After going through the closest thing to purgatory that an atheist can go through, the greyhound bus, I finalized my legal name change on the 29th of May. ^_^ It was a journey that took me approximately 4 days of hell and torment. The journey started on Tuesday, May 27th, when I arrived at the Denver Greyhound station and had to wait in fucking line for a baggage tag for one of my bags. I was almost worried that the bus would leave me. But the bus ultimately left 45 minutes late because the driver needed to pack about 6 more people onto the bus. And before we even left, a passenger that was drunk as a skunk, took a swing at another passenger before we even left the terminal. Well, at least he got a good night’s rest at Denver County Jail.
Anyway, the second day is about as uneventful. I got absolutely no sleep at all on the trip over to Indiana, and I was counting down the minutes until we arrived in Indianapolis. I was counting down the mile markers to the state lines or our next destination. We finally arrived in Indianapolis (early, which is a surprise to me) and my good friend was waiting for me. She escorted me down to her home where I would spend the night, gather my personal effects from her home and prepare for the trip back to Denver.
When I woke up on the day of the name change (or the third day), I was raring and ready to go. I was dressed in a very court-appropriate and feminine attire. And after a couple of hours being 100% sure that everything was in order for the court name change, we finally left for Brownstown, the home of the Jackson County Circuit Court. And fortunately, Judge Vance was willing to see me early and within no more than 30 minutes, I affirmed that I would tell the truth, answered the judge’s questions and basically, walked out with 5 original copies of the court ordered name change (1 of them for my friend). We then rushed back to the Greyhound station so I could ultimately get back to Denver as quickly as possible. But I made 100% sure to get something from the White Castle across the street from the bus station. ^_~
The trip back was just as hellish, including a leg of the trip from Effingham, Illinois to St. Louis where a convicted felon who was still technically in the custody of the Department of Corrections was riding Greyhound just a few seats away from me. Yeah, this point makes me so nervous and wishing that I would have just flown the friendly skies. Through much pain and ache, I ultimately returned to Denver, when I returned home and took a little nap. After that, I made sure to go to the Department of Revenue office to file my name change and DR 2083. And with that, I got my fully female Colorado ID card.
On the following Sunday at First Unitarian, I lit a candle of joy for the fact that I survived this journey and came out of it as Ms. Jessica Emily Sideways, now with a fully legal status. And even though Social Security would not initially recognize my name change, I will definitely be back at Social Security tomorrow, with my new Colorado ID.
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