Tomorrow my husband and I go to the Belgian consulate to renew my passport and 'register' me definitively as a Belg living abroad in the US. We had browsed the website before and seen all the documents we needed and aside from new photo's, everything seemed all right. I knew I had all these documents in my dedicated document folder and felt happy and secure, I just needed to take them out. Besides, it were mostly things that I carried or used frequently: my passport, my ID card, my alien registration card, etc.
Procrastinator that I am, I waited till today of course, to gather all the paperwork together. Passport, check, Alien registration card, check, ID card, check. Ok, only my model 8 (the form that confirms I have written out of the Antwerp citizen register to move to the US) Let me get that out of my folder. Hey... what is that? Rental agreement, past employment agreements, tax forms... no Model 8!! That can't be right!! I know I have my model 8! I even scanned and copied it here at home 4 months ago because the stupid cinema wouldn't let me break my subscription without it. I am ALWAYS very careful with documents just because I am such an unorganised ditz.
Where can it be? Go through folder again and start muttering a prayer to Saint Anthony to intercede on my behalf with Our Lord. Nothing. Go through letter organisor from which I have just recently purged my correspondence with said cinema. Nothing. I won't have purged that form with it, will I? Nooo... I always check things before I throw them away. Clear up desktop entirely... (by this time I am getting desperate) Nothing.
Pray harder to Saint Anthony. Go to place where I keep my folders to make sure I haven't put it there on top of the folder and then it got muddled. Nothing. Check through the computer to see if I still have a copy of it on file. Nope. Go through bag of cards from the wedding. Nothing. Go through little organisor. NOTHING. GAHHHHH... Where IS that thing. It can't be lost. Go through letter organisor again. Go through catch all basket on the table. Nothing. Go through stack of old photo's. Nothing.
Panick mode enters and start a serious mental conversation with Saint Anthony about not deserting me now. Go through needlework table. Nothing. Of course not. Why would I have put it there. I will have put it in a logical place. Check kitchen drawer with all the booklets and warranty cards. *sighs and give up, hoping that Saint Anthony will somehow come through anyhow, because I have searched EVERYTHING I can think of.*
Calls Bill and tells him there is good and bad news. Bad news, I miss a form for the registration, good news, I have everything for my passport renewal. I explain that I know for certain that I HAVE the form since I scanned it and send it to the cinema before they finally left me alone. okay... is there a copy still on the computer. Well, I checked, but I don't find one. Maybe if we scan something again, we will see what folder it places it in standard. Try and open the scan program, open the scanner to put in something to scan. Hand touches paper. Hand takes out paper. What do you know? It's my model 8!! That scanner hasn't been used since. *LOL*
For those of you who aren't Catholic, asking Saint Anthony to intercede with you for lost objects is a tradition in the church that often becomes mixed up with folklore. I even know people who 'bribe' Saint Antony with candles to help them. This last has of course nothing to do with faith and more with tradition, with a small t.
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