I went to renew my Health card and Driver’s license today. First off heading to the Health and ministry office near Square One I was confronted with a huge amount of people waiting in chairs for their numbers to get called. It kind of reminded me of being in a casting call or something waiting for your 15 minutes of fame.

In any case, I got my number and sat down. I should have brought a book or something. I had no idea I was going to wait that long. I looked around at various individuals since people watching is about the only thing I could do at the time. I saw many things happen including 1) a boy complaining about how he couldn’t find his mother anywhere in the room only to find out a few moments later that she had gone to the bathroom, 2) a man in crutches manages to bypass the entire queue simply because he had them, and 3) someone stepping on my foot and dirtying my recently polished shoes. 30 minutes elapsed and my number was finally called. I went, got my picture taken, and received my temporary Health card. I should be getting my new card in the mail in three to four week’s time.

Then I was off to the ministry of transportation office inside of Square One. I got there and there were a couple people in line. I went in line, asked a simple question, got an informative answer, and the next thing I knew, I was up at the counter. The girl at the counter – all festively dressed in green with a shamrock armband on her – greeted me with a smile, and got all the paperwork done in lightning speed. I got my picture taken, signed all over the documents, and I was out of the office in less than five minutes.

While the Health card renewal was free, the renewal for the driver’s license cost me $75. They had raised this price from $50 back in September of last year. I get the sneaking suspicion that the government secretly wants to make everyone take public transit from now on. That’s just not right.

That was my morning. Let’s see what the rest of the day has in stock for me!