As discussed in Power of Attorney – Part 2, I found the Italian Consulate of New Jersey a bit lackluster. But as I really had nothing to compare it to as far as Italian Consulates go, I got the stamps I thought I needed, and was on my way.
I headed to my office in NYC and loaded up the document as a PDF so that my attorney could see if it was correctly stamped. The cost to overnight the document in time for the January 28 pre-trial hearing would be around $110 and we both wanted to be sure I had what I needed before heading to FedEx. So, of course, Valentino took one look at the PDF and called me with his displeasure. The consular officer had not performed the duties he needed her to, and he told me – to my great annoyance – that I’d have to go back and do it all over again. Except this time, he arranged an appointment for me with the Italian Consulate of New York for a few days later. At least I wouldn’t have to go to Newark again.
On January 19, I hopped the subway uptown to my appointment to a much fancier building with a more official feel. This is New York and each country tries to make a statement with their particular Embassy building. While I feel that Poland’s Embassy is head and shoulders above all others, this one was pretty impressive.
I got in line, went through the security check, and found my way three floors up to my appointment. This experience was night-and-day different. The officer I met was no-nonsense, crisp with her actions and thorough. She stamped the hell out of the documents I gave her. In sequential order, she’d take two pages at a time, crease the inner margins, tape them so as to form a spine, and then she’d stamp across the seam such that if one page was missing, it’d be evident by the presence of just a half stamp image. The process seemed…antiquated yet clever. I still can’t decide what I think of it.
About 20 stamps later and signing my name twice that many times, I was assured I had what I needed to grant Valentino power of attorney. Good God, I sure hoped so. Here is a look at two of the pages of a 14-page finished product:
My attorney was pleased with the outcome, and off I went to FedEx where I departed with $110 (having just paid $55 AGAIN for the consulate’s work). Completing the work felt good to me because it made me feel like I was continuing to participate in my case and I knew my attorney was grateful for my speed in completing these tasks. That’s the best I could do.
I set my sights on January 28 and had decided I would conduct my day as normal as possible with a morning trip to the gym, work, etc. Nevermind the fact I knew that Valentino was going to (hopefully) surprise Marco’s team with the Power of Attorney request and demand damages be determined before the criminal trial (assuming the judge would send my case to trial). If I could have figured a way to have the pre-trial hearing on web cam or Skype, I would have. But at the time, I didn’t think to ask. My thinker was tired.
A Fight Back Woman 