Week Three

Weather Report:



This week in Durham has been by far my worst week yet. Granted, I only have two other weeks to which I can compare but it has still been the worst by far. Without further adieu, I give you (big WWE announcer-type voice): Frustration Week.

In order to work in the state of North Carolina as a sign language interpreter, one must first fill out a multi-page application and satisfy all requirements listed therein. One of the said requirements is to be fingerprinted which can be done in “a local law enforcement office.” On Tuesday, Kevin and I went to said law enforcement office only to be told I have to be arrested in order for them to take my fingerprints. I kindly declined the offer and was then referred to another building. We drove over to the second building only to be denied for the office was closed. Kevin and I then returned home, Kevin thinking the whole way home, suspecting we were directed to the wrong building. Upon arriving home, Kevin headed straight for his computer to do some research from which we gleaned some pertinent information. We needed to go to the courthouse downtown instead of the building to which we were previously directed. If we had only but known! The buildings were almost directly across from one another. At least from that experience we gained further knowledge of the streets in downtown Durham and we had an idea of where we would be heading the following day. On Wednesday afternoon, Kevin and I once again headed to downtown Durham but this time to the courthouse. Like with any city, parking downtown is at a premium so we were forced to park in a fee-charging parking lot which was to one side of the building. Begrudgingly, I pulled into the poorly laid-out parking lot dodging cars and pedestrians but successfully found a spot in which I was able to park. With documents in hand, Kevin and I trekked across the street and up the stairs into the Durham courthouse. We were greeted at the door by police officers and metal detectors. I informed one of the officers of my intentions and he commented that in order to be fingerprinted, he would have to arrest me. Again, I declined the offer so he directed me to an office downstairs. I successfully made it through the metal detector but Kevin, however, was not so fortunate—he had to be wanded. After determining that Kevin was harmless despite his gigantic size (he’s 6’7” for those who may not know), we headed downstairs to the office to pay for the fingerprinting process. It was here that I was asked for my North Carolina driver’s license and $10. I informed the clerk that I just moved to town and did not have my license yet but carried documentation stating I have a residence in Durham. I was informed that I cannot be fingerprinted without a state of NC driver’s license and that I should come back after receiving said license. That meant it was back up the stairs for us and out the building to the car where frustration ensued due to the aforementioned idiotic parking lot. Before I could leave the parking lot, I was asked to pay the one dollar fee even though we were not even in the building five minutes. Yes, it’s only a dollar but I was nicht froh at this point. I gave the attendant a dollar but I did not interact with her as I normally would. I then proceeded to drive us home by way of the pothole filled streets of Durham. After arriving home, Kevin was once again on the computer this time finding a local DMV for me so that I could get a local driver’s license. The requirements for the state of North Carolina state as such:

You must complete and pass the written, sign, and vision tests. If you surrender a valid license from another state, the road test requirement is at the discretion of the Examiner.

Are you kidding me? I have to take the test again? And I might have to have someone sitting in my car evaluate my driving skills again? That was the icing on the cake that day! I have been driving for almost 20 years which should suffice. Granted, I don’t remember the exact numbers for things like, “how many feet…?” I just know what feels right when I’m driving. It was at this point I decided I was going to move back to Missouri where things were much simpler. In retrospect, getting a new license is not really a big deal; it just felt like an ordeal because of the preceding issues of the day and day prior. I now have to find the DMV to get a book to review the rules of the road. How embarrassing would it be to fail the test after driving for as long as I have?

Thursday was somewhat better. Kevin and I received a check for an over payment from selling our house in St. Louis so we decided we would take some of that money and buy the niece and nephews some Christmas gifts. We were feeling badly about not being able to afford anything for anyone this year despite the commonality among family members but we felt some reprieve upon receiving the check and decided we’d spoil the kids a little. Despite it being a week before Christmas, I consented to go to Target with Kevin and do some shopping. I was pleasantly surprised to find the store was not overrun by angry mobs of people; it actually didn’t seem that busy at all except for the photo lab but I discovered that was due to incompetent workers. All in all it was a successful journey to Target and we survived the toy department which amazingly still had toys and not many people looking at them. I was thankful that the store was not crowded and that I wasn’t having to fight anyone in the store just to look at the remaining merchandise.

Friday had me back at work again but it felt like any other day I go to work except I was really missing my friends from St. Louis. I miss sharing common interests, stories, experiences with other human beings. The people in the office here have that with each other but the only thing I have in common with anyone yet is migraines. Oh, yay. And doing the job that I do doesn’t lend for much time to get to know anyone else on an intimate level for an extended period of time. It was a difficult day for me emotionally.

Saturday was December 20th which is important to me because that is my niece’s birthday. Alexis turned seven this year and it was the first birthday I have had to miss. I called my sister’s cell phone in the afternoon in hopes of being able to express my birthday greetings to my niece. My sister was unable to answer the phone so I left a message stating I had to leave for work around 4PM eastern time and that I hoped she could call before my departure. Four o’clock had come and gone and there was still no call from Alexis or Diane. And during the time between my message and my departure time, I increasingly grew more depressed. There are days when I’d rather not go to work but I do it and it’s fine. This day, however, I had a very strong desire to not go into work and the feelings I was experiencing grew more intense the closer it go to the time I needed to leave. Then without warning I burst into tears. I had a myriad of emotions flooding my body most of them related to frustration but the one that hurt me the most was the realization that I could not be in St. Louis for my little girl’s 7th birthday celebration. Sobbing, I called my sister again telling her I wasn’t going in to work and I wanted her to have Alexis call me after the party so that I could talk to her about her birthday. I was hoping that with several hours ahead of me I could regroup myself and have a nice conversation with my girl and I was hoping simultaneously to not cause her to be upset, too. I was practically inconsolable for about an hour and even after I could actually talk again, for the duration of the evening I felt on the verge of tears. I tried to distract myself by helping Kevin assemble our bed and I did some laundry but I still hurt inside. Kevin then invited me to do some shopping at the mall with him. Despite my strong aversion to the mall, I did accompany him and we had success in finding a few books for the kids. As it was an ice cream kind of day, we took a small detour in the mall to visit Dairy Queen where I purchased myself a small strawberry cheesequake blizzard. And it was good. Later that evening Alexis did return my call and I was able to have a non-teary conversation with her but after hanging up with her, the tears started again and my heart hurt. Even now I am having trouble recounting the events of yesterday. I have to say I am thankful I have such a wonderful family and wonderful friends that I miss them so much that it hurts. I am so blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life. I am thankful for each and every one of you and I love you more than I can express in words.

The silver lining in my week: