It's been one of those years already

2008 doesn't like me so much.

My provincial health card and driver's license both expire on my birthday, and both require new photos. Erik finally transfered one of the cars to me (it was in the separation agreement, which was signed last August--yes, I know). I had an endo's appointment, a few doctor's appointments, and a dentist appointment, all in short order. Meanwhile I'm living in an apartment trying to get everywhere on foot during the snowiest Toronto winter since 1938. We are 12 cm away from breaking the record. Frances has been sick, I have been sick, and I don't get a day to sleep in for three weeks straight thanks to the wording in the separation agreement.

The car timeline alone has gone something like this:

1. Harass Erik biweekly about when exactly he is going to make time to arrange for the vehicle transfer, which necessitates a joint visit to the licensing office.

2. Keep car in parking lot at work, which costs $40/month more, because this way it will be handy when we finally have a date for the transfer.

3. Give up in November, get a spot at the apartment building so at least I can use the car I am paying parking for.

4. Get double-charged for it in January.

5. Finally set up a date for the vehicle transfer in March. This requires a joint visit to a lawyer's office to get a form signed, then a joint visit to the licensing office to get the title and plates transferred.

1.5 Did I neglect to say that I had an insurance quote but since I had no idea of when I would get the car, couldn't get it started--not without paying for it for several months beforehand, anyway--and then didn't have enough notice before our visits to get it started, so when I got to the licensing office I didn't have insurance yet?

6. Because car is now at my house, not at work, and I no longer have a spot at work, getting to the car to drive it all over hell's half acre to get it transferred requires a few hours off work.

7. Because I don't yet have insurance (see above), I can get the title transferred, but can't get the plates in my name. I am given a big pile of forms to take to a licensing office when I get the insurance to get the plates transferred. Drive home illegally.

8. Get the insurance.

9. Go back to a licensing office on my compressed day. Spend way too much time in a long line in a dingy office.

10. Get within five minutes of getting the plates transferred into my name and attached to my car, when I am told that in order to transfer plates, and indeed the vehicle itself, I need an emissions test for my car. The previous emissions test doesn't expire until August, so patently this has nothing to do with environmental protection. Pleading gets me nowhere. Staff are belligerent, patronizing and unhelpful, and tell me they are not allowed to give me their names.

11. The first chance I will have to get an emissions test done--which it turns out was supposed to be done before the vehicle was transferred--without taking more time off work, which I can't afford, is in April. Until then I have a car and I have license plates which are physically attached to the car, but not legally attached to the car; so I can't drive it. At least, not without risking something-or-other. Gods know when I'll have a chance to take the resulting emissions certificate to a licensing office and get the last five minutes of this blasted transfer completed.

12. But I did get my license renewed.

That's just one thing. Every visit requires the logistical skill of coordinating a battle supply chain, because I can't just leave Frances and do stuff on my own, I don't have the time off from work, and the only day I really have to get stuff done--Saturday--government offices tend not to be open.

Then, yesterday? The stroller broke.

Have I mentioned that it's only March?

Does it have to get better now? Is that the way it works?

I can manage the day to day routine of being a single mom: getting Frances to school and back, getting myself to work and back, getting groceries, making meals and lunches and snacks, doing laundry and cleaning up, working out, writing, managing Frances's homework (really) and library books and gym clothes and school permission forms, and all the rest. But throw on one or two little extra things, and the whole house of cards comes crashing down.

Except that I'm the only one here to put it all back up again. So I don't have a choice, do I?

Posted by Andrea at March 13, 2008 8:31 AM under

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