Yesterday, we were finally able to relax a bit. We don't have to be back in Los Angeles until Saturday to pick up our apartment keys.
Because we left home a day later than planned, we had to make up extra milage each day in order to reach Sacramento California where I had to apply for my California nursing license.
Driving like a bat-out-of-hell on Monday, I reached the Nursing board office at 2:30pm. I breathed a sigh of relief but that sigh was premature. I was informed that I needed to get my finger prints scanned at a place that was 2 blocks away and that I needed to hurry because the scan place closes at 3:30.
Plenty of time, I thought. But, it was a full moon day and Murphy's Law was running rampant.
I arrived at the finger print office 15 minutes before it was going to close and was told that they took finger prints by appointment only and the woman doing the scanning was booked up and going to leave early at 3pm.
I pleaded my case, as I am good at doing. Moaning about traveling 3,000 miles in 5 days with two preschoolers and my mother, and saying that I needed to head out for San Francisco the same evening, swayed the woman in my favor. I would be next in line for fingerprinting.
Then, I saw the sign - "No Out of State Checks. No Credit Cards. Cash or Local Checks only!"
Crap. I didn't have enough cash on me!!
The woman directed me to a cash flow machine that was half a mile away via several turns.
I drove like a bat out of hell. Found the machine. Got my cash. Started back towards the finger printing place with 5 minutes left before they closed. And, got lost!!
I was driving so fast - stopping. Accelerating. Braking Hard. Making U-Turns. Did I mention cussing?!
I finally found the place, 10 minutes after the woman was supposed to leave. I jumped out of the van, rushed inside, and found the fingerprinting woman standing in the lobby, waiting on me.
Amazing! I was home free. I got finger printed and arrived back at the Nursing board and had an entire half hour to fill out my paper work. So I sat down and started writing. A satisfied smile on my face.
Then I came to the last part of the form for a temporary license issue and it asked for the name, phone number and address of the woman in Los Angeles who I was going to work for. That information was tucked safely in my suitcase, or so I thought.
I rushed to the parking lot and pulled the suitcase out of the van. The papers weren't in it!
Once again, frustrated and rushing, I furiously started unloading my van in the parking lot. Keep in mind that I have enough stuff in my van to get me through 4 months away from home. I pulled out suitcases, boxes of kitchenware, books, my electric guitar, hefty bags loaded with items and dirty clothes from the trip, and kids toys etc. I couldn't find the papers anywhere!!
Embarrassed by the fact that travel nurses and other people kept passing by my van and the huge pile of my things sitting in the parking lot, I quit searching 5 minutes before the board was scheduled to close for the day.
We were stuck in Sacramento for the night.
I repacked the van and started negotiating the massive trafficked roads looking for a motel. Two hours later we finally found one that looked safe. I unloaded the van and in that second search, found my papers.
The next morning went smooth as silk. I got to the Nursing board right after it opened, turned in my paperwork and and paid the fee. Then, I took a quick second trip back to the fingerprinting place. I had noticed that on my receipt they had left off the first letter of my first name. I thought it might just be an error on the receipt that didn't make it to the fingerprinting form which was submitted to the FBI. But, I didn't want to take any chances. It turned out to be a good thing that I checked. They had misspelled my name on the FBI form. Crap. That would have severely delayed me getting my temporary license.
With everything done and in order, we headed out to San Francisco.
That's another story...
Script Girrl
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