FedEx Fail

Today was a stressful day. My work is at least mildly stressful by nature, especially when I'm trying to prepare for a meeting, can't get my bosses to review my "designs" in time, and end up having to BS my way through to a number of individuals who, granted this is by no means a rare occurrence, probably think I'm incompetent at what I do. On the other hand, it seems I'm quite competent at creating never-ending run-on sentences. (And hyphenating.)

In addition to normal stress (work-related,) I also spent an insane amount of time on the phone today with both David and FedEx. When I saw that for the fifth day in a row, the package I sent him was still under "clearance delay" in Barcelona, I started to fear that the too-good-to-be-true shipping discount I get through my work was just that.

Apparently, when they saw a blue fabric peaking through the seam at the top of the box, which had been shipped from my place of employment, they assumed it was a purchase for which David was trying to avoid paying taxes and duty fees. Disregarding that the paperwork said the package was "personal", an investigation of sorts was in order. Hmph.

The kind lady on the phone told me that we would have to pay the 80 euros if we wanted the package to clear. But when I explained to her the situation, she was happy to pass on my statement listing the contents of the box. Any new items would come with a fee. The only new items in the package are four still packaged dress shirts that I scored for $3 each at a work sample sale and an assortment of snack foods. The bulk of the package, including the catalyst for this unfortunate event, an old Mexican blanket, probably still covered in cat hair despite my best efforts; are old and/or used. Tomorrow will tell whether we'll get a reduction on the ridiculous sum they're asking (which David insists on paying even if it's twice what I paid to ship it initially.) Moral of the story? Spain is greedy y'all, better watch out!

This has me pretty concerned about the next (and hopefully final) package I'll be sending, as it will be twice the size, and most definitely flagged. I'm going to wait until the cat's out of the bag about my leaving at work, and will then be able to explain from my desk, "listen bitch, I'm moving to Spain, these our my possessions, and I refuse to pay taxes on them," which the lovely lady fortunately told me was a legitimate protest. Whatever is to come with this and the next package, I've come to the realization that these are likely only the first small bureaucratic hurdles we have yet to pass as I transition into living and working in a different nation. Will it be worth it? Hell yeah! Will it be fun? Hell no! Will it lead to several long-winded amusing blog posts in the future? Probably!

Also, I finally got my notification via email today that the Glee casting has begun! Time to dive into a humiliating five-minute audition video that will be approximately one million and one times more likely to be fun to make than to catapult me into the musical stardom I once aspired to reach. Yay!