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naruki_oniYesterday was a busy day for me. Though usually disorganized, I had prepared the night before by printing out maps and downloading directions to my PDA.
So in the morning bright and early (crack of noon) I got in my car (anyone want to buy a car real quick?) and headed off to Sutton MA. Apparently, that's the only USDA office to service 5 states.
The directions they had provided seemed simple enough, but on the last leg they got the number of stop lights wrong, and the name of the plaza was slightly wrong, too. In some places, that is. One of which was the directions that I was using. Some of the directions for people coming from other places had the right name. Very confusing.
This being a typical Massachusetts state highway, there was no way to turn around for 6 miles (I counted). Needless to say, I was a bit late, but no harm done.
Except the lady looked at the health certificate and told me my vet had stamped it, not signed it. Uh oh.
She said that the official USDA-certified vet who would put the USDA seal on the certificate may or may not accept such improper documentation. The one who comes in on other days definitely wouldn't, but the one who was there yesterday might be more lenient. (I certainly hope so.)
She disappeared back into the office without telling me to wait (she did this several times). Then she came back out to ask why my vet didn't feel confident enough to check off the other two of three checkboxes about how confident he was my kitties are healthy and rabies-free.
Um, maybe he didn't read the certificate very carefully? (She frowned at that and disappeared again without a word.)
Ultimately, I got really lucky and they stamped both certificates, took my money (even though it's supposed to be complimentary), and away I went without having to make a return trip. Whew!
Then I was off to meet a net friend who lived nearby. Remember how I said "Though usually disorganized" at the beginning of this entry? Well, turns out I hadn't downloaded the directions to my PDA like I thought. So I managed to burn off the two hours I thought would be spent waiting in a bookstore by trying to find the bookstore. Apparently I drove past it about 3 times without noticing.
She and her SO treated me to a nice dinner at John Harvard's Pub, and in return I tricked them into taking a whole bunch of my junk so I wouldn't have to throw it away in my own dumpster.
Needless to say, they probably won't be coming here to see me any time soon. ;-)
And then today I find out that the (hopefully) last credit card bill I have will damn near suck up all the remaining money in my checking account (the rest having just recently been wired to Japan). Oh damn. Plus, a couple of minor charges hadn't posted yet, so my account will be utterly wiped out with just a tiny bit in the black - unless the bank pulls another service charge on me.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
By the way, did I mention that I only want $10K for my car?
So in the morning bright and early (crack of noon) I got in my car (anyone want to buy a car real quick?) and headed off to Sutton MA. Apparently, that's the only USDA office to service 5 states.
The directions they had provided seemed simple enough, but on the last leg they got the number of stop lights wrong, and the name of the plaza was slightly wrong, too. In some places, that is. One of which was the directions that I was using. Some of the directions for people coming from other places had the right name. Very confusing.
This being a typical Massachusetts state highway, there was no way to turn around for 6 miles (I counted). Needless to say, I was a bit late, but no harm done.
Except the lady looked at the health certificate and told me my vet had stamped it, not signed it. Uh oh.
She said that the official USDA-certified vet who would put the USDA seal on the certificate may or may not accept such improper documentation. The one who comes in on other days definitely wouldn't, but the one who was there yesterday might be more lenient. (I certainly hope so.)
She disappeared back into the office without telling me to wait (she did this several times). Then she came back out to ask why my vet didn't feel confident enough to check off the other two of three checkboxes about how confident he was my kitties are healthy and rabies-free.
Um, maybe he didn't read the certificate very carefully? (She frowned at that and disappeared again without a word.)
Ultimately, I got really lucky and they stamped both certificates, took my money (even though it's supposed to be complimentary), and away I went without having to make a return trip. Whew!
Then I was off to meet a net friend who lived nearby. Remember how I said "Though usually disorganized" at the beginning of this entry? Well, turns out I hadn't downloaded the directions to my PDA like I thought. So I managed to burn off the two hours I thought would be spent waiting in a bookstore by trying to find the bookstore. Apparently I drove past it about 3 times without noticing.
She and her SO treated me to a nice dinner at John Harvard's Pub, and in return I tricked them into taking a whole bunch of my junk so I wouldn't have to throw it away in my own dumpster.
Needless to say, they probably won't be coming here to see me any time soon. ;-)
And then today I find out that the (hopefully) last credit card bill I have will damn near suck up all the remaining money in my checking account (the rest having just recently been wired to Japan). Oh damn. Plus, a couple of minor charges hadn't posted yet, so my account will be utterly wiped out with just a tiny bit in the black - unless the bank pulls another service charge on me.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
By the way, did I mention that I only want $10K for my car?
