Another Day, Another Ordeal

These are ptarmigan that I saw on the way to Hay River....

It should have been an ordinary day, with some errands in Hay River, 155 kms away. It wasn't. I mean, how could it be. I have been ordeal free too long, heh heh. The start was rough, with about 60kms in and I suddenly need to find a restroom...bwah, ha ha...on the entire stretch of road there is but 2 outhouses, and no restrooms...and for the life of me I couldn't remember what km they were at, but I did know I NEEDED to go. After putting it off as long as I could, I was stomping through the snowbank in my skirt and sneakers, and a box of tissues...sigh...we were off to a fine start already...

My main reason for the trek was to transfer my license and plates from Yukon to NWT. It was the first place I went, as we were on limited time before they closed, getting into town at about 3:15pm, and they close at 5pm. I had a friend with me, who was going in for the same reason. She managed to whip right through but when I got up, thinking I had everything I needed, as Iwas filling out the form in front of her, I realized I did not have my letter from Lasik MD saying I had my eye surgery. Dammit. So I asked to use the phone there...they had plenty of them since the Motor Vehicle Registration is also the Northwest Tel Service Counter, AND an Auto Insurance Company. I called to speak to my boss because she is the only one with a key to my trailer, which is where I left the letter. I called and was hoping that my friend's husband could go to my trailer and get it for me, as he is retired, and my boss was in a meeting. Well she called the husband and there was no answer. Rats, now what to do. My boss then offered (somewhat reluctantly but I can't blame her) to go to my trailer and root for my paper and then fax it to the DMV. Of course, the thought of landlord/boss going into my trailer without me being able to prepare a little (you know, clean up the mess) was cause for anxiety, but at least there was nothing incriminating left laying around, lol...while I wait for her I decide to head out and take my recycling back, dropping my friend off at The Woodshed, a nice coffee shop and craft store.

So then I am off to the recycling depot for the first time. It's a big warehouse and you knock on a wooden sliding half-door. I have to ask how things work at this one, because they're all different I reckon. I was informed I had to sort AND count my pieces, so they know how many are there. WTF? I can see the sorting part, even though there wasn't a thing and site and I was still out in the parking lot, standing at this window, but you want ME to count it? What in the hell will YOU be doing then? Apparently all they do is caculate your money and take your stuff on faith...or is it pure laziness...usually they take it from you and count it to be sure. I wouldn't trust anyone to give you the right numbers. But whatever...so I grope my way through that nasty task, with some of the items being sticky and gross looking. There was recycling left here when I moved in, and that was several weeks old then.

Off to the DMV to see if my paper came in from my boss...nope. Off to the drug store to drop off a script, then into Quick Print to pick up an order for our office, chuck that in the back seat, and I'm off to the DMV again to see if my paper is in...nope...so I go back to Quick Print where I know the guy there a little better and ask to use the phone and phone my boss. She couldn't find it, but faxed in another letter, but it just was some auto mailer from Lasik MD, and had nothing about my prescription or surgery on it. I don't even think it was addressed to me, lol. So that was a bust...I then decided to call Lasik MD and see if they could just fax a copy of the letter they gave me for the DMV. That was a lesson in Duh...after explaining three times what I needed it for, and why I needed her to send me something NOW, the MENSA candidate informs me that she guesses she can write something up and get the surgeon to sign it before he leaves today...um...no. I just told you that I need this in less than an hour, because they close and I live nearly 2 hours away, and my plates have expired. She apparently either didn't get it or didn't care. But then after I told her to fax it in anyway for the next time I'm there and hung up I was actually pretty pissed about it. I mean, I'm sure that the majority of people having laser surgery on their eyes are drivers, therefore requiring EVERYONE who is a driver to change their driver's license at some point to reflect that they no longer require corrective lenses. So you would think that my request wouldn't be that difficult, considering that they burn more than a dozen pairs of eyes a day, and nearly all of us have to get a letter from them to inform the Department of Transportation that we have had our vision corrected. Apparently it was, and I returned home later still without a new license.

After that I headed back to pick up my friend, who surely thought I had forgotten her in Hay River, lol...sorry I.! She was chillin' at the coffee shop, having bought some luscious treats - some kind of chocolate lined crepe cup filled with a creamy mousse...thanks I.! Then we were off like a Jewish foreskin (I think of my friend A. in Cape Breton when I say that...lol...she knows why) to finish up the errands. Funnily enough...we then saw some Bulls Balls hanging off the back of a pickup truck. At first I didn't believe it, but sure enough, we followed him around town for a bit, hoping he would stop, and I could snap a photo, however he kept driving around, going nowhere, and we had errands yet to run...

Back to the drugstore to pick up my meds - and it wasn't as expected so we had a word about that, and got that sorted out. Poked around and picked up a couple of greeting cards. Then we were off to North Mart (the grocery store) and I remembered I had wanted to stop at the liquor store and I never know their hours, moving from place to place like I do, except that in the north they are short for some strange reason (to reduce alcoholism...don't think its working). So I drop my friend at the store with the water bottles for our office (she works in a different one) where she graciously filled them for me (yay I.!) and I sped over to the liquor store. After all, it's a long weekend coming up, I have friends coming to visit. No crisis there, and back to the grocery store for my own stuff, then off to the airport to drop a package off for my boss, and we were then hurling back out of town again. What a whirlwind trip. Nothing is ever easy...and I am still without a polar bear, not to mention bulls balls...