Unsurprisingly, I'm still behind. 5,421 words behind, as a matter of fact. I do take solace in the fact that I'm more than halfway to where I ought to be; it's something, at least.

So far the actual developments in the story have been rather dull; this is one of those chapters that is only a building block for later things to come. The idea is that the main character (Sam) is going to be sent out to follow an orchestra around for two months, part of which would take him overseas. So he needs to get a passport, which means he needs to get a copy of his birth certificate. But the government is changing the rules for passports soon, and there's quite a crowd waiting to get copies of their birth certificates. Eventually, Sam gets to the front of the line and finds out that there's a "hold" on his records, for reasons so far unknown to him. I'm wrapping up his reaction (angry and frustrated, as you can imagine) and then I'll have to figure out the next chapter.