where we now stand

I'm back from DC, which turned out to be something of a fiasco, as the State Department says it will not apostille non-federal documents, like my undergrad and graduate diplomas. The only document that got apostilled today was my FBI background check, and I was given a sheet with instructions on how to get the diplomas apostilled. All that driving for nothing... and the bureaucrat I worked with (ex-Army; lived in Korea for ten years) wasn't even sympathetic. "Hell, I drive half that distance to work every day!" he boasted. Fucking blowhard. As if I care how far he drives.

Once back in Appalachia, I dropped my car at the local Wal-mart to get the rear tires changed out. This process took fully two and a half hours, which ain't normal. The last time, I was told to come back to the auto shop in thirty minutes. Today, for whatever reason, the auto shop was woefully understaffed. Plenty of miffed customers.

Since I had two hours with nothing to do (just like this morning), I decided to buy an iPad Mini, a stylus, a Bluetooth keyboard (recommended by commenter Addofio), an iPad case, and a zippered carrying case. I'm having trouble setting the iPad up; its connection to the internet, through my desktop Mac, is tenuous at best, and I can't for the life of me get my damn router to broadcast usable Wi-Fi that the iPad can latch on to. I normally don't use Wi-Fi, mainly because the connection is much, much slower than a direct physical connection. Fortunately, syncing the Bluetooth keyboard to the iPad was easy to figure out, so at least one thing has gone right. I'm going to try taking the iPad to a local Starbucks tomorrow morning to test out its Wi-Fi connectivity. Right now, the tablet is pretty much useless without any internet connection.

Upshot: I left Wal-mart with new rear tires (and a car that vibrates a lot less, thank Cthulhu) and new electronic doodads. Tomorrow morning, I need to haul my ass back to DC with my diplomas, take them to a notary public, get them notarized, then take them to a special office to get a DC apostille. DC, DC, DC. Pain in the ass, especially the expensive parking.

No, I haven't packed yet. Then again, I don't see that I have much to pack: just clothes, pills, and my iPad. It'll take me only a few minutes to grab everything and stuff it in my trusty backpack. I'm gambling that there'll be an iron at the apartment I'll be staying at.


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