The Friday that was

With the long holiday (with me taking the Friday off between Deepavali and the weekend) I decided to take my maid to the Indonesian Embassy to renew her passport.

I took along my AF1 just to accompany me. We arrived at the parking besides the Embassy at about 8 am. As soon as we walked to the Embassy we were already been approached by the 'Calo' offering tips and services.

Pak! gambar sudah diambil? Belakangnya merah ya bukan biru. IC nya sudah di fotostat? Paspor sudah di fotosat?

Me being me, I realised that I havent photocopied my IC and some pages of the passport... so might as well do it...

Then after all was done.. then came the offer...

Calo: Pak! kalau mau saya uruskan semua bisa.. semua sampai beres...
Me: Berapa? bila siap?
Calo: RM250 sahaja..... siap Rabu depan....

What the..... the passport renewal would cost me RM22 only and would be ready the same day...
So being the selfish and kiasu dude that I am.. figuring I would save a lot, I politely declined..

Later I realised what I need to go through....

We arrived at the Embassy gate and we started to queue up. It was a long long line. Reached the guard at the gate, he went through the documents and when he found everything in order, he gave us the renewal forms to fill. Then on to the counters (or Loket). The was no numbers, just queue up. At least it was orderly. So got my maid to join the queue. There was no need for the employer to be in the queue.

So my AF1 and I left to run some errands. half an hour later, we returned, only to find my maid have barely moved and inch. Ouch!

So, what to do me and my AF1 went out again, this time we decided to go to the nearby Secret Recipe just to hang out. Another hour passed by... finished my cup of coffee and the Almond Brownies (yum) and headed back to the Embassy.

Luckily this time my maid have reached the counter and completed the transaction. She paid the RM22 for a three year 24 pages Passport. A quick check with the guard, and the passport will be given out from 3 pm.

It was only 11 am, I decided to drive home, go for Friday prayers and return alone to the Embassy in the afternoon, just to get it over with. Looking at the slip number, #165, I thought I wouldnt have to wait long.

Or so I thought

So at exactly 3 pm I arrived at the embassy, thinking that I just need to queue up at the counter, hand in the slip and wait for my turn...

How wrong I was...

What happened was... you just have to wait until they call out the name of the passport holder... I dont know heads or tail, I dont know how long I have to wait, I dont know whether my maid's name have been called. So I had no choice but to stay there and wait for the names to be called....

I peeked a glance at the people around me, there was a number 347, a number 89... well I was thinking my number is between these two, so I should be OK.. it wouldnt take long....

Again I was wrong.

So I just stood there, cannot go far since I need to be within hearing distance of the speakers. There were people who cam all the way from Ipoh and Kelantan just to renew either their passport or the maids.

To cut a long story short..... my maids name was finally called at...... 6.15 pm

I tried very very hard to be patient and not to curse.....