The Red Tape is Making Me See Red!

With only two weeks until we leave, I was questioning whether or not we would get everything done or if we would just be throwing things in the trash the day before we leave.

I have heard of this thing called "Government Red Tape" but I had never actually experienced it until yesterday. I had envisioned it being a thin strip of bright red tape that, even though it appeared flimsy and easy to break....like when a runner comes in first place at the end of a race....it had super powers and kept even the strongest men from achieving their goals. I was right on at least one point but not the other!

It is definitely capable of causing even the most determined and persistent person to fall to their knees, screaming in frustration. It is not, however, a thin line that can be snapped with just the slightest touch. Instead it is more like a wild, blood-red scarf blowing in the wind that entangles you in its grasp as it tries to choke the life out of you.

It amazes me that even though it is clearly stated on the web page that all we have to do is go to the police department and request a police clearance letter, NO ONE in the police department has any idea what we are talking about. When you are trying to coordinate the information you are receiving from four different sources and they all act like the other sources are alien creatures with two heads....you find yourself dreaming about wielding a sword with the intent of decapitating all of the two headed creatures.. but you can't because one of those creatures holds the key to your future!

After going to the police station and being told we had to fill out a paper and send it out and wait two weeks (the internet said 1 day or same day) and then going to the representatives office and being told we had to fill out the paper and wait 8 days, and then being sent back to the police station where they took fingerprints on a card before giving us the card but not doing a check on the finger prints....I finally called the State Department and talked to a lady who... in less than 5 minutes... has pulled up the paperwork on line and told me how to get to the web page to fill it out myself and print the results.***sigh...shakes her head....sigh****. I now have the necessary papers and find myself VERY tempted to call the police department and tell them how to do it!

Then we find out that all of our papers need to be notorized before sending them to the State Department for authentication even though the state doesn't require them to be notorized but the Costa Rican Consul in New York does and then we have to send the authenticated papers to New York after the States sends them back to us once they authenticate them.

Anyone else having a hard time following all of the hoops we have to jump through? And the scary thing is that it is actually starting to make sense to me!!!

Don't even get me started on how many notaries we had to go to before we found one that knew what we were talking about and only took 5 minutes to notarize our papers.

Did I mention that the Costa Rican Consulate in New York said that ALL of the documents...again---not explained on the web page....must be no more than 6 months old: that includes our birth certificates and marriage certificate. So now...off we go to the web pages of Pennsylvania, Florida, and Alabama to order copies of those documents so they will be less than 6 months old; even though we have two certified copies of each in our file cabinet. Once we get those new...less than 6 month old... copies back from those states, we have to have those notorized here so we can send them back to Alabama and Florida to get them authenticated so they can send them back to us so we can send them to New York.

How's your head feeling? Need some headache pills yet? :-)

It may sound crazy...which it is....but I feel a thousand times better now that we have the ball rolling and I know what we are supposed to be doing.

Guess I'll go to bed and see what tomorrow holds for us. I know it includes cleaning out a basement but you do what you have to do.

I just keep reminding myself...."The light is visible at the end of the tunnel and Costa Rica is just around the corner!"

It Took Forever

Spent all day emptying the closets and packing our suitcases. Boy did that take forever! It is amazing how much you can pack into a suitcase when you roll things up. Now that I have all of the clothes in, I have moved on to putting books in. Trying to get as much in the suitcases as possible and still be below the 50 pound maximum weight. So far......so good! Now some rest so I can get up early and paint before I go to lunch with Sarene. Red Lobster.....yum, yum!

Getting Close!

It is hard to believe that we will be leaving in exactly 3 weeks from yesterday! When I look around the house it seems like there are a million things to do but then again there is nothing left in the house except the barest of furniture and some clothes.We got the cat a carrying case to put him on the plane. Unfortunately, he will be in cargo because he is waaaaayyyy to fat to ride under the seat: unless of course he can lose half his body weight in a little less than 3 weeks. (Probably not a good idea for him to do that!)The plans for this weekend are to finish painting the house, Bob doesn't ever want to paint another piece of trim for the rest of his life, and to start packing the suitcases so we can balance the weight out; as well as see what all we can fit into them to get on the plane. We are going to try to get as much on the plane as possible so we only have to mail 3 or 4 boxes to the hotel. That is easy enough when you decide to sell everything. We are all getting a little antsy and can't wait to be in Costa Rica. The hardest thing for us is the waiting once we decide to move. We are not the most patient when it comes to the time it takes to move. :-)Only one more day of school, if you can call it one day (7am-10:30pm) then it will be full time cleaning out the basement so we can go! We can't wait!!

Another Step Closer

So I found the hotel we are going to stay in. It is the Best Western Paradise Inn and Spa just outside of San Jose. Check it out online! It looks wonderful. We are meeting the realtor the day after we get there to go house hunting. Hopefully it won't take too long. We need a house/apartment that is furnished and there appear to be a lot of those around. Once we find the place and give them their money we just have to go back to the hotel and pick up our twelve pieces of luggage, two bikes and whatever boxes have arrived. We are sooooo excited! Today we worked some more on the house. I have the last room emptied upstairs, all that leaves is the sunroom which has a half dozen boxes of paperwork and things that need to be shredded. Still some painting to do but that will wrap up soon enough. Went to Johnstown today and bought Scooby a new kennel for the plane ride. He has to be able to stand up and turn around in the kennel and the one we had, which we got when he was a kitten to use for the vet trips is....how do I say this tactfully???....too small for his fat butt! Lol! We could have put him under the seat in one of those carriers that fit there...if he was 10 pounds lighter! Now I am off to bed so I can get up at some ridiculous hour to go to work...thank goodness school is out on Friday. Then it will be a mad dash to finish everything up before we move. Such is life!

We Have the Tickets!

Well......it is official! We have purchased our tickets and will be leaving for Costa Rica at 7am on June 30th. Did I mention that they are one way tickets? We are very excited about the move and can't wait to get going. It will be very sad to leave all of my friends behind, and I hope to have a wonderful visit with all of them before I go, but I feel like this move is meant to be. I am online, even as I type, looking for a hotel to stay in when we first get there. We are setting up appointments with a realtor for when we first get there so we can find someplace to live: hopefully quickly! The hardest part so far has been getting everything out of the house and getting it ready to show. I sooooo dislike painting but it looks like there may be an end in sight to that little problem. The house looks wonderful with a new paint job! Guess I should get back to my hotel hunt. We will definitely need some place to sleep when we get there. Wish me luck!