After I arrived here in Portland and found a place to live, my main "jobs" were (1) to rest and recuperate, and (2) to pick up the pieces of my life that were scattered all over the place last August, and that, out of the necessities of the situation, I was not able to deal with in the interim. Sometimes, balancing those two jobs has been difficult. At the same time that I have needed not to have to think about anything, there have been an awful lot of things that have needed attention, and a lot of it has not gone smoothly, for various reasons.
One of these was getting my car registered in my new state of residence. My current auto registration expires at the end of May, and there are a lot of hoops you have to go through here, such as getting a vehicle emissions inspection. As I've gotten settled in, I'm starting to feel like I'm sticking out like a sore thumb, driving around with my license plate from Hancock County, Mississippi.
Problem is, as I've mentioned before, almost all of my personal and business papers were destroyed in the hurricane, so I'm having to replace them all. One of the first things I did when I got here was go down to the Social Security office and order a replacement Social Security card (kind of a necessity when you're looking for work.) I still haven't replaced my passport, since that's a relatively minor item on my priority list.
In order to register my car in my new state, I not only need my current auto registration (which fortunately I kept in the glove compartment of my car) but also my auto title, which I do not have. I called the Mississippi state agency that handles auto titles and was told that because everyone on the Gulf Coast is in the same predicament, they are having to process many thousands of requests for replacement auto titles. Therefore, it would likely take many weeks to get it to me. At the end of March, I called them back and asked if there were anything I could do to expedite things, and this time they told me that if I paid an extra fee ($30), they would get it to me sooner. The turn around time was supposed to be 72 hours, although I was not counting on that happening, under the circumstances.
I sent in my request and a $34 money order (they would not take a personal check) on Thursday, March 30, and yesterday when I went to my mailbox, there was my replacement auto title. Hallelujah!!! and Happy Easter to me. I feel as though I'm gradually being reborn, and this week feels like it's been a turning point. I started out on Monday depressed and despairing, and now I'm feeling a bit more grounded and optimistic, that things are going to right themselves and my life is going to be free to move forward.
hallelujah :)
i've been hearing that lately a lot, too !
Posted by: marlaine | Sunday, April 16, 2006 at 04:14 AM
Congrats Kitty>..now you can be mobile and plant new roots that grow strong....and of course now you have the chance to also get yourself a job you like, get there (without being ticketed since I doubt the "excuse me Officer but that mean nasty lady, Katrina, swallowed my title and so I couldn't get a new registration) would get one far. You are on your way (in more ways then one:)
Congrats again....I also hope when you find work its what you love doing....as I have said you a woman of substance and of many talents:)
Michael
Posted by: Michael | Sunday, April 16, 2006 at 11:00 AM
Thanks, guys (or guy and gal ;)). I'm starting to get comfortable with the idea that I can spend the rest of my life doing things that I enjoy and that I'm good at, and that can contribute something to the world -- and have that be a mutual thing. That seems so natural when you think about it, but it's not the way most of us were taught to approach life. I do believe that is changing, for all of us.
Posted by: Kitty | Sunday, April 16, 2006 at 07:04 PM
Hi Kitty
I'm glad that things are progressing for you. It really must be tough and a slow process to get all of these papers again.
If something like this happened in Australia, I'd like to think that they'd be a bit better at getting through this kind of paper work faster.
I hope that everything comes good for you soon and that you can do all the things you want and need to do :)
Posted by: AlwaysDare | Thursday, April 20, 2006 at 02:01 AM
I think in ordinary times they would have gotten the replacement title to me a lot faster. They've had to hire temporary workers to help and are still overwhelmed.
It's good to hear from you, Alwaysdare.
Posted by: Kitty | Sunday, April 23, 2006 at 03:52 AM