Since when was a penny not worth anything? I realize in today’s world you probably cannot buy anything anymore with one penny, but if pennies are useless then why do we still have them?

We say “a penny for your thoughts” but if we are sharing our own opinion it’s worth two cents! Well, here are my “two cents worth” for the day.

First of all let me just say that my agenda for the day was quite simple. Go to the Italian Consulate, get a document Notarized and then have lunch with a friend. I should have known better as soon as the Italian Consulate was involved in my agenda that the day would be anything but simple.

Perhaps because I skipped my morning tea at Tim Horton’s or perhaps because I have been living out of my suitcase for 3 weeks and I am a bit exhausted, but in true form, the Italian Consulate managed to fray my last nerve once again. For anyone who knows me well, I take a lot in stride. I get excitable occasionally but am pretty much an “it is what it is” kinda gal.

The Consulate does not accept VISA or Debit, and has a Cash only policy. That’s fine with me, the cost was $24.60 and I had the exact amount. I plunked down a $20 bill, a few loonies and toonies (Canadian 1 and 2 dollar coins) 2 quarters and 10 pennies. No big deal really, it was all Canadian currency and I was happy to have the exact amount, but the woman at the counter refused my pennies!

I won’t go into the gory details of our “heated” discussion (solely based on principal) over her refusal to accept my pennies but suffice to say my voice was raised and I was sure I was about to be escorted out the door by the security dude at any moment. My prison jokes in past blogs were about to be real!

So the moral of the story is this:

Next time I need to make a trip to the Italian Consulate I must first stop at Timmy’s for my tea and maple donut (Insert instant happy mood), offload any pennies that may clog my blond brain to any homeless street person and wish them luck spending it (apparently the Ontario Liquor Control Board also doesn’t like pennies) and then take a Valium. Sounds simple enough eh?