July 15, 2008
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still here.
i woke up dull. waiting doesn’t exhaust you, it dulls you. i finished packing. i bounded up the stairs anytime the phone rang. the front door was open for the postal man. UPS trucks plague my dreams. i drive anywhere and pass three at a time. their licence plates have “666″ on them, and i know they are mocking me. the past week, i have gone back and forth on who i should call the wrath of God upon–the Brasilian embassy, or the post office.
the lady at the embassy in Chicago knows my name. she has asked my to quit stalking her she told me–the good news–that i did get my student visa–and the bad news–that she sent it on Tuesday, Thursday, or Sunday, depending on which of the three conversations we had. she either lied, gets her days of the week mixed up, or sent it out. (or my dad’s theory, that she sold it on the black market). she insists that i must now check with the post office–it is their concern, and that i must stop calling her.
the post office goofed when i purchased the express mailing and just marked on the receipt the amount the stamps were–not the tracking number of the envelope. and now they tell me they cannot do anything without the tracking number. express mail is overnight. so whichever day she sent it…it still shoulda been here by now. no one claims responsibility.
so.
i sat and waited until the last possible moment. i played with the blinds. i tangled them up. i untanged them. up. down. up. then called American Airlines. thank God for the nice AA lady. she froze up my ticket until September…meaning…i just call up when my visa comes, pay the $200 change fee, and go.
so.
i sit and wait. at any minute a UPS truck can stop in front of my house and hand me my visa and i call the nice lady and i get my ticket and go. i just don’t know which day it will be.
