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Writing Research
Feb. 6th, 2006 02:04 pmSo, my next writing project involves a character getting a large package from her recently deceased German uncle's estate. I asked a lawyer friend how this would actually work (would it show up at her door? at the airport?) and he said that given the circumstances in the story (it is shipped to her unopened, according to her uncle's instructions) it would be held at the Port Authority in Chicago and she would have to go down in person to get it.
I need to know where she's actually going to have to go, who she'll have to talk to, how many forms she'll have to fill out, and so on. Will it be a routine thing for the person assisting her? Will she have to stand in a long line? How big of a hassle is parking going to be?
So, I googled for the Port Authority in Chicago and concluded, after browsing through their website (which -- not surprisingly -- offers no information about this specific situation) that I should probably talk to Customs. I called the number. I got a phone tree with lots of specific departments like "AMS" but no option for "general inquiries." I tried the operator, who said I should probably call the downtown office and gave me a number. I tried the downtown office and got a human being right off, who listened to my explanation, and then forwarded me to someone she didn't name. The phone rang a few times and then went to a completely anonymous voicemail box: "Please leave your name and number after the tone." Uhhhhhhhh, okay. I left a slow, careful message explaining that I'm a writer working on a story, leaving my name, phone number, and e-mail address, and asking them to please call me back even if it's just to say that I've called completely the wrong person.
I have this horrible feeling that whoever it is will never call me back.
Does anyone know anyone who works for Customs, or for the Port Authority in Chicago?
I used to imagine that the "hi, I'm a writer and I need to know..." calls would be easy once I was a "real" (published) writer. Ha.
At least I didn't grow up to become an anthropologist (or some other social scientist or humanities professor who would need to do actual fieldwork). That's all about cold-calling strangers and hitting them up for favors. (Or you can go somewhere without phones, which means you need to show up on people's doorsteps to ask your questions -- which is even worse.)
I need to know where she's actually going to have to go, who she'll have to talk to, how many forms she'll have to fill out, and so on. Will it be a routine thing for the person assisting her? Will she have to stand in a long line? How big of a hassle is parking going to be?
So, I googled for the Port Authority in Chicago and concluded, after browsing through their website (which -- not surprisingly -- offers no information about this specific situation) that I should probably talk to Customs. I called the number. I got a phone tree with lots of specific departments like "AMS" but no option for "general inquiries." I tried the operator, who said I should probably call the downtown office and gave me a number. I tried the downtown office and got a human being right off, who listened to my explanation, and then forwarded me to someone she didn't name. The phone rang a few times and then went to a completely anonymous voicemail box: "Please leave your name and number after the tone." Uhhhhhhhh, okay. I left a slow, careful message explaining that I'm a writer working on a story, leaving my name, phone number, and e-mail address, and asking them to please call me back even if it's just to say that I've called completely the wrong person.
I have this horrible feeling that whoever it is will never call me back.
Does anyone know anyone who works for Customs, or for the Port Authority in Chicago?
I used to imagine that the "hi, I'm a writer and I need to know..." calls would be easy once I was a "real" (published) writer. Ha.
At least I didn't grow up to become an anthropologist (or some other social scientist or humanities professor who would need to do actual fieldwork). That's all about cold-calling strangers and hitting them up for favors. (Or you can go somewhere without phones, which means you need to show up on people's doorsteps to ask your questions -- which is even worse.)
