I found myself with a window of open time yesterday, and decided to drive to the County Courthouse and see about getting papers filed for my name change. For those who may not know, I'm trying to eliminate my given first name which I haven't used since I was twelve, so that there are only three names that I need to deal with - my preferred name, my last name and my married name. That's quite enough, thank you. I've never been fond of my given name, and I haven't voluntarily used it since I entered 7th grade. Getting rid of it seems much more sensible and will allow me to get a "Real ID" and the other myriad official ID things without difficulty.
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This two-story+ high marble statue called "Vision of Peace" is the centerpiece of the Ramsey County Court House. It's truly stunning. I was walking towards the entry from the car park, and was on the second floor passing it. It still was taller than my level. It's a great building - tons of stuff to see and perfect post-Depression era architecture with art-deco decor. |
It was a good thing I had been there so many times for Jury Duty more than a year ago, I knew just where I wanted to park, and knew the way through the skyways to get to the courthouse. I filled out the paperwork, gave them my credit card for the $350 fee (ouch!) and my case has now been assigned to Judge Leonardo Castro. I don't have a date yet, but it will be a Zoom call instead of in-person. I'll get in touch with my two "witnesses" later today and let them know what's happening. I wish I had a date - that would be even easier - but at least I'll be able to be scheduled onto the calendar. Baby steps.
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The actual court hearing will take about 30 minutes on Zoom. My two witnesses will also need to be available on Zoom. I'll speak to Chickie about whether her Mom is comfortable with that format. I'm sure my eldest niece is. If not, since it's a Zoom meeting, I can call upon other people who aren't local to be my witnesses. Sharon comes to mind. |
I'm feeling rather uninspired for my daily post today, however, and will cut it short here. You don't need paragraphs about normality, and I'm looking at a desk full of paperwork that has to be dealt with. *sigh* I hope all of you have a truly fabulous weekend and I'll be back on Monday. Slava Ukraini.
