And yet, we are a global superpower

So apparently I'm the first person in the history of the State Department to renew a badge. At least, that's how it felt. I foolishly allotted only 20 minutes for the process because I made an appointment, filled out the form in advance, and it seemed straightforward. (Go ahead and laugh.) My first attempt to submit the form resulted in having to run back upstairs to get a different signature.

Side note: You cannot get from the basement badging office to my second floor office by taking the stairs near the badging office - the door leading from the stairwell to the second floor doesn't have a handle or doorknob - and the elevator near the badging office takes you to a part of the second floor that you literally cannot escape from.

My second attempt to submit the form resulted in me having to go the second floor again and get a signature from the security office for my super secret badge. The security office couldn't find any record of me. Not very encouraging. Every person in the office was scouring file cabinets trying to find my file. At one point someone asked, "Have you looked under H for 'Heather'?" After 20 minutes the file was still missing so a workaround was discovered.

And yet, somehow, we are a global superpower. Go figure.