Personal Dork Assistant

Twisty Maze of Passages

Went mom to the local neighborhood city office to get a Taiwanese ID card. Like most of the buildings nearby, the city office is mostly new, situated in a plaza across the street from Taipei 101. Had a bit of a shock when we arrived (love how the cabs are cheap enough to ride for half a mile just to avoid the mid-day heat), as the outside of the building was surrounded by massive razor wire barriers, gun-toting policemen, and TV trucks. Turned out that they were recounting votes inside. Had to take the stairs since the elevator was blocked off by all the media people. Getting a new ID card was surprisingly painless. They found my record from umpteen years ago, and mom managed to talk the lady into processing the application with only two photos, even as the next booth over was telling the guy that he had to have three photos for a new ID card.

That was only the first step, of course. Went up to the sixth floor to try to get a National Health Insurance card. No such luck, as one has to reside in-country for four months before one can enroll. They did direct us over to the proper bureaucrat for the military service paperwork. The stuttering salaryman in the desk in the corner informed us that I don't in fact have foreign-resident status, and was still due to be drafted unless we provide the proper reams of paperwork. Thankfully mom knows someone who used to work at the Immigration Office so that shouldn't be too much trouble, I don't think. A couple of years in the army can't be that bad, can it?