if you catch me at the border i (don't) got visas in my name...

It is unfortunate that the first post on my shiny new blog should be such a miserable one. but here I am at the Toronto Reference Library and here's the story:

Today was my visa interview. The website said that visas usually take 10 days to be processed but that if the consulate has your file earlier, before the interview, you can get the visa the same day. so I was prepared to get my visa today. My interview time was 10:15 and I showed up at 9:30, so far so good. There is heavy security in the form of a short rude Indian man who asked me for ID before letting me into the waiting room. I waited and flipped through a French travel magazine that just happened to have an amazing article about the region of France that I am going to be in. This got me all excited. But I was also pretty nervous. When I got called up the lady at the counter asked for my documents and my passport and I gave them to her and everything was in order and I was waiting while she went through it. A few minutes later and problem number one struck:

My birthdate on my official job offer letter was wrong. And I didn't even see it before. The idiotic thing is that I filled out the form correctly and sent it to the embassy, who sent it to France whose only job was to copy the birthdate I had written, and they messed up. That aside, the lady behind the counter continued to process my visa and she completed everything and told me I had to wait to hear back from them in the next 10 days for my visa. Enter problem number two:

They did say that as long as they had my file, I would get my visa the day of my interview, right? When I asked her about this she said yes, but the file needs to go through to the visa section and they just had my file on file, and hadn't yet put it through for the visa. Asking her why my form was just hanging out in their office and not yet in the visa section would have been rude. But that was all I could think about. And I am supposed to be flying out tomorrow.

Then followed a long period of emailing everyone to let them know what happened from a computer that automatically logged me out every 15 minutes. I even went back to the consulate twice to ask the lady behind the counter questions to try and salvage my flight ticket somehow. She told me that there was no way whatsoever that I could apply for the visa in France or Europe and she was a bit snippy about it. So was the Indian security guard.

So now I wait and it could take up to 10 days. So it could be tomorrow (cross you fingers) or next week. I feel like I should add that the lady behind the counter did put it on 'emergency' so idealy they should let me know faster than usual. But who knows what France considers fast in an emergency? I digress because I am bitter.

So I'm still here in Toronto. Spirits are low. Throat is sore.

I need creative ways to help me switch my flight ticket. Any suggestions would be largely appreciated.

And I would like to acknowledge the love from the amazing Jason To and Candace McKay. FASHION!

Craving: a 'your visa is ready for pickup' email tomorrow morning and lots of hot water
currently listening to: the plastic rustles and clicks of this public library's computer section.