Another Epic Akume Adventure
My plan for today was to *FINALLY* get my Arizona state ID so that I can finish the requirements needed to renew my state health insurance because people are stupid and like to change the rules for no apparent reason. This plan was *slightly* hindered by suddenly finding myself awake at 4:00 in the morning and unable to go back to sleep after only five hours of actual rest, but between a large bottled vanilla frappuchino, ice cold shower at 7:00am -Shivers-, and judicious application of make-up to hide the bags under my eyes, I persevered. purplestripe66 dropped me off at the DMV just before 8:00, where I waited patiently in line for the doors to open so I could get my id and walk over to Wal-Mart to wait for Ruby to get off work at 1:00. While I was waiting I got a call from her warning me something about Wal-Mart not being where she'd thought it was, and something to do with a street name and across the street, but it was kind of hard to hear. I figured it would make more sense once I headed over that way.
Then I got up to the information counter, and discovered that I didn't have my birth certificate with me. Without my birth certificate, they will not even let me further into the building, let alone give me an ID. My Idaho state ID only counts as a secondary ID apparently, as does my Social Security card. Had it been an actual driver's license, this wouldn't have been a problem it seems, but there it is. In fact, the lack of birth certificate is the reason I couldn't get my ID the *first* time I attempted this.
So, at 8:15am, I'm left with the choice of going to Wal-Mart and waiting for Ruby to get off work, then attempting again tomorrow, or walking the 2.49 miles home to figure out where my birth certificate went. Possibly then walking back to the DMV to make my *third* attempt at getting this done.
Fuck this. I walked home to find the damn thing and come back. I was bound and determined that this would be done TODAY. Not tomorrow. Not by the end of the week. *Today*.
The walk home was just over an hour. In all fairness, this was due in part to the fact that I stopped to take pictures a few times (I always carry my camera in my pocket, just in case) and that I made a Walgreens run to get two one liters of Mountain Dew, 'cause they have a 2 for $3 special going and I wanted more caffeine. I downed half my Code Red by the time I made it back to the house. Got home, used the restroom, and then spent twenty-five minutes tearing my room apart to figure out where the hell my birth certificate, the one I had to *order* from the state of California JUST FOR THIS DAMN ID, went.
I finally found it on top of the little white shelf-thing on top of my dresser, right beside my bedroom door. -Bangs head against desk-
So, I started the walk back just after 9:30. According to the Walgreens advertising display, it was seventy-eight degrees outside by that point, which is actually pretty good for Arizona. Granted, it didn't *feel* good, as I was sweating like hell, but. I took more pictures along the way, mostly of birds, trees, and the gorgeous man-made waterfall they have at one point along the roadside (It's mostly used for family portraits according to Ruby, but it's still really pretty). Tried to rescue a poor cactus-bush-thing that someone had dumped their beer bottle into - complete with lime. The cactus-bush kindly repaid me by stabbing me viciously in the arm. The fact that I'm still alive leads me to believe it probably wasn't poisonous. (Okay, I bled for like ten minutes. But still.) By the time I made it back to the DMV, my Code Red was gone, as was the 20oz. bottle of water I'd paused to stuff into my messenger bag on my way back out the door. I was still sweating like mad, so I paused just outside the DMV to remove my hat, brush my hair, and fix my face powder.
They were supposed to be taking my picture. My hair was literally soaked with sweat, and half the make-up on my forehead was gone. I was *not* being vain. -Sniffs-
Went inside, got back in line to attempt to be allowed in the damn building again. After presenting my birth certificate, Idaho state ID, *and* my Social Security card, I was finally given a form to fill out. My handwriting was a little shaky by that point, because my hands were literally shaking after all the walking and the fact that I was kind of dehydrated. (And I didn't grab anything to eat before I left. Either time. Go me. -_-;;;) But, I managed to get everything filled in, returned to the information desk, and was, AT LAST, given a ticket and told to go wait for them to call me.
The building this particular DMV office is in is actually very pretty. The waiting room is in the shape of a hexagon, with a giant sky light in the center above where the waiting area is. There's three TV screens where they display advertisements and other random things for you to stare at while you wait, and there's an electronic display board that shows you which tickets are currently being served, and where. They also announce which ones are being called, and there's a display over each of the windows so you know where you're going. It's kind of nice, because half the time I was sure I was going to miss my number. ^.^;;
I got called to my window, where my information was taken and typed up. I paid my twelve dollars and got my change. The lady was very nice, but I was trying not to twitch while I watched her type. (Seriously: does *everyone* who works in government offices type so incredibly slow? >.O++) She gave me back my paperwork and told me to wait by the camera for my name to be called.
The camera consisted of walking up, signing a piece of paper, being told to step back to the green box, 'Look up, one, two, three!' with a click on three. I didn't even have time to smile. (Not that I wanted to by that point, but.) Then I was told to go wait for her to call my name, which should take me about two minutes.
... Okay?
Two minutes later, I thought I heard someone say my name, so I walked up just to be sure. I was handed my new ID card. The picture's better than I expected actually, considering I'm not smiling, I'm sweaty and cranky, and I have massive bags under my eyes today. (Ruby claims it would look better if I was smiling, but I'm fairly pleased with it all things considered. Besides, I have a thing for ID pictures where I don’t smile. *)
All of this took forty-five minutes.
....
-Twitches-
The next hour and fifteen minutes was spent walking up the street, then back down to the grocery store I'd passed on my way home, first in search of Wal-Mart, then just in hopes of finding some place to *eat*. Turns out that store doesn't really carry anything vegetarian in their deli. -Grumbles- I miss working next to Trader Joe's, damn it.
So I gave up asked the employees if they could direct me to Wal-Mart. One of them didn't know, but the other one told me 'Oh, go down to this street and make a right.' Which happened to be the street I'd just *come* from. -Twitches again-
So I headed back, and made a right. *Fortunately* it occurred to me about maybe fifty feet from the stoplight that it looked more like I was heading into a residential area than towards Wal-Mart, and remembered that I happened to have my bus book in my messenger bag - which comes with a map. After checking it, I realized I should have made a *left*, and Very Irritably headed back to the stoplight and across the street.
At which point I noticed the street Ruby had told me to look for, and guessed (correctly) that Wal-Mart was on the other side of it.
-Twitches more-
By the time I made it to Wal-Mart, Ruby was supposed to be getting off work in fifteen minutes. I celebrated my arrival by attacking their McDonald's inside for fries and a side salad, and the largest soda I could get my hands on.** Ruby showed up while I was working on my salad.
The rest of the day was devoted to Ruby making a run to Sportsman's Warehouse while I looked through Wal-Mart's $5 sunglasses to replace my broken pair, then a quick but thorough shopping trip before heading home. Ruby has now reorganized the fridge, and I am curled up in my chair debating a nap. I'm tired, but I'm not sure if I'm tired enough to actually sleep yet.
My *feet* on the other hand ...
You know that feeling that someone's stabbing the ball of your foot repeatedly with a needle? Yeah. It's like that. My knees aren't real happy with me, either. >.< But then, as Ruby pointed out, the road I was walking isn't straight as YahooMaps claims it to be. And they say it's 2.49 miles *driving*, which is not the same as walking. So really all in all, I probably walked a good seven miles or so today.
On the plus side, I now have several new pretty pictures, found sufficient evidence through texting that rosabelle is either alive or has had her phone stolen by a very efficient impersonator, and most importantly, have *FINALLY* been recognized as an official resident of Arizona. I would probably be more excited about this if I was not so damn tired.
-Yawns- I think I'm gonna lay down and see if I find myself unconscious or not, and then go from there.
* When I went to college, I spent my very first day taking ... I think it was four hours all total? Maybe it was six ... getting registered. There was a lot of hoops to go through and a bunch of ridiculous bullshit, so basically by the time they were taking my picture for my student ID, I was really pissed off. So pissed off in fact, that I actually glared at the camera and refused to smile. Between the fact that this was during the time I had my hair boycut and just the general look on my face, it was actually one of the best pictures I’d ever had taken. Ever since then I generally don’t smile for ID pictures, because they just seem to come out better that way.
** I used to know someone who managed a McDonald's. He was able to verify for me that their french fries *are* in fact, vegetarian.
*** It never fails to amuse me that Wal-Mart is actually in Microsoft Word’s spell check. Frappuchino is not, but it should be. -Adds it-
-Hmms- I'm starting to forget what topics my tags are supposed to be for. That's probably a bad thing, huh?
Then I got up to the information counter, and discovered that I didn't have my birth certificate with me. Without my birth certificate, they will not even let me further into the building, let alone give me an ID. My Idaho state ID only counts as a secondary ID apparently, as does my Social Security card. Had it been an actual driver's license, this wouldn't have been a problem it seems, but there it is. In fact, the lack of birth certificate is the reason I couldn't get my ID the *first* time I attempted this.
So, at 8:15am, I'm left with the choice of going to Wal-Mart and waiting for Ruby to get off work, then attempting again tomorrow, or walking the 2.49 miles home to figure out where my birth certificate went. Possibly then walking back to the DMV to make my *third* attempt at getting this done.
Fuck this. I walked home to find the damn thing and come back. I was bound and determined that this would be done TODAY. Not tomorrow. Not by the end of the week. *Today*.
The walk home was just over an hour. In all fairness, this was due in part to the fact that I stopped to take pictures a few times (I always carry my camera in my pocket, just in case) and that I made a Walgreens run to get two one liters of Mountain Dew, 'cause they have a 2 for $3 special going and I wanted more caffeine. I downed half my Code Red by the time I made it back to the house. Got home, used the restroom, and then spent twenty-five minutes tearing my room apart to figure out where the hell my birth certificate, the one I had to *order* from the state of California JUST FOR THIS DAMN ID, went.
I finally found it on top of the little white shelf-thing on top of my dresser, right beside my bedroom door. -Bangs head against desk-
So, I started the walk back just after 9:30. According to the Walgreens advertising display, it was seventy-eight degrees outside by that point, which is actually pretty good for Arizona. Granted, it didn't *feel* good, as I was sweating like hell, but. I took more pictures along the way, mostly of birds, trees, and the gorgeous man-made waterfall they have at one point along the roadside (It's mostly used for family portraits according to Ruby, but it's still really pretty). Tried to rescue a poor cactus-bush-thing that someone had dumped their beer bottle into - complete with lime. The cactus-bush kindly repaid me by stabbing me viciously in the arm. The fact that I'm still alive leads me to believe it probably wasn't poisonous. (Okay, I bled for like ten minutes. But still.) By the time I made it back to the DMV, my Code Red was gone, as was the 20oz. bottle of water I'd paused to stuff into my messenger bag on my way back out the door. I was still sweating like mad, so I paused just outside the DMV to remove my hat, brush my hair, and fix my face powder.
They were supposed to be taking my picture. My hair was literally soaked with sweat, and half the make-up on my forehead was gone. I was *not* being vain. -Sniffs-
Went inside, got back in line to attempt to be allowed in the damn building again. After presenting my birth certificate, Idaho state ID, *and* my Social Security card, I was finally given a form to fill out. My handwriting was a little shaky by that point, because my hands were literally shaking after all the walking and the fact that I was kind of dehydrated. (And I didn't grab anything to eat before I left. Either time. Go me. -_-;;;) But, I managed to get everything filled in, returned to the information desk, and was, AT LAST, given a ticket and told to go wait for them to call me.
The building this particular DMV office is in is actually very pretty. The waiting room is in the shape of a hexagon, with a giant sky light in the center above where the waiting area is. There's three TV screens where they display advertisements and other random things for you to stare at while you wait, and there's an electronic display board that shows you which tickets are currently being served, and where. They also announce which ones are being called, and there's a display over each of the windows so you know where you're going. It's kind of nice, because half the time I was sure I was going to miss my number. ^.^;;
I got called to my window, where my information was taken and typed up. I paid my twelve dollars and got my change. The lady was very nice, but I was trying not to twitch while I watched her type. (Seriously: does *everyone* who works in government offices type so incredibly slow? >.O++) She gave me back my paperwork and told me to wait by the camera for my name to be called.
The camera consisted of walking up, signing a piece of paper, being told to step back to the green box, 'Look up, one, two, three!' with a click on three. I didn't even have time to smile. (Not that I wanted to by that point, but.) Then I was told to go wait for her to call my name, which should take me about two minutes.
... Okay?
Two minutes later, I thought I heard someone say my name, so I walked up just to be sure. I was handed my new ID card. The picture's better than I expected actually, considering I'm not smiling, I'm sweaty and cranky, and I have massive bags under my eyes today. (Ruby claims it would look better if I was smiling, but I'm fairly pleased with it all things considered. Besides, I have a thing for ID pictures where I don’t smile. *)
All of this took forty-five minutes.
....
-Twitches-
The next hour and fifteen minutes was spent walking up the street, then back down to the grocery store I'd passed on my way home, first in search of Wal-Mart, then just in hopes of finding some place to *eat*. Turns out that store doesn't really carry anything vegetarian in their deli. -Grumbles- I miss working next to Trader Joe's, damn it.
So I gave up asked the employees if they could direct me to Wal-Mart. One of them didn't know, but the other one told me 'Oh, go down to this street and make a right.' Which happened to be the street I'd just *come* from. -Twitches again-
So I headed back, and made a right. *Fortunately* it occurred to me about maybe fifty feet from the stoplight that it looked more like I was heading into a residential area than towards Wal-Mart, and remembered that I happened to have my bus book in my messenger bag - which comes with a map. After checking it, I realized I should have made a *left*, and Very Irritably headed back to the stoplight and across the street.
At which point I noticed the street Ruby had told me to look for, and guessed (correctly) that Wal-Mart was on the other side of it.
-Twitches more-
By the time I made it to Wal-Mart, Ruby was supposed to be getting off work in fifteen minutes. I celebrated my arrival by attacking their McDonald's inside for fries and a side salad, and the largest soda I could get my hands on.** Ruby showed up while I was working on my salad.
The rest of the day was devoted to Ruby making a run to Sportsman's Warehouse while I looked through Wal-Mart's $5 sunglasses to replace my broken pair, then a quick but thorough shopping trip before heading home. Ruby has now reorganized the fridge, and I am curled up in my chair debating a nap. I'm tired, but I'm not sure if I'm tired enough to actually sleep yet.
My *feet* on the other hand ...
You know that feeling that someone's stabbing the ball of your foot repeatedly with a needle? Yeah. It's like that. My knees aren't real happy with me, either. >.< But then, as Ruby pointed out, the road I was walking isn't straight as YahooMaps claims it to be. And they say it's 2.49 miles *driving*, which is not the same as walking. So really all in all, I probably walked a good seven miles or so today.
On the plus side, I now have several new pretty pictures, found sufficient evidence through texting that rosabelle is either alive or has had her phone stolen by a very efficient impersonator, and most importantly, have *FINALLY* been recognized as an official resident of Arizona. I would probably be more excited about this if I was not so damn tired.
-Yawns- I think I'm gonna lay down and see if I find myself unconscious or not, and then go from there.
* When I went to college, I spent my very first day taking ... I think it was four hours all total? Maybe it was six ... getting registered. There was a lot of hoops to go through and a bunch of ridiculous bullshit, so basically by the time they were taking my picture for my student ID, I was really pissed off. So pissed off in fact, that I actually glared at the camera and refused to smile. Between the fact that this was during the time I had my hair boycut and just the general look on my face, it was actually one of the best pictures I’d ever had taken. Ever since then I generally don’t smile for ID pictures, because they just seem to come out better that way.
** I used to know someone who managed a McDonald's. He was able to verify for me that their french fries *are* in fact, vegetarian.
*** It never fails to amuse me that Wal-Mart is actually in Microsoft Word’s spell check. Frappuchino is not, but it should be. -Adds it-
-Hmms- I'm starting to forget what topics my tags are supposed to be for. That's probably a bad thing, huh?