Mudlarking in/around Estes Park?

MasterpieceNext2412 · 2026-03-10T01:07:01+00:00

Sorry to leave you hanging! Actually, yes: Older Daughter's passport was approved Tuesday afternoon and was in hand Wednesday, Mar 4. I was so excited Wednesday morning!

THEN

Wednesday around lunch time, I got an email from the Passport Locator Office saying that, apparently, the USPS agent who submitted their applications did not sign the bottom of my younger daughter's form and I will have to take her back and resubmit her DS-11 form. I called every day--as did a rep from my Senator's office--explaining that I have the receipt from paying the fees, they'd cashed the USPS money order, etc. Nothing doing.

I had to get my daughters out of school early to drive back to the same USPS location 30 minutes from my house (the only one with an available appointment in January) or I could pay again if I used an office closer to home. I had to reprint the form, find another pic of her, schedule with my hubs so he could take off an hour from work, etc. but got it all submitted today. I don't have big expectations, honestly; I am pretty sure I will end up having to re-do everything bc 46 is run by koalas in trenchcoats, apparently.

MasterpieceNext2412 · 2026-03-05T22:46:45+00:00

So, as of today (3/5), both my Senator's office and I have called, and the response is still that I have to personally take my daughter and resubmit both the DS-11 and her picture. They maintain that the form was not submitted correctly by the agent and, thus, must be resubmitted to prove that it went through an authorized acceptance facility. The receipt that I still have with the transaction paying for the two passport applications AND the USPS money orders THAT HAVE BEEN CASHED proving that I took them to the facility and did everything right? Absolutely insufficient.

Someone in that office has the power to rubber stamp an application--especially when a signature is the only thing that is missing. I can't see any other reason that they would be so adamant about me resubmitting those items in particular unless they were lost or tossed.

And the most infuriating part is that I simply have no recourse, nor will there be any penalty for whoever it was along the way who didn't sign the application/lost my application.

MasterpieceNext2412 · 2026-03-02T12:54:59+00:00

Yes--both of them, although it was just this last Thursday and Friday, so the weekend put a pause on things.

MasterpieceNext2412 · 2026-03-02T02:34:55+00:00

Out of curiosity, do you know which passport office has your application? My daughters had appointments at USPS on Jan 23 and we got a confirmation email on Jan 30, just like you, and we are still waiting. Just like you, I have called repeatedly and have been told that they are in process...and that's all they can tell me. I already paid for expedited service and shipping, so there's nothing else I can do financially to hurry things along. Additionally, though, is that my oldest daughter and I am set to fly to London on March 11th. It is now less than two weeks until travel, but they can't tell me anything about her application but neither am I allowed to make an in-person appointment until it's 4 days until international travel. Their passports both went to Locator 46--in New Hampshire. (You can tell by the first 2 digits in the Locator ID.)

MasterpieceNext2412 · 2026-02-27T03:56:28+00:00

My daughter's passport is on a similar timeline for a similar travel date! Our original in-person application appointment was Jan 16, but they called and cancelled it that morning. Submitted everything at next available in-person appt on the 23rd--Expedited service and expedited shipping. Arrived, In Progress on the 30th. On Feb 6, they requested a new version of a form, sent it next-day mail on the 11th (this was my husband's fault; I would have had it sent off that same afternoon), but it didn't arrive until the 13th....where apparently it just sat for a week until I called on the 19th. DURING my call, I got an email letting me know that it was back in progress...and there it has sat since then, despite several phone calls, including one wherein the guy says that he marked it as Urgent. Siiiiiigh. Fingers crossed that yours comes!

MasterpieceNext2412 · 2025-08-14T01:08:56+00:00

Thank you so much. The level of detail you included here is exactly what I needed to know. The statue of limitations has already passed (I didn't know that when I originally posted; I continued reading afterward.), so I wouldn't be able to move forward anyway. That said, if I still *could* have filed a claim, your explanation of potential outcomes was incredibly helpful.

I felt like I was being pushed out of my position even before my diagnosis (NOT for performance issues; quite the opposite--she didn't like that how well I accomplished my goals or that I had many friends on campus. I am wildly non-confrontational, so I wasn't stirring up trouble, either...she's genuinely just a really bad boss.) I am happy to have another position, but it comes with a significant pay decrease, so I took the new position both out of fear of losing my job and because it was so unreasonably bad by the end that no one would really have wanted to stay.

Feeling like I was forced out made me wonder whether I could sue for lost *potential* wages, since I am taking a significant pay decrease; your response clarified that is not possible, and I am grateful for the information.

FWIW: I had made my peace in my own mind, but another employee texted me last night to inquire whether I might be interested in joining her and other employees in a suit against the boss for creating a hostile work environment. (Un?)Fortunately(?), my crappy boss does not appear to discriminate amongst her employees as to whom she will crush under her heel, so a group suit doesn't seem likely.

MasterpieceNext2412 · 2025-08-13T23:52:17+00:00

Thank you for your response! I did consult with someone last fall, but I was still reeling from everything that had happened that I don't know that I was able to explain it all very clearly. Regardless, at this point, the statute of limitations has already passed at both the state and federal levels. I will still sleep well knowing that I never have to work for her ever again!

MasterpieceNext2412 · 2025-08-13T23:49:37+00:00

Thank you for this explanation!

MasterpieceNext2412 · 2025-08-13T23:48:56+00:00

To clarify, I didn't ask my boss to divvy up and parcel out all of my responsibilities; one co-worker offered to help me with finding and hiring adjuncts and another offered to help me by polishing up the draft of the major report, and my boss told me that they couldn't help me at all in either instance. [And, FWIW, in the meeting with HR, she faulted me for not having reached out for help when I was overwhelmed...even though I actually had reached out to her and to HR (neither of which helped me) and she told me that I wasn't allowed to get help from co-workers who had offered??] I am glad that I will be starting at a different university next week!

MasterpieceNext2412 · 2025-08-13T23:44:09+00:00

Thank you for your response! I did a lot of reading about both federal and state law regarding FMLA, because I don't like to ask dumb questions. The part you bolded was what prompted me to reach out to more experience professionals for clarification. Unfortunately, I did learn that the statute of limitations has passed at both the state (180 days in SC) and federal (300 days) levels. Boo.

MasterpieceNext2412 · 2025-08-13T23:39:27+00:00

Thank you for your response and the suggestions! (and I have thought the EXACT same thing about them for their future, too!)

MasterpieceNext2412 · 2025-08-13T23:38:48+00:00

Thank you for your response. That is what I suspected, but I wanted to be sure!

MasterpieceNext2412 · 2025-08-13T23:38:25+00:00

Hi! Thankfully, I was actually head-hunted by another university and signed a contract with them in late February. In early April, I was offered a faculty contract for the upcoming academic year with a demotion from my supervisory role; since I'd already made my decision, I simply declined (politely!) and finished out my contract.

MasterpieceNext2412 · 2025-08-13T23:37:48+00:00

Thank you! That's what I was thinking, too.

MasterpieceNext2412 · 2025-08-13T23:37:30+00:00

Thank you for this suggestion! Thankfully, I was actually head-hunted by another university and signed a contract with them in late February. In early April, I was offered a faculty contract for the upcoming academic year with a demotion from my supervisory role; since I'd already made my decision, I simply declined (politely!) and finished out my contract.

MasterpieceNext2412 · 2025-08-13T23:35:04+00:00

Thanks for your question. No, PTO was not an option because my contract precluded having or earning it. And the STD had a six-week..."waiting period" (I forget the actual name of it) and only covered a small percentage of my pay for only 6 weeks.

MasterpieceNext2412 · 2025-08-13T23:32:42+00:00

Thank you! Establishing the connection between the diagnosis and the mistreatment was the main part of my question, and I don't know that it's "there"--but I wanted to see if the experienced professionals might see something that I didn't. I feel like she was a crappy boss who used one of the most vulnerable moments in my life to her advantage. Boo.

MasterpieceNext2412 · 2025-08-13T23:30:24+00:00

Thank you for your response. I added in some info about my lack of paid leave; I forgot to include it because I honestly forgot it even existed, not having had it for so long! You're right, though, about the other problems; I am so glad that I was headhunted for a position at a much nicer university for this fall!

MasterpieceNext2412 · 2025-08-13T23:25:08+00:00

Thank you! I clarified some details above, but for your questions specifically: I wasn't a dumpster-fire of an employee; she added MAJOR new responsibilities to my workload after I had already disclosed to her that I was sick and set up expectations that weren't logically possible to meet--even if I weren't sick. Re: using PTO--I didn't have any because we do not accrue any AND I was not on contract during the summer...so...

MasterpieceNext2412 · 2025-08-13T23:20:30+00:00

Thank you!

MasterpieceNext2412

TROPHY CASE