey's violent outbursts, and when they're ordered to get married he offers Sansa the chance of marrying one of his cousins instead (someone younger and more handsome), doesn't let Joffrey humiliate her with the whole "undress the couple and lead them to the marriage bed" thing, and even full on tells Sansa that they don't need to have sex until she wants it - and that he'll just cope with some prostitutes if she decides she never wants it.

Truly, Sansa could not ask for a kinder captor.

Because yes, that's what Tyrion actually is: her jailer. He's another person forcing her to stay in King's Landing, submiting to the Lannisters, and he actually fought against her brother Rob, who wants to rescue her and free the North.

Tyrion himself even admits in one of his POV chapters that he's not marrying Sansa just because his father told him, but because that marriage is benefitial for him. It gives him Winterfell and a pretty wife. He knows Sansa doesn't want this marriage, yet he's playing a role in forcing her into it, even if he's willing to step aside and let someone else be the groom.

The fact Sansa is not allowed to state the obvious aloud ("I don't want any Lannister") despite everyone being well aware of it is the biggest proof that Tyrion is willing to be a kind captor, but never a true savior, ally or just neutral. If it benefits his house, benefits him, then he'll go for it, regardless of what it means to Sansa, physically or psychologically - there's even a moment in which all he has to say about how Sansa is obviously depressed after the Red Wedding is that her grief made her more beautiful. This poor girl's entire family (as far as they know) has just been killed, and all Tyrion can think is "Wow, my hot wife somehow got even hotter."

Now compare that to Sandor - Sansa COULD ask for a kinder bodyguard, and by God, she does. Over and over. In her prayers, by plotting with others who offer her help, and, more importantly, by telling Sandor himself that he's being a vile person.

And as much as he hates to admit it, her opinion matters to him to the point that he actually tries to improve himself. Little by little, without even realizing it. But Sansa very much picks up on it, to the point that she constantly thinks about him, wishes he were around, assumes that a man who saved her from being assaulted MUST be Sandor even if she knows that's impossible, and even has moments in which she questions her decision to not leave with him at the end of the second book (despite the fact that he had been in a middle of a PTSD episode and held a knife to her throat).

That's THE key difference between Sandor and all of Sansa's other potential suitors. He's in love/lust with her, yes, and he would certainly not complain if she decided to reward his compassion towards her by becoming his wife/lover - but he doesn't believe he's OWED that, and when she tells him he's not getting what he wants, not only does he back off, but he lists his inappropriate advances towards her (as well as his shortcomings as her protector, something NONE of the other men ever admit to also being guilty of) as one of the main reasons why he deserves to DIE.

When Sansa disappears after supposedly killing Joffrey and not taking her husband along, Tyrion can only throw himself a pity party about how she was so "false" when making her vows to him - nevermind that she made these vows under duress and that he broke them first by playing a role in her family's downfall. When he "saves" (kidnaps) her, Littlefinger is constantly trying to brute force Sansa into the role of his daughter AND lover, despite her obvious discomfort, and keeps implicating her in all of his crimes to keep her trapped.

But Sandor literally goes "I failed to protect her and even posed a threat to her myself, why don't I just die?" And now he's in rehab/therapy, despite thinking he'll never see her again and will thus never be rewarded. He's just genuinely sorry and adjusting his behavior accordingly because it's the right thing to do and what Sansa would want, and he wishes to honor her.

(Not to mention, Sandor is a nobody in Westerosi society. He has no money, no influence, no powerful allies, literally nothing aside from pure physical strength that he's already promissed to use solely for the KING'S safety and best interests. Him going out of his way to help her, even screaming at the king in public so he'll stop hitting her, is VERY dangerous for him)

That is what makes Sansa (mostly retroactively) fall in love with Sandor. It wasn't just because he was the first potential knight in shinning armor to offer her his protection or the one who was around the longest, but because he's the only one that doesn't feel entitled to her, despite being the one that is taking the most risks and being the one that she actually feels safer with it and would eventually become attracted to. She trust him and that allows a genuine connection to form.

To all the others, Tyrion very much included, she's a potential trophy, a compensation for a lifetime of misery, their object of affection, a valuable asset that will help them with their politial ambitions -whether she likes it or not. To Sandor, she's a person, one that is free to choose not having him around, regardless of what kind things he does for her.

Tyrion could never mean as much to Sansa as Sandor did because, despite claiming otherwise, he does not actually respect her right to reject him. He won't full on sexually assault her, but he's still holding her hostage, allowing his family to coerce her into being his wife (meaning he already went further with her than any other man as he got to kiss her, see her naked and even grope her despite her CLEARLY not being okay with it), and playing a role in killing her family for wanting to save her from this fate.