On Wednesday night before I went to bed, I made a mental must-do list for the next day. In it were my daily routine, the errands I needed to run and most importantly, Vava's passport application. I knew it was going to be a hectic day, so to get myself organised, I went through the details in the list - 1. Wake up early 2. Get ready 3. Feed the kids 4. Send them to daycare 5. Photocopy documents 6. Get Bank Cheque 7. Collect Vava's passport photo 8.Go the Malaysian Consulate office. and 9. Post application! That was the plan.
Yesterday, I woke up early as prophesied but on the wrong side of the bed. I was troubled by an unpleasant, vivid dream. In the dream, hubby and I were in the car in front of Bush Inn shopping mall. Strangely, I was behind the wheel, not hubby. I began to reverse the car out of the parking space when out of nowhere, a blue convertible appeared behind us. I quickly stepped on the brakes but weirdly, our car didn't stop. I found myself ramming into the blue convertible instead. BAM! After the damage was done, hubby turned to me and said "Dear, tu insurance kreta mati suda kan?". Then I woke up. Crap! I had an accident.
In reality, our policy lapsed 6 months ago (go on, gasp all you want). Thanks to the dream, I finally came to my senses and renewed it yesterday. Phew!
So. Back to the story. I spent half of my morning doing no 1 - 5 plus the insurance renewal thingy. Everything went well. The weather was fine, the traffic was light, the people I liased with were helpful and everything just seemed to fall into place. By 11 am, I had everything ready and got to the Malaysian Consulate office. I was so eager to get it done cos without the passport, we can't get home in July. Unless of course we leave Vava to fend for herself.
So. I finally got to the office and was greeted by a pretty lady at the counter.
Me: Good morning...I'm here to make an application for Malaysian passport..it's for my daughter.
Lady: Is your daughter with you? (I thought she meant in NZ)
Me: Yes..She stays with me.
Lady: I mean is she with you right now? (Cubuk behind me)
Me: No..She's at daycare.
Lady: You need to bring her along so we can see her. We need to get her thumb print as well.
Me: Ahh..Ok...I'll be back shortly!
As I was about to leave, the lady asked me
Lady: By the way, how old is your daughter?
Me: 9 months
Lady: Oh. Sorry to tell you this but you can't do it here. You need to go to the High Commissioner in Wellington to get this done.
Me: .....(a moment of silence) Wellington? I need to go to Wellington with my baby? WELLINGTON?!
Lady: Yes. You need to take your baby with you because they would need to see her.
Me: Why??
Lady: I don't know why but it's part of the regulations.
Me: Can't I just post the forms? I have to go to Wellington with my baby? Wellington? OMG. (I kept repeating myself cos the shock made me daft)
Lady: Yes...I hate telling people this and I understand how hard it is for people to.....(her voice trailed off, I wasn't paying attention anymore)
Me: I mean, all the way to Wellington?
Lady: I suggest you contact the High Commissioner office to get a better idea of the situation. Ok? Now is there anything else? (Her expression spells: Kenapa ba dia ni nda faham faham???)
Me: No...Thank you...
After the above incident, all nice wonderful thoughts I had earlier came to a screeching halt. Like brek mati.
I called the High Commisioner to get a clearer picture of the procedure and was told the same thing. This frustrated me cos I thought about the cost of the air tickets, transportation and hotel. More money coming out! But it's not like we have a choice. In order to get Vava's passport done, she needs to have a Malaysian birth certificate first. NZ birth cert is unacceptable. That's the reason why we need to go there physically.
Since it is quite costly for all of us to travel, hubby and Alden might have to stay behind. That's Plan A, which I am not fond of. Plan B? All of us go together, get Vava's cert, stay for a week at a 5-star hotel and go sightseeing. Of course Plan B can only be executed if we win the 8-million-dollar lottery tomorrow. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
