There are certain tasks that I dread to the point that I need to be forced or tricked into doing them. Renewing my passport was one of them. My parents told me to do it when my previous one expired around 2014. At the time I thought it was silly to renew it given I was a broke college student, I didn’t plan on traveling anytime soon, and the money I could scrounge up was being spent getting myself to EDC. I never did get around to renewing that thing.
Fast Forward to 2023. My dad announced his intentions to Air BnB a residence in Paris for the upcoming summer Olympics. He will be financing the rental, Olympic tickets, and some dining and activities while in the city. Exciting news to say the least, though the desire to acquire a passport was dreaded more than ever. You see, in the 9 years and numerous moves I made, I had lost the original passport. Not being the only document of value I have lost, my mother informed me I only had 1 original birth certificate left.
The certificate was mailed to me which increased the worries my conscious had about acquiring a new passport. I’m an adult now and should be able to keep important documents safe. I’m also me so I entrusted the document to my fiance. Unhappy that she was holding on to it with no visible actions on my part, she forced me to make an appointment with the post office.
I arrived at the post office the day after Christmas in a college town, thinking it would be a quick appointment. I was greeted by a line that extended to the entry door. The postal worker, seeing my paperwork in hand, exclaimed they wouldn’t be able to process any more Passport applications for the day. Unphased, I stood there. After a long back and forth between the employees that sounded more like a married couple bickering, they agreed to honor my appointment.
It took longer than expected since they were helping a couple with their passports. The provided entertainment helped ease the wait. There was a man that I deduced was a regular coming in with a stack of return mail. A lot of it was charity organizations, magazines, and other junk mail that the worker said he returned weekly. The sad part is, the guy is paying out of pocket to return this worthless mail. The entertainment came because the elderly man was deaf when his hearing aids were unplugged, which he does while he waits for the mail to be processed. The postal worker, knowing the man can’t hear, proceeds to roast him for the odd behavior.
By the time it was my turn, it actually went pretty quickly. It helped that all my paperwork was in order and I even had a photocopy of both sides of my Drivers License. As it was being processed, I was informed that the postal workers were in fact married. She had me take off my hat for the picture and almost refused to take the picture. I guess my hat hair was not cooperating. To ease her concerns I let her know that I will probably look much worse while travelling. I received my passport weeks later.
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