back in the saddle...in many ways
so, i took a blog hiatus for a while, save my last rant on thursday (which i deleted because it upset someone very important to me) but i'm back in full swing. my trip to new york was awesome, and it felt really good to be back. notice i didn't say "home" because it didn't quite feel like home this time around - not in a bad way, more like an "i have a vague sense of living here sometime in my life" surreal type of feeling, almost like a mild sense of fond detachment. it in no way affected how much fun i had! and in a way, it almost made toronto feel like my new home. funny how things work out like that...
beuarocracy revealed it's omnipresent face once again. when we crossed the border into the states on thursday, we told them that canuck was a canadian citizen and that cookie and i were US citizens but residents of canada. now, my car still has new york plates. we are in the process of importing the car to canada, which requires a trip to the registrar of imported vehicles, inspection by a mechanic to see if the car meets canadian standards, and a recall letter from subaru (the manufacturer) stating that the car has no outstanding recalls (which in and of itself required the faxing of dozens of pieces of paper and more people invovled). now, this whole process has been hung up by subaru, who told me that aparently it takes 7-10 business days just to write a letter saying that the car has no recalls, even though they could give me that info over the phone. interesting. so the agent says that i need to EXPORT the car from the US and to fax the title of our car to the customs agent and that it must be there for 72 hours before they allow the vehicle to leave the country (remember that no one told me this when i first crossed the border with my car, this was all news to me). that was thursday and we were returning monday, so it needed to be faxed by friday to be in the "safe zone", as we were told by this agent. when friday rolls around, i try faxing the letter to the office in lewiston, and lo and behold, the machine wasn't picking up. when i finally spoke to a customs agent, he said that the office is closed, and it wouldn't matter anyway because it was friday and the next business day was monday, so i can't export my car until thursday. now, correct me if i'm wrong, but isn't 72 hours different from 3 business days? and i said, you guys are border patrol, isn't your office supposed to be open 24-7??? and he said, no, not that branch which deals with cars. i also added that i am indeed in the process of getting this car imported/exported/whatever but have just been hung up by subaru, it's not my fault, but i do have proof and i have all the paperwork. then he said that it was up to the canadian side, and they'd let probably us through, but not the car. yikes, give me a break! after about 20 minutes of bantering about the difference between 3 business days and 72 hours, i asked, look, forget exporting or whatever, am i going to be able to just take the blasted car out of the states to be in canada for work on tuesday? and he said, yeah, i guess so, but i'm not sure. so, we held our breath until buffalo and of course, they just waved us through once we told them we were in the process. and they didn't even look at our passports! what a debaucle!
so, we got back, and i started work yesterday at DIB (dentist-in-a-box) office. if every day is like the one i had yesterday, i think i'll be pretty set! everyone's very friendly and although my schedule was light because it was my first day, i actually got to do some stuff. i did an emergency root canal, which came out perfectly, and i'm scheduled to do the crown in the future. i also did some treatment planning, some fillings, and some exams. it felt really great to pick up a handpiece again! on friday i go for my orientation to learn the ropes of the company and learn how to use dentrix, the computer charting software. everything was clean, worked properly, and flowed relatively smoothly. so i guess the feeling as of now is cautious optimism, but all-in-all, it was a great day.
oh, the recall letter finally came in from subaru, gotta go to canadian tire and get our baby checked out!
more drama later...
beuarocracy revealed it's omnipresent face once again. when we crossed the border into the states on thursday, we told them that canuck was a canadian citizen and that cookie and i were US citizens but residents of canada. now, my car still has new york plates. we are in the process of importing the car to canada, which requires a trip to the registrar of imported vehicles, inspection by a mechanic to see if the car meets canadian standards, and a recall letter from subaru (the manufacturer) stating that the car has no outstanding recalls (which in and of itself required the faxing of dozens of pieces of paper and more people invovled). now, this whole process has been hung up by subaru, who told me that aparently it takes 7-10 business days just to write a letter saying that the car has no recalls, even though they could give me that info over the phone. interesting. so the agent says that i need to EXPORT the car from the US and to fax the title of our car to the customs agent and that it must be there for 72 hours before they allow the vehicle to leave the country (remember that no one told me this when i first crossed the border with my car, this was all news to me). that was thursday and we were returning monday, so it needed to be faxed by friday to be in the "safe zone", as we were told by this agent. when friday rolls around, i try faxing the letter to the office in lewiston, and lo and behold, the machine wasn't picking up. when i finally spoke to a customs agent, he said that the office is closed, and it wouldn't matter anyway because it was friday and the next business day was monday, so i can't export my car until thursday. now, correct me if i'm wrong, but isn't 72 hours different from 3 business days? and i said, you guys are border patrol, isn't your office supposed to be open 24-7??? and he said, no, not that branch which deals with cars. i also added that i am indeed in the process of getting this car imported/exported/whatever but have just been hung up by subaru, it's not my fault, but i do have proof and i have all the paperwork. then he said that it was up to the canadian side, and they'd let probably us through, but not the car. yikes, give me a break! after about 20 minutes of bantering about the difference between 3 business days and 72 hours, i asked, look, forget exporting or whatever, am i going to be able to just take the blasted car out of the states to be in canada for work on tuesday? and he said, yeah, i guess so, but i'm not sure. so, we held our breath until buffalo and of course, they just waved us through once we told them we were in the process. and they didn't even look at our passports! what a debaucle!
so, we got back, and i started work yesterday at DIB (dentist-in-a-box) office. if every day is like the one i had yesterday, i think i'll be pretty set! everyone's very friendly and although my schedule was light because it was my first day, i actually got to do some stuff. i did an emergency root canal, which came out perfectly, and i'm scheduled to do the crown in the future. i also did some treatment planning, some fillings, and some exams. it felt really great to pick up a handpiece again! on friday i go for my orientation to learn the ropes of the company and learn how to use dentrix, the computer charting software. everything was clean, worked properly, and flowed relatively smoothly. so i guess the feeling as of now is cautious optimism, but all-in-all, it was a great day.
oh, the recall letter finally came in from subaru, gotta go to canadian tire and get our baby checked out!
more drama later...
posted by Dr. Mommy, D.D.S. at
1:22 PM
3 Comments:
Welcome home! Glad that you feel so settled in Canada now that NY has a familiar-yet-foreign feel about it. I know exactly what you are talking about though ... having been there myself the first time I went back to Singapore after a year in Aust. I had a reverse culture shock ! (yes they even have a name for it)
Anyway, your first day sounded wonderful and well rounded. Ever had days where it was all extractions in a row or all fillings in a row? It's like all the forces of the universe are pulling them in together or something. Anyway, heres hoping all your days are as wonderful. Glad you had a great return to dentistry, and warmed up your handpiece :) Also, good luck with importing the car ... don't you just love all that red tape?
By
Rachel, At
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Congrats on the new job! I am glad that it all worked out.
By
Anonymous, At
Friday, February 03, 2006
Hi! just wanted to say that I tried posting a comment on your newest post but failed a few times. Hope that can be rectified. Glad that even though its leading to more paperwork, things with the car and settling in is going fine :) Hope the kid, dog and pop are going well. Also, I am just starting an exercise routine myself, trying to do 30 mins of cardiovascular work a day. Maybe we can encourage each other! I am just trying to stay within good food guidelines, not joining any particular club, to see how I go. good luck on your program! Let me know how your doing and hope your team won the superbowl.
By
Rachel, At
Monday, February 06, 2006
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