August 28, 2012 ROADTRIP!!!

Today was a very stressful day to say the least!  We are down to all of the technical parts of paperwork (ya know- the kind you cannot mess up or sign in the wrong place).  Our final paperwork needed to be sent to Chicago to the TECO office (Taipei Economic and Cultural Office).  Yes, we could have mailed it, but I was so worried it would get lost in the mail or not end up in the right place.  So we decided to take a roadtrip there.  We planned to take a Megabus from Indy to Chicago.  So we got the tickets online and were all set.  My mom Leslie and good friend Courtney would be accompanying me on the trip which I will forever be grateful for them doing so!  We woke up early (and everyone knows I am not a morning person, right?!)  We paid to park downtown for the day and were at the "bus stop" about 6:35am.  Huge thanks to Courtney for knowing where we were going because I would not have found it otherwise.  So we waited, and waited, it turns 6:55 and we are waiting.  We ended up waiting for almost 2 hours on the bus, which never arrived to pick us up.  We searched for the bus companies telephone number on Courtney's Iphone (which was a life-saver) and finallly got work from another gentlemen waiting that the bus broke down early this morning and would not arrive to pick us up until 10:45am..............if they got it working again.  I was furious to say the least!  So we decided to make the drive to Chicago.  Now, anyone who knows me well - knows I have a huge fear and HATE driving in the city and freak out a lot.  However, God must have taken the wheel today, because we made it there safely and I didn't have a panic attack along the way. :) and a big thank you to Courtney once again for being the best navigator!

After parking we went walking to try and find our building.  We actually found it pretty easily......which, by the way -- have you ever notice how buildings in the city are never well labeled?  But we made it :)  After attempting to get on the elevators we were stopped by a security guard (which they were everywhere) and told we needed to check in at the front desk "security desk" and get a name tag.  So we did that and got neon orange name tags that said, "VISITOR - LINDSEY MILLER - TECO OFFICE - 57 FLOOR".  Yes, the guy spelled my name wrong after seeing my drivers license?!!! Top notch security, right?!   I have to add the part where my mom said, "awww, man. This orange name tag doesn't match my outfit".  Bahahahaha!  I was trying to keep a straight face until I looked at the security guard and he was laughing :)  I hope he knew she was kidding? :)
So we get up to the 57th floor - which the view was amazing! I turn in all the adoption paperwork and it was very awkward.  I must have been giving off a bad vibe or something because the lady was very rude and short with me.  I tried to talk her into processing the paperwork that day so I could take the papers home with me, but she finally said no because she "has to scan them into the computer and that will take a while".  Keep in mind she had 5 hours to do that!  So I politely said thank you and we sped walked out of there - she must have been having a bad day.
We spent the next few hours sight-seeing downtown which was fun to just relax and not always be rushing to do something next.   We stopped back by the TEXO office because my mom and Courtney thought I should just check and see if the papers happen to be done - which the Taiwan lady informed me, "NO - THEY NOT DONE! - THEY DONE TOMORROW AND I MAIL THEM TO YOU - OK? OK! BY -BY".  Although I was scared of this little Taiwan lady at the time, it has made me laugh quite a few times since yesturday. :)  We drove safely home and I should expect the papers Thursday morning which I am planning to pick up at the post office early in the morning and take them to FEDEX to overnight them to Taiwan!!!  We should hear in about a month when our first travel date is!!! :)
Thank you God for keeping us safe today and leading us to the right place!

~Lindsay