No Joke!

Part of the retirement process is filling out hundreds of forms. Forms. Forms. More forms. Making decisions and filling out more forms. If we were paid by the form, we'd be rich enough to retire. Oh, I forgot...that's why we're filling out forms!

Forms are not enough, though. You have to have supporting documentation. It's not enough that you worked for a company for thirty nine years. Now you have to prove who you are. And that you're married. And who your spouse is.

So. Birth certificates and marriage certificates are required to accompany the stack of forms. Um, we don't have more than one so we had to order extra certified copies.

When you live outside the state you were born in and you need your birth certificate or marriage certificate stat, you pay big time. There's an online company, VitaCheck that handles all the middleman stuff such as accepting the payment via credit card. And believe me, they make it pay--for them.

We ordered five birth certificates for the house hunk and five marriage certificates both from Illinois. Total cost? Ninety dollars. We shrugged and figured that was it for the time being. Then when we started filling out the pension papers, we discovered that my birth certificate was required.

Now I was born in Arizona. And Arizona has this peculiar requirement for ordering a birth certificate. You have to provide proof of identity. This requires a signed form, accompanied by a copy of your driver's license, then scanned into the computer and uploaded to the site. All right. I did that. And then paid forty-eight dollars for two birth certificates.

This morning UPS called. They have a delivery from VitaCheck that they will only deliver if someone is home to sign the delivery slip. Yep, that would be my Arizona birth certificates.

It's a sad day when it's almost cheaper to go pick up the birth certificates in person! And trust me. If we're ever in the area, we'll make sure we stop in at the Vital Records office long enough to pick up some extra copies. Who knows what else we'll need them for?

So after an investment of one hundred and fifty dollars, we're ready to finish filing the papers. Someday, our first pension check will arrive. Someday...

On a different note, today is my last day at Whipped Cream Reviews. Today I'm writing about friendship. Take a moment and drop by to add your thoughts!

anny