The Blue Chair/Brown Chair System Goes Bad

I went to pick our our final approved visa’s at the San Francisco consulate today. Very easy. The security lady remembered me, which was kind of nice. The guy who stamped the passports knew my last name without cross-referencing the number on my receipt, which was kind of unnerving. I’d never spoken to him before. The paranoia began immediately – what was it about our application that was memorable? Maybe all that time JM spent writing his letter of motivation actually made an impact.

The Blue Chair/Brown Chair system was still in use.  There were only two people waiting – both sitting smack-dab up against each other in the line of blue chairs in an otherwise empty room. Both gentlemen were rather, um, large, and you could feel them straining to give each other their personal space. I was very happy to get a brown chair with lots and lots of elbow room.