Thursday, November 5, 2009

My Brief Love Affair with the Federal Government

I heart my federal passport agency and there is not one iota of facetiousness in this day five blog entry (or whatever day it is). What a delightful group of people. The task without negotiation this week was to renew my passport which went way sour in early September. Of course I procrastinated and left it unchecked in a variety of to do lists: on my white dry erase board to do list, my tiny black leather book for thoughts and to do lists, my work notebook to do lists, and a post it that got stuck in a variety of places over the last few months, my forehead being the most memorable. The least effective, the bottom of my rain boot.

So I had to do this quickly with a looming trip to Canada next week (what the hell Canada, the driver's license isn't good enough for you anymore? Thought we were neighbors. Jackasses.) and then off to Ethiopia at the end of the month. Thought this would be a field trip into the butt end of hell. But these federal folks were not only charming, funny and average looking, they were also the most sincere people behind glass on the planet! I think I was called "sweetheart" not once but twice, and I'm a sucker for nicknames that make me feel girly and physically tiny. Some construction worker called me "baby girl" and I didn't know whether to slap him or giggle.

Anyway, no wait in line, got served pronto, compliments on my photo, offers to give me the "bible passport" that has over 1000 pages to fill. Lovely folk. Started the day off well and it really just got better.

And, looking down from the federal agency wall, was the most charming federal employee of all.

He made me feel girly.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I heart inappropriate government reps calling me girlie things too. I once had a Puerto Rican-American cop in Miami call me "mammi" when giving me directions. Love that.

I am heartened that not all federal employees with rubber stamp jobs turn into zit faced zombies.

And, Canadadian customs (I just returned myself) is no joke, and do NOT go thru Montreal if one can help it. Toronto is much better. But they will lose your luggage if you do not have at least two hours in between connecting flights (if you are traveling on somewhere). Yikes. And despite the label that they are our kinder gentler neighbors to the north (no, no Nanuk) their customs agents and surrounding personell have no sense of humor. If you get called Babydoll in the passport line I want audio evidence.

InventingLiz said...

I had the smoothest experiences during my homestudy/dossier paperchasing at the 2 places I least expected to enjoy visiting - getting my clearance letter at Boston police headquarters (where the cop who ran me through the metal detector got all excited that I was adopting and wished me good luck when I was leaving) and being fingerprinted for CIS (they tell you to wait until your # is called, but they have staff circulating in the waiting area and if they see that you are done filling out your paperwork they will wave you on to the next station even if your number hasn't been called).

Glad your passport experience was pleasant!