The Vent

[trailmix 77]

This is simple. Tell everyone that while on the plane, Wes (that is his name, right?) caught the flu and can't spend much time on his feet, walking around everywhere. The fact he's "sick" will keep others from coming over and since these individuals are from all over, it's unlikely anyone would see you two out. If they do, have Wes start coughing on them.

If that doesn't work, tell them you have more important matters to attend to and if you have some spare time, you'll introduce Wes. Perhaps that's not the nicest approach, but the time you two spend together -- considering the frequency of such meetings -- overtakes meeting friends.

Are you supporting lying to the religious group deadpool!

[DeadPoolX 9]

This is simple. Tell everyone that while on the plane, Wes (that is his name, right?) caught the flu and can't spend much time on his feet, walking around everywhere. The fact he's "sick" will keep others from coming over and since these individuals are from all over, it's unlikely anyone would see you two out. If they do, have Wes start coughing on them.

If that doesn't work, tell them you have more important matters to attend to and if you have some spare time, you'll introduce Wes. Perhaps that's not the nicest approach, but the time you two spend together -- considering the frequency of such meetings -- overtakes meeting friends.

Are you supporting lying to the religious group deadpool!

I am, after all, evil.

[DeadPoolX 9]

Have I mentioned how much I hate government?

Government Idiocy

I wanted to know more information about importing my car to Canada. I've read all the rules and regulations and complied with them in order to have my car shipped up. I couldn't drive it up -- I lacked the time to do so. Now it's in Canada and I call all the necessary government services up.

Here's how it went:

I called Transportation Canada and they referred me to the Registrar of Imported Vehicles. RIV tells me to call the Canadian Border Services Agency. CBSA says I need to contact the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia. ICBC directs me to AutoPlan. And... AutoPlan says I need to call Transportation Canada.

ICBC

So I go to ICBC to get my Canadian DL. I have all the paperwork ready. I make sure to inform the lady behind the desk that my name is the same as what's on my Texas DL and not the PR card. She says that she can only go by whatever is on the PR card. I tell her I can supply her with proof of my name, including U.S. passport, birth cert, visa to enter Canada and so on. She says none of that matters.

Someone waiting in line was a CBSA officer. He came up to the desk and asked if he could help. I informed him of the PR name issue. He said that's due to the data system at Immigration Canada only allowing a certain number of letters. He also said that Immigration Canada refuses to update it, since they already have the info in their severely outdated system.

The CBSA officer went onto say that I could get an amendment to my PR card, stating what my real name is. They wouldn't replace my PR card (until it expires), but I'd have proof of my name.

The lady replies that even if I had an amendment, she'd still have to go by whatever is on my PR card. The CBSA officer then attempts to reason with her, but she refuses.

AutoPlan

After that, I went to AutoPlan to talk to them about driving my car in Canada. They said I needed to get a "Point A to Point B Permit." Without that, I couldn't legally drive in Canada and that permit allows me to drive my car from my home to an authorized inspection site. Here's the catch: I need my official title.

I tell them that I had to put the title in the glove box of my car when getting it shipped up. That doesn't matter. So I need to rent a car to get the warehouse in Surrey (where the car was dropped off), get my title, drive to an AutoPlan, get the permit, drive back to my car and then take my car home. Did I mention that the permit AutoPlan gives me is only good for one day and in order to get a new one, I need to physically go there and pay? The permit isn't even good for a full 24 hours. If I got one at 6AM or 7PM, it'd still expire at midnight. I should also note that I'll need one of those "Point A to Point B Permits" for at least two days; maybe more.

BMW Canada and Canadian Tire

I still need to get it inspected. To do that, I need to pay the RIV for Form 1 and send them my recall letter. I got a recall letter from my dealership in Texas. Apparently that's not enough. I now have to bring my car to BMW Canada, have them do whatever inspection they claim has to be done and get a recall letter from them.

Once I have BMW Canada's recall letter, I can then send a copy to the RIV and wait for them to send me Form 2. They don't give an expected time frame for Form 2 to arrive. Once I actually have Form 2, I can then bring my car over to Canadian Tire and have them do another inspection.

After Canadian Tire's inspection, I can finally go get auto insurance from AutoPlan.

That's my vent for today.

[JillA 2]

Thanks sucks deadpool.... I thought importing my car here was difficult apparently not! Isn't there anyone that can give you a ride, instead of having to rent a car to go and get your title?

[Sprailenes 47]

Wow.

Thats lame DPX. Such a process, and probably all for nothing really. Bureaucracy sucks.

[TheATeam 0]

I used to work at a registry in Alberta and I can tell you, for the most part, getting a Canadian DL and transferring/importing your car can be pretty difficult, especially if you're working with ignorant people.

It's too bad the lady at ICBC wouldn't listen to the officer. I hated people like that when I worked at the registry. I'm sure things are different in BC than Alberta but there was always a little wiggle room in Alberta and in fact we had to go by what was on the Passport unless you didn't have your passport handy. They usually don't issue permits longer than one day if you don't have insurance on the vehicle.

I'm sorry that it's such a pain DPX! I can completely sympathize.

[MrsCat 6]

Holy fudge DPX! What a rigmarole.

[Emancipation 2]

So.. some of you will remember the mess last year we got into with our "former" employer and him not paying us.. well we got some $$ in 2008 for work that was done for the most part in 2007, and he's not given us a W-2 for it.. we've called and they no longer have offices that we can find online, so we are stuck trying to call a cell phone number.. what a pain in the neck, and I don't even have a pay stub for tax purposes, as he just wrote us hand written checks nothing "official like".. for 2008.. bah

So we have to "prove" to the IRS that we made attempts to get our W-2 and guestimate what we paid in taxes.. for all I know he never submitted the with holdings. blech

[trailmix 77]

BMW Canada and Canadian Tire

I still need to get it inspected. To do that, I need to pay the RIV for Form 1 and send them my recall letter. I got a recall letter from my dealership in Texas. Apparently that's not enough. I now have to bring my car to BMW Canada, have them do whatever inspection they claim has to be done and get a recall letter from them.

Once I have BMW Canada's recall letter, I can then send a copy to the RIV and wait for them to send me Form 2. They don't give an expected time frame for Form 2 to arrive. Once I actually have Form 2, I can then bring my car over to Canadian Tire and have them do another inspection.

After Canadian Tire's inspection, I can finally go get auto insurance from AutoPlan.

That's my vent for today.

That is surely a bureacratic mess.

Deadpool - unless you are specifically required to take your car to Canadian Tire - I would find someone else to inspect it.

[Flames9_RN 358]

I like Canadian Tire, BUT would never let them do much more than change oil or put on tires!!

[Marilyn. 340]

my dad took one of his vehicles to Canadian tire once for just something basic.. and when he went to pick it up, they said they had seen it needed other stuff and had gone ahead and fixed the problems they had found and of course charged my dad for the repairs

needless to say he never took his vehicle there anymore..

Edited February 14, 2009 by *Marilyn*

[minnew 4]

Well it's Valentines Day everyone! Happy Valentine's Day to everyone and especially those who get to spend it with their loved one!

Me on the other hand I am very said as this day is a double whammy because it is also our 4 year anniversary of when we started dating and I can't be with him! Next time I will see him is the end of March for 2 weeks...after that visit who knows! maybe not until the summer!! ( Shopping for bridal dresses is really starting to frustrate me too! I don't like long trains, lace, tons of beadwork, or that new look with all the bustling on the bottom!! and the sizing is driving me nuts one designer I am a 2 and the next designer a 6 is too tight!! Gaahh!! They need a Davids Bridal in Canada!!

[TheATeam 0]

minnew, it's just a thought but almost any bridesmaid dress can be ordered in white or ivory. They're SO much cheaper and often don't have a train. You'd never know that it wasn't actually a wedding dress! Btw, in my experience, David's Bridal sucks! They were so awful to me that I never went back.

[Ontarkie 14,133]

Minnew when i looked for my dress the first thing I told the girls in the stores was i wanted something informal and she pulled out just what i wanted the first try.

[Sprailenes 47]

I knew I didn't want a bustle either, but I ended up having one. It was pretty much the only dress that didn't make me look like a disco ball, I didn't want beading or sequence either. I wanted them to take the bustle off, but they didn't in the end.

I hated the bustle though, I have pretty big hips and junk in the trunk, so I didn't need a freaking bustle accentuating it.

Edited February 14, 2009 by Sprailenes