The waiting is the hardest part

"The waiting is the hardest part
Every day you see one more card
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart
The waiting is the hardest part" Tom Petty.
I couldn't take it any longer. The waiting. I dutifully applied for my residence permit immediately upon entering the country. And then waited for the wheels of the bureaucracy to slowly grind toward a decision. I was granted a visa to enter the country with the intention of gaining residency, but the embassy had been sure to tell me that just because they approved my entry didn't mean that the my local canton (county) would approve my residence application. When you enter the country on a tourist visa, you must leave after 3 months. Although I wasn't exactly on a tourist visa, it was unclear what my status would be if I didn't have my residence permit after 3 months. I was rapidly approaching 3 months and my patience was running out. On Friday I decided it was time to go to our local town office and make sure that there were no problems with my application. I told the guy my name and a few words in German. He responded with a few words, including "Heute" (today). Today? Jackpot! My lucky day. He went to look in a pile of papers, made a phone call and then sent me upstairs to the cashier. The cashier presented me with my permit and a bill. The paying is the second hardest part. For just 161 CHF I was the proud new owner of a plastic sleeve with a piece of paper in it and photo of myself (that I had already paid for). I happily paid the fee in exchange for my plastic sleeve and the privilege of residing in Switzerland for the next year (until I would have to reapply). As I walked out of the building with a big grin on my face, I looked at the date on the invoice they had prepared to send to me and sure enough it was the same day. Not just a case of "oh yeah, we just got that today" now that you stopped by to ask, when really we've had it sitting here for the last month.
The waiting is the hardest part: Part II
About 2 months ago S lost her apartment key after a comical series of bad decisions that had to do with washing Raven in the river, Raven escaping and running about the forest, Raven being caught, S attaching her key to Raven's collar with a piece of string, key disappearing while running with Raven, you get the idea. Since then we have been operating with one apartment key and the combination of one garage key and storage area key. Most times I am home when S returns from work and she buzzes me and I open the door. If I am not going to be home I can leave the key in our storage area in the basement and she can enter through the underground garage, open the storage area and get the key. Then she must be home when I return. You can see how this might be slightly inconvenient. S requested a new key from our rental company and they told her it would take about a week. The keys are special security keys so we can't just go get our own copy at the local hardware store. After 2 weeks I inquired as to the status of our order. Then again after 2 weeks and then again about 2 weeks later. It was Friday and I was feeling lucky so I was going to head to the rental office and see why it was taking 2 months to have a key made. First I returned home and checked the mail. Jackpot! The key was in the box. Unbelievable. The 2 things I had been waiting months for both arrived on the same day! The paying is the second hardest part. One key, cut and mailed- 56.50 CHF. The freedom to live unmolested by the authorities and to enter our apartment at will- priceless.