Produktiv Mittwoch

You would not even believe how very productive my Wednesday was. It was a most unusual kind of productivity as well. The very hardest to achieve I might say. It was not a day of laundry, shopping, ironing, or vacuuming (although those things need to be done now) but rather take all of the places that are most dreaded to visit, and that is where I was...taking care of business.

In the early afternoon, after I had mapped out my day and made a few calls, I drove to downtown and went to the county office. Here I filled out a form, waited 30 or so minutes, paid $25 and got copies of our marriage license! Yay!

I then drove a few blocks over to the Social Securities office and weaved in and out of the surrounding blocks at least 7 times looking for parking. I finally found a metered spot only to realize that I had no change. Only pennies. Blast. So I drove some more until I found an overpriced lot and gave up.

I paid for an hour, hurried into the building, found the office in the directory, jumped in an open elevator, only to discover that although this elevator had many shiny buttons, it skipped the floor I needed. When the woman I was riding with asked me which floor I needed, I stared blankly at the numbers and muttered, "Eight" which was clearly discriminated against in this particular elevator.

She chuckled (yes, isn't this just hilarious.) and told me to get to the 8th floor I would need to get off this elevator at floor 14, take the next elevator back down to the lobby, then go to the other side of the wall and take one of those to the 8th floor. I did as she instructed only to find that this was the wrong Social Security office. The guard pulled out a map and told me "how fortunate" I was that the building I was looking for was only 10 minutes walking distance from where we were. Oh Joy.

So I went back down that elevator.

As I speed walked with the directions he gave me, I realized that this man had never himself walked the path that he had drawn out. Because the first street I was supposed to walk down dead-ended into a large building. Fortunately I know downtown well enough that I made my way to the building.

this is about what the wait looked like

I checked in, got a number and took a seat with all of my paperwork in hand. After 25 minutes of waiting, I realized that I was still 34 people away and had only 15 minutes left for my parking. So I left the building (much to the surprise of the guard by the door, he must have thought that I had just given up - and only 25 minutes into the wait! Oh no, I knew better what to expect from this experience) and I flew back to the parking lot. I really am not a fan of walking in downtown, but I got over it and just kept speed walking.

Made it to the car, drove to the building, parked across the street for $2 more than the last lot, and jogged back into the building. I took a seat again and took deep breaths, straightening my now wind-blown and agitated hair. 45 minutes later I was called in, the gentleman was very kind and ordered my new social security card with Heidi Diehl printed on it in less than 10 minutes. It should come in the mail in a week.

Wonderful. I left feeling immensely proud of myself. So proud, I decided to go to the DMV and just knock out the last of the name changing horrors. I know, I must have been high or something to take on that last one.

I had an hour and a half before they closed so I happily drove over, and looked for parking. It was at this point that I noticed that I was in trouble. It took me 10-15 minutes to find a spot. Never a good sign.

That and the building looked something like this:


I waited a very long time, and eavesdropped on many a conversation before getting to the front where you present your case, and they determine if you are good enough and competent enough to wait in another one of their lines to speak to another person. I don't know about you people, but I have a small confession. When I am standing and waiting for something like that, I tend to start rehearsing what I'm going to say in my head. So when I get to the front I'm not one of those people that uses too many "uhmms" and stumbles through explaining why they've been standing in line for for the past half hour.

He favored my case and gave me a number. I squeezed my way through a throng of people, tripped one guy and did a back flip over another to get the last remaining seat and filled out some new paperwork.

1.5 hours later my number was called and I had a new drivers license ordered. The whole time I had been sitting and waiting, I had been debating in a very girly manner, whether or not I really wanted to do this...after all, they take a new picture and I had not exactly gotten up this morning with that in mind. Combine that with the speed walking in windy downtown I had just done. I felt my picture would certainly not be the most flattering.


However, the stubborn side of me won out, reasoning that I would not want to come back in the morning to wait again. True that.

So folks. I now have a new social security card with my new name on it, a new drivers license, and my marriage license - all stating that I am indeed now Heidi Diehl! This weekend will be bank accounts with the mister and then we will have done it!

And now I am exhausted just from relaying all the line waiting again. I need a nap.

More later. xoxo