Wild Goose Chase

I have lost a little tiny thing that suddenly holds a very large value. It's a little blue card, and it has my name on it, along with a certain nine digit number that is used to identify me in computer systems nation-wide. I honestly cannot remember the last time that I even saw it, much less where I have put it. I have moved three times in the past three years, so in reality there is no telling where it is. I have looked in every box, every bag, every piece of mail, and every old purse and wallet in my house. I'm not freaking out too badly about it being gone exactly. I told a friend of mine the other day that if an identity theft had come across it, it wouldn't take him long to find out that my number wouldn't do him very much good. LOL! However, I need a copy of it in order to apply for a really good job that I found. I called the necessary government office about the matter, and they were more than happy to send me another one... in about six weeks. Wonderful. I did find some other official documents that have the necessary number on them, so I have a call in to the lady over the job to see if I can use one of those. I have already called two of the four banks that I've used in my lifetime. They don't have it. I have called my doctor's office, and they don't have it. It's not in my file at my last job either. This morning I called the first place I ever worked. The manager said that they do in fact make a copy of those little cards, but he was sure that my file was stashed away in the attic. He just called me back and said that my file was gone. It's been almost ten years since I worked there, and places are not required to keep records past seven years. That brings to mind a whole new feeling. That place was such a large part of my life for almost four years, and now there's almost no proof that I was ever there. Hmmm... Anyhow, the search continues. I thought about calling my old high school, but it's been ten years since I graduated, so that means that my file there is probably stashed in an attic or some off-site storage facility by now. Realizing how obsolete some of my files are is beginning to make me feel a little old.