August 29, 2001

     Well, it took nearly two years, but all my personal identification is finally switched back to my proper name and address.  my driver's license, my health card, bank accounts and etc.  No more having to explain that no, that is not my name - it just used to be and please don't call me that anymore.  And now there's absolutely no more ties to any old addresses.   i officially live here - my driver's license says so!  And i did draw the picture of the house.

     It was pretty interesting yesterday, getting the health card changed over.  i guess it's typical of a large city that being highly organized because of the large volume of people is important - but it sure felt like i was being "herded".   

     First there was a long line waiting at the reception desk   i nearly changed my mind right then, thinking that perhaps early in the morning would be a better time.  But the line seemed to be moving quickly, and Himself had spent a half hour driving me there - so i decided to go for it.

     i hate how they have those twisting dividers that you have to walk through.  i always feel really dorky walking through them - up one side, turn, walk back down the next one - and on and on.  But finally i did get to the end of the line and it did move fairly quickly.  

     It was interesting watching the reaction of the receptionist when, after her request for my marriage certificate, i emphatically stated i didn't have a clue where such a document was - that it was probably long ago in the garbage by now.  Luckily, it turned out i didn't need it.  

     So, i was handed a teeny slip of paper with a number on it, plus a larger form to fill out (no pen provided) and sent down a very long and twisting hallway, with the instructions of "watch the monitor for your number".  

     When i got to the end of the hall, i entered a much larger room than the first one, found a seat and looked for said monitor.  Turns out there were a whole bunch of them - fastened very high up on the wall.  There was also a lot of numbered booths were employees struggled to understand a gazillion different accents as people tried to explain their needs.  i still had the chance to leave, but because there were only 20 numbers ahead of mine, i decided to risk the wait.   

     So i waited.

     And waited.  i wasn't overly bored though, since one of my favourite pastimes is people watching.  In this multicultural city, there's a lot for me to see.  

     Finally the monitor pinged and my number came up.  Off i went to find the assigned booth.  An older woman, obviously a bit jaded from the daily grind of things, greeted me with a 'what do you need'.  i was determinedly cheerful.  My response; "i want to get rid of that ..." said in such a way as to sound horrified, brought a grin to her face.  She wasn't wearing a wedding ring either.

     Forms filled out, it was time for "the picture".  i always hate that part, and as per usual the resulting photo looked more like a mug shot than anything else.  One nice thing though, was that if you really hated it, they were willing to try again.  We didn't bother - she said; "sorry honey, you're just too white! I don't think we can get it any better."  And we both laughed then.

     By the time i left, i think she was in a much more lighthearted mood.  And i felt good too, knowing that i helped make her day just a little bit better.

     It's amazing what a smile can do. :)

        

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