I apologize for the lack of technical posts here recently.  Most, if not all, of my technical posts have done at the Alagad blog. Be forewarned, this is another non-technical post.

In June, I am speaking at Scotch on the Rocks and will need a passport. The last time I had a passport was when I was in high school (a long, long time ago) and because it has been expired for so long, I needed to apply as if I never had a passport. This is where the story begins...

I submitted my passport application in December, along with the required documents, which included my birth certificate.  Keep in mind this is the same birth certificate I used for many purposes, such as getting my driver's license, getting my original passport and even more recently, getting clearance from more than one government agency.

About 4-5 weeks later (maybe longer) I received a letter for the Department of State that because I was born in Hudson County, New Jersey, I needed to get a 'new' copy of my birth certificate from the New Jersey Division of Vital Statistics.  A phone call to the passport agency revealed that, at some time in the past, there was some 'malfeasance' in the Hudson County Registrar's Office, and any birth certificate issued by that office was no longer acceptable for acquiring a passport.

It seems that in order to obtain your birth certificate from the New Jersey Division of Vital Statistics in a timely manner, they suggest that you order it through a third party named Vital Check.  This does not come cheap.  it cost me $55.00 for 2 copies of my birth certificate.  it also did not come quickly, it took about 3 weeks before I received the copies.  I quickly sent one of the copies to the passport office as they requested. Basically, it was the exact same thing I sent earlier,  but on different paper.

Fast forward about 2-3 weeks and I get a call from the passport office (which really took me by surprise) letting me know that the new copies were also not acceptable as the date my birth was filed was not legible on the copy. Crap!

So, I ring up the New Jersey Division of Vital Statistics.  I was able to speak with someone who was very friendly and appeared to willing and able to help me.  They assured me that new birth certificates with all the correct information would be sent to me. Surprisingly, a week later, I received the new copies.  Unfortunately, aside from the date they were printed, they were identical to the copy I was already told was not acceptable.

I ring up Vital Statistics again this morning (the office was closed Friday), and after about an hour of trying to actually speak with a human, I get the same person I spoke with last week.  Again, very friendly and very eager to help. They explain that the only thing they can do is 'manually type' the birth certificate and send them to me (which is frighteningly similar to what they told me they were going to do last time). They assured me that it would 'go out in the mail' today. So, heres to hoping that is indeed the case.

All this hassle, and stress of possibly missing my trip, because of a small case of 'malfeasance ', God knows how long ago, in Hudson County, NJ.  This just reaffirms my belief that New Jersey is a great place to be 'from'.