Went down to Vital Records to pick up Almi's birth certificate. Back and forth in lines. Had to pay cash for it since my driver's license had just expired. I was about to leave when a man came up to me and said, "Ma'am, no disrespect but you can see right through your dress. You should have worn a slip."

Hmmm, I was very embarrassed of course, but I was already downtown and I had more errands to run. Did I want to be embarrassed all day about the world seeing my legs or go all the way home to change (since I don't own a slip and haven't worn one in about 30 years)? Being embarrassed won out and I forged on to do the rest of my downtown errands.

Headed to the Office of Tax and Revenue and to the Office of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs to apply for a business license (necessary to rent out my house) and to get the Certificate of Occupancy. More lines. More fees. And my license was still expired. Can't charge anything with an expired license I discovered (even though it's still me) so I was forced to walk back and forth and up and down the street in the bright sunlight showing my gams to the world in search of an ATM. I couldn't find one but there was a drugstore so I went in and bought a bottle of iced tea and inquired about the maximum amount of cash back allowed. "$35.00," I was told. "OK," I responded. "And after I buy this I would like to do another transaction so I can get another $35.00." But the cashier wouldn't let me. "I don't have enough cash in my register for that." Defeated, I trudged down to the grocery in the 98 degree heat and purchased some stuffed chicken to eat and relax a bit before heading home. I could try again tomorrow, I figured. Before I took a bite of food though, I placed a phone call to my friend who does real estate stuff to ask him some questions about the application. He was able to answer them so I decided I should go ahead and knock this item off my to do list while I was already downtown. So, I put my chicken in the car and headed back into the grocery store to find something else to buy so I could get some cash back from there. I needed $190 for the business license and I now had $120 in my wallet. I grabbed a fruit roll up and got into the express line. When I got to the front of the line I asked what the cash back maximum that was allowed. "$65.00" I was told. Darn! I was going to be $5 short. "OK," I told the cashier,"I am going to do one more transaction after this one to get some more cash back." "No, I won't let you do that. I am at an express register. I can't give you any more cash back." "I only need five more dollars," I informed her. "No." "Five dollars?" "No."

Seriously? It was going on noon. I hadn't eaten a thing all day and I had been running around in the heat for hours trying to get this thing checked off my to do list. Frustrated, and knowing bacteria in my lunch was quickly multiplying, I decided to just forget it and go home. On the way out of the grocery store though I spied an ATM in the corner so I paid my $3 fee and got out the remainder of the money needed.

The next two hours were spent in more lines and filling out more paperwork and in the end all I was given was a pile of papers and a number to call to schedule an inspection. If I pass, the certificate will be mailed to me and I will be approved to rent my property for two years. Five hours and $341.43 later ($190 for Cert. of Occ., $58 for birth certificates, $1.99 for tea, $72.49 for groceries, $3.95 ATM fee,$15.00 parking) I headed home.

Can we say tiring and time-consuming and inefficient? I can! By the way, I called and the next available appointment for an inspector is July 25th. Five days after I leave. Thankfully the management company agreed to be there for it. Oh and my chicken was good. And best part? No food poisoning cause I really don't have time for that!