Trapped in Buffalo, NY
Aug. 16th, 2007 04:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bjarvisF*ck. That's all I can say at this point. F*ck.
We discovered last night that my passport was MIA. Despite looking high & low for it then and this morning, I could find nothing. Nevertheless, we could use my birth certificate to get into Canada and my green card to get back into the US when we returned, so we headed to BWI and flew to Buffalo where we met![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
cuyahogarvr driving up from Cleveland.
We met at the airport, loaded our luggage into the car and dug out our documentation so we would have everything on hand when we got to the border. And I couldn't find my green card.
The envelope in which my card is normally housed is still in my wallet where it has always lived. That my card is missing is a complete surprise to me, especially since the envelope is still present. All I can think is that I pulled out both to show to border officials with my passport last June, and they are still together somewhere. As to their location, I am completely baffled.
We quickly checked with border security and were told (by a rather hot guy in uniform: shaved head, strawberry blond mustache, nice arms...) that while I could get into Canada, I'd likely be delayed for processing coming into the US and charged a $500 fine for being without my green card. Even now, I'm technically in breach of the law as a non-citizen without proper documentation on my person.
In light of this and the possibility that I'd be refused entry to the US, possibly even blacklisted for a period of years, we decided against the attempt. I have informed the family that we're not going to make it for my sister's wedding and we're spending the weekend in Buffalo instead. I'll have to make amends later somehow.
So, we're stuck in Buffalo & vicinity since our return flights to the DC area are out of Buffalo's airport. Anyone have ideas of where to go and what to see?
We discovered last night that my passport was MIA. Despite looking high & low for it then and this morning, I could find nothing. Nevertheless, we could use my birth certificate to get into Canada and my green card to get back into the US when we returned, so we headed to BWI and flew to Buffalo where we met
cuyahogarvr driving up from Cleveland.We met at the airport, loaded our luggage into the car and dug out our documentation so we would have everything on hand when we got to the border. And I couldn't find my green card.
The envelope in which my card is normally housed is still in my wallet where it has always lived. That my card is missing is a complete surprise to me, especially since the envelope is still present. All I can think is that I pulled out both to show to border officials with my passport last June, and they are still together somewhere. As to their location, I am completely baffled.
We quickly checked with border security and were told (by a rather hot guy in uniform: shaved head, strawberry blond mustache, nice arms...) that while I could get into Canada, I'd likely be delayed for processing coming into the US and charged a $500 fine for being without my green card. Even now, I'm technically in breach of the law as a non-citizen without proper documentation on my person.
In light of this and the possibility that I'd be refused entry to the US, possibly even blacklisted for a period of years, we decided against the attempt. I have informed the family that we're not going to make it for my sister's wedding and we're spending the weekend in Buffalo instead. I'll have to make amends later somehow.
So, we're stuck in Buffalo & vicinity since our return flights to the DC area are out of Buffalo's airport. Anyone have ideas of where to go and what to see?
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no subject
Date: 2007-08-17 02:51 am (UTC)I check every suitcase and bag in the house, including side pockets and cases I know I never took to Toronto the last two trips, just in case. One thing I didn't do was check every shirt pocket in my closet... I'll try that when I get home.
During dinner tonight, I had a sudden recollection of a fragment of a memory from about that time, something about being home and seeing my passport was damp. The fragment was momentary... it might well have been only a portion of some forgotten dream. Or it could be that I accidentally laundered my passport and put it somewhere to dry, then entirely forgot about it because of other distractions and commitments. In any case, I'll ransack the laundry room when we return.
As you noted, I usually avoid this sort of situation by having well-defined and consistent systems. And in case the system fails, I usually have backups (I have three copies of my birth certificate currently), just in case. This time, all has failed. In fact, I've realized I've failed so thoroughly that I don't even have emergency contact information for the INS or the Canadian gov't in my Palm Pilot. At least I have a photocopy of my green card at home so I have a record of my file number. *sigh*
Failure sucks.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-19 03:48 am (UTC)You are more organized and under control than 99% of the rest of the people in the world. You have been under a lot of stress at work, and have more things going on in the rest of your life than any three people put together. You had a tiny brain-fart while busy and doing a bunch of stuff at once and misplaced some things that you use once or twice a year. The fact that you had a system and routine for both items, even though they fell out of it, still puts you above most people's organizational abilities. In this case, the consequences of the misstep are big and showy, so it stings more than some other blond-moment would have, but you know as well as everyone else that this is incredible rare and unusual for you.
You're still wonderful, and everyone still loves you (especially me), and your PDA can still kick anyone else's PDA's ass.