So here's what happened: Matty was told by some unnamed person that even though we just received our "civilian" passports in the mail, we are required to have "military" passports to travel on military orders. No big deal. Same paperwork for both. Well, this would have been nice to know BEFORE we wasted our time at the Passport Office and had my daughter late for school. Matty was just told that we had to go to the Passports Office on base...they didn't say what to bring, just that they accept walk-ins only and that dependents need to be present. We figured, that since it's the military, all we would need is our orders and Page 2. So we showed up bright and early at 8:00 a.m. ready to get things taken care of. We were "greeted" by a not-so-friendly-bitch who looked annoyed that we'd come without applications. She told us we would have to go to the Fleet and Family Building to use their computers to print out applications (but she didn't bother to tell us where that building is) and that we would need our original Birth Certificates (which we brought even though we were not told to bring...I happen to have them in my Getting-to-Guam Binder along with other important documents) and passport pictures. I was shocked that they don't take pictures there! I mean, you are the PASSPORT office for the military members and their family! You can't help a military family out and take their PASSPORT photos?!! She mentioned some place off-base [which we discovered] that didn't open until 10! (Luckily for me I happened to have extra copies of our passport photos that the NICE lady in El Cajon took of us...but they were 20 minutes away...back at home...in some drawer...)
So we left a little irritated. We drove around and by chance found the Fleet and Family Building. I hollered out the window at some guy that was passing by and he pointed us in the right direction. The Philippine Lady in the Fleet and Family office was SUPER FRIENDLY! She logged Matty and I into the computers so we could print up applications for the kids and me. She mentioned that her husband had been at Guam and we talked about the traveling opportunities available overseas. She kindly suggested that I go to the Fleet and Family Office when I get to Guam so that they can help me with my resume and to find work on the island. She mentioned that it would be a great time to get into a government job which I am excited to hear (even though I still want to take a little time off to spend with my kids)! The kids acted crazy in there...but no one complained. And we got our paperwork printed out.
There's a catch to paperwork....Well, my daughter's biological father lives in Virginia. When I was in VA picking her up at the end of the summer, he went with me to get a Form DS-3053 notarized so that I can get Catalina a passport (this is required if both parents are not present when turning in the passport application of a minor). Well, earlier this month we applied for and received our passports. No one ever mentioned that I would need a separate notarized letter when applying for the military passport...and I certainly didn't think to have Terrence sign and have notarized the same document twice while I was there. On top of that, I haven't been able to reach Catalina's father since August 17, 2011. He hasn't responded to any of my calls/voice-messages/texts/messages-relayed-through-his-family-members. He has recently been subpoena'ed to court for non-payment of child support (real winner) so I have a feeling he's avoiding me until the court date (which I'm trying to get a telephonic hearing instead of flying back east...but that's a completely different story).
Before we left base, we stopped by Personal Property. and found out the information for shipping our household goods to Guam and got a number for who to call about shipping our truck. I have to say, the guy at Personal Property was SUPER friendly and very informative. He didn't make us feel stupid about not knowing what we needed to do, and he said "Hafa Adai" to us! He looked like a heavy set islander guy...Samoan or something....and just very nice. He talked with us about the island fruits and said our daughter would become a little chamorro girl. You can tell this guy is satisfied with his life and his job makes him happy. He offered stellar customer service...even to the people after us! He let us know that it will take 55 days depending on weather conditions to ship our bulky items and 25-30 for our express home goods items. He'll be sending us an email on how to go online to make the arrangements for our pack-out.
After I signed Catalina back in at school, we had to make a trip to the bank. Since our vehicle is still being financed, we needed a letter from our bank stating that we have permission to take our Explorer overseas. I was hoping to also have my Form DS-3053 notarized....it turns out that Navy Federals in San Diego are not allowed to notarize documents (very lame)! After Becky, the EXTREMELY sweet older Philippine lady talked with us about her time in Guam back in '86...her husband is a retired machinists mate (so is Matty...well, not retired, but a machinists mate)...after our trip down memory lane and getting our paper for the truck, we went next door to the Postal Annex to wait for the Notary Lady. This is another lady that must not like her job. We waited very patiently for her to finish up with an older couple. We cooed at her baby (grandchild maybe) that was bouncing in his bouncer behind the counter. (Must be nice to bring your kid, his pack n play, and all the baby's stuff to work with you! Apparently, also stressing somebody out.) When it was our turn, she was very snippy about not needing to notarize the document. She said that the section that is supposed to be notarized is ONLY for after the non-present parent signs. I was happy to save a few bucks and for her to not have my business so I left. After that, we went to get an arrangement of balloons to surprise Catalina with. She had a ceremony for being a Star Student and was being recognized by her school for Academic Achievement!
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| I love my girl! She's so smart and well behaved! She LOVES school! |
We got there right at 2:40 pm and the Passport Office closes at 3:00, so naturally the not-so-friendly-bitch looked irritated to have to work. (And of course, while she was in the middle of handling our paperwork, four other people showed up needing to take care of passport related stuff! Bahahaha!) Anyway, she starts arguing with me that the pictures are too big and asked where we had them done at. I said, "Oh really, because I had them done at the Passport Office in El Cajon...and these are the pictures that are on our current passports." She replied, "Well, they ain't the right size but I'll go ahead and send them...they might just put a hold on your passports until you get new pictures." She instructs me to write our names on the backs of the pictures. No problem. She takes our IDs and birth certificates and starts putting our packets together. She has me sign for my paperwork and Ezekiel's and then she starts eye balling Catalina's birth certificate. Our conversation goes something like this:
Not-so-friendly-bitch: "Well where's the father? He's supposed to be present or you'll have to get a Form DS-3053 notarized."
Me: "I have the form right there. He's not able to be reached. That's why I filled out the bottom portion. I also have a letter attached, my court paperwork showing I have sole custody, and a copy of my marriage license. I'd like for you to make a copy of her passport to send along with all of this."
Not-so-friendly-bitch: "The court paperwork has to say you have SOLE custody."
Me: "I just told you it says I have SOLE custody. This is the orders for custody, visitation, and child support showing that I have SOLE custody."
Not-so-friendly-bitch: "Well they're going to need to see the originals. You can't send these copies."
Me: "Are they going to send my originals back?"
Not-so-friendly-bitch: "Yeah, they'll send 'em back. But you can't send these copies." (Duh Not-so-friendly-bitch, you already said that!)
Not-so-friendly-bitch: "Well this form here is supposed to be notarized."
Me: "No, it's only supposed to be notarized after the non-present parent signs."
Not-so-friendly-bitch: "No, the State requires that this is notarized. See this spot right here."
Me: "That spot right there in the middle of the page is for the notary to stamp AFTER the signature of the non-present parent. I signed the bottom. It doesn't need to be notarized. I already called to passport office before we got here."
Not-so-friendly-bitch: "Well the State requires that it's notarized."
Me: "Ma'am the federal government issues passports. The rules are the same for this document whether you're applying for a Tourist Visa or a Military Visa. I already called and spoke to them about this because I knew I'd have this problem here."
Not-so-friendly-bitch: "Well the State is going to want it notarized. I'll send it, but they'll just put a hold on issuing the passport until you get it to them."
Me: "Well, we'll see then. Just send it in along with my letter and all the other paperwork, because I said in this letter that it would be attached. If they want 100 pages of my phone records to prove he's not responding to my phone calls and messages, I'll be sure to send it to them."
Now I can understand that maybe the passport office in DC (Matty assumes that is where our paperwork will get sent off to) might be stricter than the passport office in LA (which is probably where our current passports were issued out of) but do lady, do you have to be such a nasty bitch? If you hate your job, QUIT! Do us all a favor.
The rest of my day was beautiful. We had a great dinner with Matty's buddy Ricky and watched a very lame movie: American Loser. It had its moments but overall it was a flop. I went to work today with a stronger appreciation for why I do my job so thoroughly. I was even complimented today. One of my prospects told me, "Thank you for your time Rachel. You're very good at what you do." And I have to admit, he's right. There are a lot of people out there that half-ass it through life. I'd like to think my parents raised me better than that. I value my time and I respect the time of others. Too bad other people don't all think the same....
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| Borrowed from Here. Dededo, Guam Can't wait to get away to some beach like this! |
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