I felt like I wasted today.  Judy left on time, and I slowly took care of my usual morning duties.  I had three jobs on my radar today, groceries at Metro, swimming, and registering for our temporary residence permit after our return from Thailand (govt. requirement).

I decided to walk to Metro first for the grocery shopping.  It’s cold, (-3° C), but the wind isn’t blowing, so it’s not too bad.  I made the mistake of going when I was hungry.  The cardinal rule of grocery shopping is not to go when you’re hungry, and I was starving.  I came home with cookies, ice cream,, and several different types of nuts.  I also found some sliced jellyfish, but decided I already had more than I could carry.

How about a little sliced jellyfish?

When I got home, I unloaded the groceries, and began sampling all the bad stuff.  Then I decided a nap would help give me the energy I needed for my swim.  When I finally got up, I sat down at the computer to check on a few things, and before I knew it, I had run out of time to go to the pool.  Darn!

Judy was coming home early today, around 4:30, so we could go over to the police station to register for our temporary residence permit, after returning from Thailand.  We taxied over, arriving about 4:45, drew a number, and began to wait.  There was a crowd.  I guess everyone who went out of town for the New Years Holiday needed to register, and there was only one clerk working.  The office was supposed to close at 5:30, but it was 5:50 when she finally got to us.  We were the only people left, and she had seen us standing near her window while she worked through the others in front of us.  She muttered something, pointed at the door, and began to turn off her computer.  I played dumb for a while, but she walked out of her office into the lobby, unplugged a couple of things, and pointed at the door again, telling us to leave in Chinese (I think).  We didn’t get registered.  It’s going to require another trip.  How fun!  I’m thinking we might have been racially profiled.

By the time we came out, it was near dusk, and really cold.  There were no taxis around.  It took us 10 minutes to finally get one.  By the time we got back to the apartment, we were in need of all the junk food I had purchased earlier.