Today has been unbelievably surreal.
As soon as I got up, I initiated the passport search. Both my parents and myself had been looking for it since Monday but not to the level of today's search! I emptied out all the cupboards and drawers around the area where I'd last remembered having it on the thought that if Granny was involved she would have put it somewhere local (probably). Nothing but spiders...
I had already emptied the paper recycling bin...just in case! But it wasn't in there. I was seriously considering ordering a new one, my only holder-backer (because I can't think of the proper word) was that it costs over £100 and sods law dictates that as soon as I'd ordered the new one, I would find my old one.
Anyway, Dad found it under a chair cushion in Granny's room. I must have put it in a hoodie pocket and it fell out when I was Granny sitting. Yes, I know I'm an idiot!
So once we found it, I could go ahead and send off for my visa as my police certificate came through today. I filled out the necessary forms as best I could (although I'm not entirely convinced they'll go through as there were 2 bits I had no idea how or what to put!) and packaged everything together and rocked off to my local post office. All going fairly well at this point. The PO closes at 17.30 and it's not 17.00, but all I need to do is get a postal cheque thing and send the thing off! That's what I thought anyway.
As it would turn out, postal orders can only be as much as £250. I needed to pay £635. £600 deposit (returned once I'm back in the UK) and £35 for the application. So I had to make 3 of those. And I needed 2 envelopes: 1 to send to them and 1 so they could send my passport and things back to me. All relatively fine, I'm forming quite a queue behind me but everything seems to be going OK. Until I go to pay. I didn't realise that there's a £250 cash withdrawal limit to debit cards. I do now. I had to pay £250 as a cash withdrawal, then the rest of it in single £100 or less batches because that was the highest amount their tills would take. When I had £250 left to pay my bank decided that such weird amounts being drawn out in such quick succession was unusual so they shut down my card (if it wasn't me using it I would be happy at such a quick response. As it was, it WAS me using it so it was just really irritating! And I don't know if it's permanent or if I'll be able to use my card tomorrow). So I'm in the post office, my parcel has just been sent and I still owe them £250. Obviously I don't have £250 in my wallet (I wish!). Oh and it's 17.21, 9 minutes until closing time. They trust me enough to let me leg it home to grab some cash or my Mum or a combination of the two. By the time I make it home it's 17.26 (I was on my bike) and Mum doesn't enough cash and she's teaching so she can't come with me. LUCKILY Dad arrives home at that exact minute and with irritating calm and not nearly fast enough for me, he drives me back to the post office with a card of his own. We make it back for 17.31 but they've stayed open the extra minute for me (HA)!
In the end I made it. I just hope with all my might that everything will be OK with the application. My Dad's taking me to London next week for a few days so I might see if I can go and check on it then, make sure every thing's present and correct.
Yoh! It's been a mad one!
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