My name and the XX

Argh – while you might find this rather amusing or perhaps file it under the category of too bad and suck it up Princess, I upon occasion  have cause to want to haul the Tazer out of my purse¹ and deliver a 50,000 Volt message of love to a minion of the demon Saint Bureaucratazi.

“We need two pieces of photo ID”.

Okay – here you go.

“Ohhhh.”

Anyone who has changed their name will understand what a royal pain in the ass the process is, even if it’s just due to marriage² or divorce. For me, it’s a few more layers of self fulfilling forms, a few rounds of fingerprinting and an expenditure of enough cash to purchase a LuLu Lemon top, jacket and pants. Oh, and the fun filled process where a very bored me rattles of my life story as the eyes of a clerk go all buggy.

Anyhow – the paperwork is not the real issue, it’s more a matter of the chicken or the egg. I can’t change some identification until another piece has been changed, which unfortunately forms a paradox as the later needs the former to have been updated.

So. I end up with documentation that can be construed as XX or XY depending on the phase of the moon, some documentation that is clearly XX and an entire set of secret agent XY documentation that is the product of making sure you can travel while the process is ongoing.

No big deal until I pull out two of the same type, as in two drivers licenses or two birth certificates. Ooops, a bit of a faux pas and a perversion of the old blame it on your sibling standby: “oh – that belongs to my brother”.

Anyhow – it’s worth it to watch the people squirm as they try to figure out what to do…

Happy Wednesday

[1] My day to purse is actually a cool little shoulder bag from MEC.

[2] Interestingly enough, I could have changed my surname to that of my ex.

Parks Canada

I am quite saddened by the impending arrival of the end of the Trent Severn operating season – it’s become a somewhat important factor in my life. The Rideau Canal will soon be shut down for navigation as well – Thanksgiving day will be the last day of operation in 2008 for both canal systems.

The Rideau will eventually freeze over to become a skating path through Ottawa and both canal systems remain available for a bit of hiking, photography, painting or just as a quiet spot for a bit of reflection or perhaps a cold weather picnic.

Interestingly, there are no user fees to park near or to walk around the canal systems – both of which belong to and are administered by Parks Canada. The same goes for the Fort Henry National Historic Site of Canada – free.

Now I turn my thoughts to the left coast of Canada and the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve of Canada. Not free.

It used to be free – I used to be able to drive there and enjoy it. Then a user fee was implemented for the warm/tourist season, and finally a fixed fee year round.

What will it be like when I see it again? I’m just a wee bit apprehensive.

I don’t like change, especially when it comes to things that I have grown to love and have grown to appreciate, and yes, there is a difference between love and appreciation that allows them to be exclusive.

It took me 24 years to take one of my children to Long Beach to experience the power of the ocean – they could see the sky, the clouds, the wind, the trees, sand and the rocks but they did not and could not not see what I had seen as a child.

I cried at each of the of many sights along the road, at each of many wonders that were discovered, each meal cooked on the beach. Too late I had discovered that which I had suppressed, the knowledge that things changed with or without me.

Go visit a national park, a national historic site – take your children for a walk on the beach, camping, hiking or for a picnic.

The heritage is not just in the parks.