After three days and six phone calls later (two of which assured me there was no way I could just go and pick up a birth certificate for my son), I get hold of someone in the vital records department to ask why the hell my order hasn't even been processed yet. They told me they still showed no record of my order. I asked again, why the hell I can't just come down and pick the damn thing up, to which the nice lady on the phone asked me "are you in Utah?"
"Yes! I'm in Sandy."
"Oh, well you could just come down to the Sandy office and get one."
"I can? Two other people told me I couldn't"
"Oh sure, it takes about 10 minutes."
"10 minutes! Why didn't someone tell me this on Monday? I need it ASAP."
"Yes, and it's only $15"
"Lady, if you're just screwing with me, so help me..."
"No really, here's the address"
And she rattled off an address that was only about five miles away. I decided to go down there first thing this morning and get this fabled birth certificate everyone tells me exists, but I can't seem to get my hands on. I walked into the office, filled out a short form, showed my driver's license and 10 minutes later I was holding what they told me was my son's birth certificate. It looked like a car title to me.
I called the place I'd ordered his birth certificate from to cancel my order and was told that it was just completed today so I couldn't cancel it. So, supposedly, I have two more birth certificates coming in the mail next week. Pretty soon I'm going to be up to my ears in birth certificates.
I'm still not sure that this thing they tell me is his birth certificate is what I need for Alex's passport. It doesn't have the raised seal or doctor's signature like my birth certificate has. But, I'm going to give it a go anyway. John needs to find Alex's social security number (we received the cards, and of course, now can't find them) and we'll probably go in to apply for his and my passports this week.
Working under the assumption that our passports will be done in time and we are indeed going to spend a few weeks in Panama soon, I went to the library and checked out all the literature they have on Panama. A whopping three books: two guidebooks and a book about explorers lost in the Darian Jungle (a place where we most certainly won't be visiting during our trip). I'm sure the guidebooks will be of more help once we get more information on the trip, where we'll be staying and for how long.
I also checked out some "learn to speak Spanish fast" type CD sets. One of them I think will be very helpful as it goes over lots of travel related things like:
"Where is the train station?"
"I need two tickets please"
"Where is the smoking car?"
The other one seems to think I'm going to a Spanish speaking country to do nothing but party. It has me practicing phrases such as:
"Where is the closest bar"
"I would like a large beer"
"I would like two margaritas please"
"Where are the men?"
"Where are the women?"
"How much does it cost"
"I have a problem"
"I have a small package"
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