Ah yes... "It won't take that long - shouldn't, anyway," I told my friend and neighbor when I asked her to take me into what passes for "town" in these-here parts. "After all, I spoke with them like 10 times already and everything that can be done from this end has been [or so I was led to believe], so I should be able to just go in there, sign some papers, and come right back out."
Fast-forward to 3:00pm, when I have just walked in the door!
I drove 15 minutes into "town" and waited for a fax from - who else? The US Government. Why did I need this fax? Because "The Company" would not allow them to accept the copious other documents I provided which have the same information. Bank statements with direct deposits, 2007 tax return, 2007 1099s (or whatever they are), on and on - down the line. Why couldn't they simply go online and get them? For the same reason they could not accept the documents I had printed from the Web: "The Company."
The real kicker? I could not call from their phone. That's right - "The Company." So I stayed on a cellphone until it ran out of minutes, then I had to go to a payphone, where I was charged over $3.00 to be placed on-hold for approximately 5 minutes.
The really real kicker? Gas prices are literally changing by the minute, so the police, media, and about 23490278349878 hillbillies have clogged the entire town as they rush every gas station in 20 miles, clamoring to fill their tanks before gas hits $5.00/gallon.
My trip - the one that "won't take that long" wound up taking four hours and costing me around $20.00. The really, really, real kicker? I did not accomplish a single thing.
© C Harris Lynn, 2008
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