Cruising, But Not On Cruise Control!
Well today has been a heck of a day. My husband and I needed to go to get our passports for our upcoming cruise, so today was the day.
My friend Char, was our guarantor, stating she has known us for more than two years, and that we are in fact who we say we are. She filled out, signed the back of our passport photos and signed the documents. My husband and I, filled out the remaining information, enclosing supporting identification and documents. Easy peasy right...wrong!
Oh no, that would be easy, and heaven knows, I never take the easy route. The ladies who helped us were absolutely wonderful! They were efficient, courteous, and pleasant. I, had to go to a different person than my husband. I handed her my information, and she was checking things off as she went through all of the documentation, Things were going smoothly, and I was thinking to myself that we would be in and out in less than an hour. Yahoo!
Then it happened. The catastrophic thing that always seems to happen when I am dealing with government paperwork. I hit a snag. It seems, I needed to have my marriage licence as part of my supporting documentation. Oh oh, I wasn't told that when I called yesterday to ensure this wouldn't happen. "Do I need it?" I asked laughingly. The lady helping me shook her head sympathetically yes. "Lets say I'm not married, who cares?" I said, desperately trying a different approach. I was told that wouldn't work either because the last name on my birth certificate and the last name on my drivers licence were different. Hence, the need for the marriage licence.
Truth be told, the last time I even looked at my marriage licence, I was signing it! My husband put it in the front of our family bible, and I'm not really sure where it is. Since moving here two years ago, some things have remained packed away in a box. It was quicker to get a new one.
When we came home, I drove to two different government offices to send away for a replacement marriage licence. Neither office would help me, being as it was not their department. I wanted to scream now. There it was, government offices and me...like oil and vinegar. I had to go home, go online, and print the application form, fill it out, send in the money and wait for it to be sent, then drive back to the passport office, show them the licence, then wait for my passport. Things were getting close and the deadline was tight.
My husband was blabbing in my ear about taking too long to get my passport. He was right of course, I had procrastinated. Whenever I complain about something, he always says "I don't deal with problems, I deal with solutions." So, when he was blabbing about me taking too long, and look at the mess you are in, I told him to "Shut up and deal me a solution!" He looked at me and said "Well, I am okay, I'm getting my passport, I guess I will be on the Love Boat by myself.
This of course made me want to punch him, and lucky him, I was driving when he was blathering on about my inability to get my passport.
My husband went to work, and I pulled out our laptop, and found the government site. I had to print it off, I couldn't fill it out and pay online. AAAhhh!! Any other site you can, but not this one. My son pulled out our new printer, and popped the ink cartridges in. We loaded the paper, set it up and...nothing. Hmmm. We checked the directions again. My son and I, could not agree on the proper installation of the paper tray, he pushed it in, and I was yelling at him that it wasn't right. It was, that's why I don't work with electronics, or government offices for that matter. The printer printed a test paper and it was great. We were in business.
I went back to the government web page to download the page to print, but my computer needed some sort of upgrade to download this file. "What?" This laptop is only three weeks
old, what possible upgrades could it need? I was beginning to hyperventilate, and my son had just left, probably because he was frustrated by my madness.
I could download it on my phone just fine without any upgrades. "Oh for heavens sake!" I wanted to close everything up, and turn it off, jump under a warm blanket and read a book. I didn't, I persevered, and figured it out. I was pretty proud of myself. That was a huge accomplishment for me.
I downloaded the page, and printed it off. I finished filling out all of the pertinent information. I had to go to the bank to get out a money order to send to them, plus an additional fifty dollars to have it expedited in five business days. This cruise is really taking a lot of work, and we haven't even set sail yet.
Government offices, computers, and electronics. Three things which are not my forte, but three things I had to endure today, mastered none, but mustered my way through. I am determined my husband will be stuck with me on that cruise.
My friend Char, was our guarantor, stating she has known us for more than two years, and that we are in fact who we say we are. She filled out, signed the back of our passport photos and signed the documents. My husband and I, filled out the remaining information, enclosing supporting identification and documents. Easy peasy right...wrong!
Oh no, that would be easy, and heaven knows, I never take the easy route. The ladies who helped us were absolutely wonderful! They were efficient, courteous, and pleasant. I, had to go to a different person than my husband. I handed her my information, and she was checking things off as she went through all of the documentation, Things were going smoothly, and I was thinking to myself that we would be in and out in less than an hour. Yahoo!
Then it happened. The catastrophic thing that always seems to happen when I am dealing with government paperwork. I hit a snag. It seems, I needed to have my marriage licence as part of my supporting documentation. Oh oh, I wasn't told that when I called yesterday to ensure this wouldn't happen. "Do I need it?" I asked laughingly. The lady helping me shook her head sympathetically yes. "Lets say I'm not married, who cares?" I said, desperately trying a different approach. I was told that wouldn't work either because the last name on my birth certificate and the last name on my drivers licence were different. Hence, the need for the marriage licence.
Truth be told, the last time I even looked at my marriage licence, I was signing it! My husband put it in the front of our family bible, and I'm not really sure where it is. Since moving here two years ago, some things have remained packed away in a box. It was quicker to get a new one.
When we came home, I drove to two different government offices to send away for a replacement marriage licence. Neither office would help me, being as it was not their department. I wanted to scream now. There it was, government offices and me...like oil and vinegar. I had to go home, go online, and print the application form, fill it out, send in the money and wait for it to be sent, then drive back to the passport office, show them the licence, then wait for my passport. Things were getting close and the deadline was tight.
My husband was blabbing in my ear about taking too long to get my passport. He was right of course, I had procrastinated. Whenever I complain about something, he always says "I don't deal with problems, I deal with solutions." So, when he was blabbing about me taking too long, and look at the mess you are in, I told him to "Shut up and deal me a solution!" He looked at me and said "Well, I am okay, I'm getting my passport, I guess I will be on the Love Boat by myself.
This of course made me want to punch him, and lucky him, I was driving when he was blathering on about my inability to get my passport.
My husband went to work, and I pulled out our laptop, and found the government site. I had to print it off, I couldn't fill it out and pay online. AAAhhh!! Any other site you can, but not this one. My son pulled out our new printer, and popped the ink cartridges in. We loaded the paper, set it up and...nothing. Hmmm. We checked the directions again. My son and I, could not agree on the proper installation of the paper tray, he pushed it in, and I was yelling at him that it wasn't right. It was, that's why I don't work with electronics, or government offices for that matter. The printer printed a test paper and it was great. We were in business.
I went back to the government web page to download the page to print, but my computer needed some sort of upgrade to download this file. "What?" This laptop is only three weeks
old, what possible upgrades could it need? I was beginning to hyperventilate, and my son had just left, probably because he was frustrated by my madness.
I could download it on my phone just fine without any upgrades. "Oh for heavens sake!" I wanted to close everything up, and turn it off, jump under a warm blanket and read a book. I didn't, I persevered, and figured it out. I was pretty proud of myself. That was a huge accomplishment for me.
I downloaded the page, and printed it off. I finished filling out all of the pertinent information. I had to go to the bank to get out a money order to send to them, plus an additional fifty dollars to have it expedited in five business days. This cruise is really taking a lot of work, and we haven't even set sail yet.
Government offices, computers, and electronics. Three things which are not my forte, but three things I had to endure today, mastered none, but mustered my way through. I am determined my husband will be stuck with me on that cruise.
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