"OK Buddy ... shoes on and in the car please. We are going to work out, play at the park, say hi Miss Julie and then head home for your nap. If we have time we'll head to Costco for some fresh fruit on the way home. Ready ... go!"
In the car we were, excited about our planned morning (at least I was and I figured he would be when he got to the gym to play with friends!) when the phone rang. It was my husband G ... "Alex, can you head downtown to Revenue Quebec to pay for our business registration?" You see, federally we are already incorporated, but when you live and work in Quebec, there are a WHOLE ton of other papers to complete, fees to pay and trips downtown to do.
"Sure ... I guess. Can you just confirm that they take interact and accept me on behalf of you? If so, I'll go."
Not even 5 mins later ... "No problem. Just give them the business name and pay the dues."
So off we went. The gym and playing with friends and new toys would have to wait. Once we got downtown, we found a parking spot, paid the meter and hit the line up. Buddy, in a stroller with his snack would last about 15 min. I waited +/-30, with an interruption to go put more $ in the meter!
My number was called and I went to start the 'short' process that we were asked to do. The 'lovely' lady (read: 'computer geek, overpaid, underworked government employee') told me that there was no paper work for our company and nothing in the computer system.
"Quoi? I was here last week, dropped it all off and my husband was called this morning, told to come down here and pay the immaculation (francais!) fee. Here's the phone number and name of the lady we spoke with this morning. Would you like to call her to confirm it all?"
"No thank you. I will wait to talk with her supervisor. Please just wait here until we reach them."
OK ... so ... if you are a mom (or dad even!) of 1,2 or 10 kids, you'll relate to my situation. You are responsible for a toddler who is ready to climb the walls, completely bored with the pen he stole from the 'lovely' lady's desk and not at all interested in listening to what would be best for everyone else sitting and waiting for their turn with a 'lovely' lady/man! So into the hall we went while we waited. Jumping, running, singing having a blast (maybe for him-not for me!) when I spotted a McDonalds sign. Oh ... saved by the grease!
Downstairs to the food court we went and bought our nuggets and fries at 10:58 in the morning! i-yie-yie! This is where I quote my girlfriend " Do what you need to survive!" - thus McD's! Back in the office, Buddy rejoined his stroller with some fries and chicken while I realized my meter's clock was up at 11:01.
"Ma'am?" Oh ... finally some answers I thought! "In order to take your payment, I will need you to fill in these forms again so that I have something to attach your payment to. Then we can send it all to the head office to figure out."
"Excuse-moi?! Uh, ok. So, you want me to fill them out again, and sign it for my husband? Alright. I will return." The tone in my voice and fake smile is something she has probably witnessed before. The time was 11:16 and my son was done! Completely done ...
I started filling in the paperwork, when the security guard came by and said to me, bless his heart, "The lady you were dealing with will be going on her lunch break at 11:30, so if you can fill in the paperwork before then, that would be the best for you. Otherwise you will need to wait an hour til she's back." (This poor guy had watched me for the last hour and we had laughed a few times at the situation I was in. He was really well-humoured I'm sure!)
At that point, I was done with Revenue Quebec! I walked back to the lady and said that I would go home, fill everything out again in the comfort of my house and mail it in with a cheque. And off I went. Fortunately when we got to the car there was no ticket for the last unpaid 30 min at the meter, but there was a ton of road work that blocked the first three entrances to the highway that I needed. Of course!
So yeah, that was my planned morning! I got home a few hours ago, put my son down and now decided to write this blog. Thank you for letting me vent ... and not interrupting! I needed that!
Ahh ... now to get dinner ready. Thx for listenin'!
1 comment:
whoaaaaaaaaa! It must be like this for EVERYONE who deals with the government. I can't believe it. I"m so glad you blogged it, I can REALLY relate. Yay for you to say yes to Plan B, and c,d,e,f,g....
Kind of goes along with our new Heart Attitudes post. Just so you know, before I do what I say in the post?- there have been some fake smiles and private tantrums too.
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