I began the process of getting my passport this week. I went to Service Canada and they gave me a list of what I need to do. 1. Fill out application. 2. Get passport photos done at Shoppers Drug Mart. 3. Have a guarantor sign my application and one photo. Then I bring everything back to Service Canada and wait 6 to 8 weeks for my passport. I began to fill out the application and saw that I needed my birth certificate. I looked at my desk and realized that it was missing. I searched through the mess in my office and could not locate it. I asked Karen if she had any idea where it was, but she was not sure if we might have put it in a document file. She has many ways of storing important things, so it took her some time to go through everything. It was not there either. I checked on top of our shelves in the bedroom, in my night table and the desk in the bedroom. Nothing. I was getting worried that I might have accidentally thrown it away. I decided that I would dismantle my office the next day. I got up Friday morning and went into my office and dreaded what I had to do. I started checking the desk, even though I had already taken apart my drawers and emptied everything from them and there was no sign of my birth certificate. I then went to my book shelves thinking that maybe I put on top of one of shelves and it slid behind. I took everything out and which is about 100 books. Although the shelves were dusty there was no certificate there. I was getting very frustrated. I was running out of places to look. I looked under and over stuff. Checked out everything on my desk. I was at a loss. The next thing to do was apply for a replacement. Have any of you reading this blog ever had to get a replacement birth certificate. They want to know things like what hospital your Mom was born in and how much she weighed. Then where your Dad was born, what hospital and how much he weighed. I might be exaggerating a little bit, but not by much. By the end of trying to find out as much information as I could ( it’s really hard to find stuff out about your parents when they are no longer with us ), I had to get someone that I have known for two years from a very small list of professionals. The only one I could use was my Doctor. I then thought that this would be costly. Usually my Doctor charges around $50.00 to $150 for things like that. So out of desperation I check back in one of my office drawers that I had already checked. I went from top to bottom and pulling everything out. That’s when I found it. It was in this blue container. I was very happy. That was short lived. I tell Karen about my discovery. I went online to fill out the application and it asked for two pieces of I.D. I thought I had them: a drivers license and another I.D. But when I checked, my license had expired on May 9th. I was frustrated. I told Karen and headed to the registry. I waited for a long time behind some people with complex issues. Mine was simple: I just needed to renew my license. Finally, it was my turn. I told the lady in the window what I needed. She asked for my license and started the process. Then she told me I needed a driver medical. I was shocked but didn’t say anything and left. Across from our place there was a clinic with a nurse who charged $25 plus $160 for a driver medical. They had a spot for the next day, but I had another appointment. The next day was Wednesday, when I was getting bad teeth pulled out. No thanks. The next one was Friday. I took it. I went home and told Karen and she called my doctor to get an earlier appointment. She got one for Thursday. This should be the final step. I know this has been a crapfest of a post, but it feels good to get that all off my chest. The weight has somewhat been lifted. This is all I have to say and remember; “Some people are like a bag pampers, self absorbed and full of shit!”