Source Jockey

Back in May of 2010, something important happened: My freedom was revoked.  Well, it wasn’t revoked, it expired.  My passport book, used only a few times, finally made it to ten years old.  The photo of me smiling at age 20 (young and innocent) reminds me of what happened only weeks before I got the passport in the mail.  (For those of you who don’t know, a pocket knife found itself a couple inches into my hand while fighting for the honor of a damsel in distress.  Or…I accidentally stabbed myself while opening a Super Soaker box.  Whichever seems more plausible.)

So back in…oh…December, I guess, I did the passport renewal, sent in my check and photo, and a few weeks later, received a rejection notice.  My photo was unacceptable.  Americans aren’t supposed to smile.  Or the photo wasn’t the right size.  or something stupid, I don’t know.  So I let the passport sit around until one of my friends had to go out of the country for a family emergency; and I thought to myself, gosh, if I had some kind of international emergency (for instance, cheap tickets to Taiwan), I wouldn’t be able to go!  So I retook the photo (it really looks like I haven’t eaten fiber in a few years), and sent in all my paperwork.  Yesterday, I got the envelope: my brand new passport.  A feeling of elation swept over me–I can travel again, to magnificent places like Egypt, Japan, and Libya!  Yes!  (ok, too soon for that).

Anyway.  I haven’t left the U.S. since April 2009.  It’s been two years.  Time to travel!

I changed the photo in the blog header!  It’s almost been two years since my Lasik surgery, not to mention the weight I dropped, so I figured it was time to replace it.  (If you’re reading this via Facebook, you have no idea what I’m talking about.  Visit my blog directly!)