Frustration Yargh

I.  Am.  Frustrated.

I am still missing one elusive document - my certificate from UCL - which, if you remember, I need in order to apply for my visa.  To recap: it was mailed from the UK on 14 April, right when the Icelandic volcano was doing its thing.  It still hasn't arrived in the States and, to make matters worse, I don't even know where it is.  Royal Mail, over on the UK side of the pond, says it has left their hands, but USPS, on the American side, says it hasn't come into their hands yet.  So I ask you - where the expletive is it?

No one is taking responsibility for this missing document, which is even more frustrating.  USPS says only the sender (Royal Mail) can look into the problem, and Royal Mail says they can't open an official inquiry until 28 May, 25 business days after the document was originally sent.  So I just have to sit and wait.

In the meantime, I have requested from UCL a Letter of Certificate, which will apparently stand instead of the actual certificate in terms of what's needed for my visa.  If all goes well I may have the letter in hand by the end of May - but I'm too scared to be optimistic anymore.  If I were being optimistic I would put myself in London in mid-June at the very earliest.  But no, I can't be optimistic.  Being optimistic just bites you in the bum!

I'm sorry, I know this is a grumpy post.  It's all just very frustrating!