Time to Start

So, it's Thursday, August 7, and I've just gotten home from my trip to the US Consulate in Amsterdam. After getting my driver's license last Tuesday (and picking it up on Wednesday after requesting the quick -though costly- one-day service) I drove the entire family from home to the parking garage at Museumplein in our capital city. Guess that's some pretty decent practice to start with.
Had my appointment at 14:15, and arrived at their doorstep around 14:05 (yes, I'd like to think I'm punctual most of the time). After being searched for dangerous items, of which none were found as I was only carrying paper, and my wallet full of more paper, and plastic, I had to wait in a small line outside. Luckily, they put a neat little plastic roof over the courtyard there so that I was safe from the currently falling rain. Got in to the building, went through a metal detector and said to the guy that it didn't went off for me. Funny as he was, he told me it went off for sure, just not with an audio signal for me to notice, smiling with every word. Got my waiting line number and went into this small room.
It has CNN on a TV in the corner, about 24 seats in there (26 if you count the places in what used to be the fireplace, I think) and four booths that could be used to draw people to, and help them out there. The current waiting line number as I walk in, is 11, as I remember getting number 30 myself. Not bad. And I know bureaucracy, it might take a while.

The audio signal man has walked into the room with a stapler and asks if anyone needs their special size passphoto (5x5 cm) stapled to their paper. It's obligatory to have it attached either by his method, or by glue, so I accepted the offer and brought him the needed documents. He asks if I'm the only one, as he simply can't imagine, and two others follow. He helps me out with sorting all my documents that they'll need at the booth later and I take my seat again.

Not that much longer, after the TV channel has been changed to Nederland 1, hosting the Olympic football match Nigeria - Netherlands, it's my turn to walk over and do my thing.
The sorted papers are being transferred through a little ditch below the window, to the other side, and after filling in one more forgotten signature, and paying yet another fee, it's time for me to have all my fingerprints scanned. I don't think I've ever done that before, but now they're officially on the record with my name attached to them. So far, my plans of committing a perfect crime someday. I get directed back to a seat, and have to wait.

They are processing my forms as it is, checking for irregularities or alarming information or something, and about 10 minutes later I get to go to booth 3 (where 1 and 2 were for handing over your papers, and 4 was not in use) to talk with an officer who asks me how my day was. I replied that it's been good so far, and it's his job to make it an even better one. I think I got some charm points right there. Have a little chat about what I'm supposed to do there, hand over my training plan for him to study, and then he asks me if I know this Chinese exchange student who's also going to the same hotel. Told him I knew there are more people apart me from Bart, Yatha and myself, but never bothered to go much into detail about them to start with.
The officer does his work as expected, and my visa is granted. They stapled some stuff into my passport (e.g. they ruined it!) and told me I should get it back by mail within 3-4 working days (after I provided the envelope with stamps myself).

I head outside, feeling accomplished, say goodbye to the security people outside, who, in the meantime, have helped my family to get some shelter from the rain too, and we walk outside again.
I had to pee before I even entered the consulate, and after the additional hour it hasn't quite become any easier, so I rush over to the public toilets. Through the rain, with a nice pace. I reach the building and as I head down the stairs, I notice the 50 cent fee. I left my wallet with my mum to place it in the car already, so, no relief for me just yet. Another sprint back to the garage entrance and I find a normal toilet there, free of charge, for me to use.

Next stop, Alphen aan den Rijn, my dad's city (or my birth town, but I never really refer to it that way). We're off to see my uncle (mom's little brother) who recently became a dad for the second time, and his wife (who, consequently, become a mom for the second time!). I hadn't seen the little Mara yet, unlike the rest of the people in the car. Speaking of which, I'm not driving this time, and maybe that's a good thing. I think they cracked open the skies for us to watch a pretty heavy downpour and sight on the highway is pretty much limited to pretty much nothing. And yes, I'm aware of typing "pretty" in that last sentence, three times.
Once we get there, streets partially flooded on some parts, I get to see the little hump and her brother, who can walk and say a few words, before asking my uncle for the keys to his car to go for a little drive in that.
Car number four in the two days that I've had my license, not a bad average, but I don't think I can keep that up.

As my dad is on a campsite somewhere else, we go back home, me driving all the way from there to here, stopping at a McDonald's halfway through to get something to eat and drink.
It's been a pretty useful day, and I'm nowhere near tired, despite the slight stress (what if the application got rejected for whatever reason) and the driving (I think I did close to 200 miles today).

As I want to use titles of blogs to match song titles, and then find a way to share that song with you, I've got a nice little link to a Youtube video from Blue Man Group - Time To Start.
Enjoy!

And oh, as I do expect this blog to be mainly about Florida related issues, I have a feeling I might use this as an outlet to share some frustrations too, at times.