An Article That Will Test Your Patience (A Bit)

Wait, wait. Let me take a deep breath and calm my self from this overflowing excitement. Well, this story might bore some of you, especially those who are using a lot of online wallets by now.

Please bear with me, I just got in here for a month. I am an excited kid in just about everything, like I am just seeing another world for the first time. It's that kind of feeling.

Fixing my valid ID documents was not really part of my week's plan. If you remember it, I said in my recent article that I only have May 20, 2021 to get my coins.ph account verified. You remember it now? Don't worry if it's a no, I saved you the trouble of finding it, just read it here. You're welcome.

I looked for many ways to get a valid ID as soon as possible. However, the ideal place where I can claim all possible valid IDs from, is currently closed in accordance to COVID-19 protocols. Long story short, it is just.. not doable. And even if these offices would open and accommodate me, the tendency is to process my IDs for at least ten to twenty days, due to some verification stuff. Welcome to the Philippines, where stuff like this takes too long to accomplish. LOL. I still love my country. Just let me slide on this one.

I looked up into the internet the IDs that are easiest to procure. It showed me one remarkable result: Police Clearance.

Eureka! Yes, police clearance certificate! I immediately smiled knowing I can make it possible. You see, I can just claim a Police Clearance in our Municipal Office just two rides aways from home, pay a reasonable amount, and I can take the document along with me home. No need to wait for days or weeks to have it delivered into my house, unlike the others.

And being the excited, quite impulsive person that I am, I literally filed for the afternoon off today. Yes, I let my supervisor know my plans two hours before. Good thing, she is a considerate person.

Anyway, why should I feel bad for taking a lot of vacation leaves, right? It's part of my compensation package anyway, and I am the one to decide when and how I got to use it.

I ate lunch in the office before leaving to the municipal office. I actually devised two plans on going: first, to inquire about the vaccination setup, because in our country, one can sign up for a free anti-COVID vaccination, maybe it's also used in yours, isn't it? The second is, of course, to apply for a Police Clearance.

Dude, I may have complained about it so many times in my articles, but it's really hot! Let alone, it's the middle of the day, when the heat of the sun is at its peak; just a little exposure can wake up every single sweat gland on your body. I swear, it is so, so hot!

Anyway, so finally I arrived in the office and greeted the officer in charge, and I immediately presented my concern. He told me I have to submit these two requirements: A Barangay Clearance, and a Cedula (Or Community Tax Certificate). At the time, ladies and gentlemen, I don't have both. My shoulders went down in utter disappointment and desperation.

If you have little to no idea about what Barangay means, you can think of it as a village of some sort. You can know more about it here.

As for the Cedula, I just acquired it easily from another office also within the facilities of the Local Government Office. But for the Barangay Certificate, unfortunately, I have to go to the Barangay Office near our residence. It means one thing: I have to go home. Just knowing this made blood go all the way up into my head.

The hassle in getting this paper is overwhelming. Just imagine me, riding a passenger's vehicle from work going to the municipal office? Then another two rides to get home and change clothes wet in perspiration, walk a few kilometers towards the Barangay office while the sun rays are screaming its UV rays, and get the clearance from there. I would really have to endure all this inconvenience just to get my wallet verified, huh? As if I have a choice.

I paid Php 30 (approximately $0.60) for my barangay clearance, and, went back to the municipal office. Uhmm.. Just thinking about how my transportation expenses doubled because of coming back and forth really annoyed the heck out of me. Just breathe in, breathe out. You are getting there, Elle.

Patience is a virtue.

I can't believe I have told this most-used quote in a situation like this. I am not even kidding.

Okay, so here I go. I presented the two papers in front of him and I am really ready to process it at this moment. To the best of my luck, he asked me, "Have you photocopied both of these?"

Have you photocopied both of these?

Have you photocopied both of these?

Have you photocopied both of these?

That powerful question played into my mind repeatedly and all I could mutter to the officer is the despicable truth, "I.. I haven't yet.." in a weak tone, that, to the best of my efforts, I tried to hide.

I knew it. Here we go again. I walked out of the office, for the second time, after I just arrived, so I can have these papers photocopied. Why didn't he tell me beforehand?! My gut was screaming this.

Fine yeah, life goes on. Again, patience is a virtue.

I just recovered from my "sweaty" self, but I am walking in the hot street again, to find the nearest store where I can reproduce copies for these burdensome documents. Hot weather really added 70% impact to my temper. Guess what, I am still calm at this point. Repeated inhales and exhales are really vital to this achievement.

I think it's getting way too long, and you are also getting impatient of my results. So, I will skip to the part where all the complete requirements are accepted, and I just had my details encoded, a quick picture, and a fingerprint scan, then, ta-da! I got my Police Clearance within a minute! Yes, what consumed my time is the traveling and procuring these two requirements.

Can you believe that? I went out of my work at roughly 12:30 p.m. and I accomplished my mission at exactly 3:00 p.m.! Almost three hours of mild torture, and I have a valid ID now!

I remember drinking two glasses of water when I got home. Without even bothering to change my sweat-filled clothes, I immediately opened my coins.ph account, and submitted a photo of my Police Clearance for verification.

Finally. Now, just like what the app said, I will just have to wait for three days to know the outcome of my verification application.

Now, now, now. You think it ended there? Well, here's a surprise! Look at this!

As you can see, this message arrived at 6:15 pm. Just three hours after I uploaded my Police Clearance ID. You know what this means right? I can cash out now! I can send money to other people I want to help as well. My efforts and test of patience are all worth it. No more worrying about the deadline, man!

I just wanna let you know that a big smile is plastered on my face because I have accomplished yet another tiring day. Needless to say, I have been very busy throughout the week as I did lots of things, replaced my lost ATM Card, applied for some of my long unclaimed (almost forgotten) college papers through email, actually lots of emails these days, whether government inquiries, or other organizations. Plus, I got to be the only one preparing for the simple Mothers' Day treat yesterday, as my older sister and younger bro had their own errands to attend to.

Knowing I had successfully fulfilled many things recently made me feel satisfied. It seems like the time spent is not wasted as I got to accomplished many things.

Let me share to you now, the list of the other things I wish to finish when I have the time, means, and availability.

• Visit the dentist for teeth general cleaning

• Open a savings account

• Recycle old clothes into better looking, more trendy styles (through Youtube tutorials hehe)

• Organize my small finance spreadsheet better

• Save up for a new laptop (I haven't had one since birth)

I hope, I will be able to accomplish all of these as soon as possible. My heart will be really happy if they all come true. In Jesus' name!

That's it for my new story time today. The initial title is supposed to be "I got my first ever online wallet verified today!" But, I figured it would be too long and quite boring to read, so I used a, somehow, abstract one that still fits the contents of this work.

I hope you enjoyed it well! You can share me you Monday story, too. Let's discuss about how your day went!

Let me promote this empowering article by @noisytoothie before I end this one. Enjoy!

• https://read.cash/@noisytoothie/inse-cute-rities-77d90ee8

This may sound cringy, but I missed you all. I am serious. Have a happy week ahead!

Start writing and earning here, too!

• https://read.cash/r/Ellehcim

Until Next Time!

• Photos used in the article itself: Source embedded, just click pictures :)