Ode to my Passport

So, this morning I went to the Philadelphia Customs House at 8 am to get a new passport. This event has been marked with much procrastination and anxiety. First of all, the last time I had to do anything with my passport was in May/June of 2005. Right before and after I got married I was playing roulette with my money and my passport, getting swindled by the Cameroon government and embassy who somehow managed to get me to "donate" some bribery money to them just to get my passport with a Cameroon visa back in my hands THE MORNING we flew to Cameroon. NOT fond memories.

This time, I needed to renew my passport with my married name. I procrastinated filling out the application (because just like a college or any other application, this application is an application and I hate doing them... so I procrastinate) until I had to pay the Expedite Fee of $67. Ooops. But at least I got it right away, 8 days before Marc and I fly to Paris (on tickets with my married name, not my maiden name, as my old passport is still branded lovingly with "Hoyt"). Talk about last minute!

But also talk about efficient! I was in there at 8 am, they had 'processed' my application by 8:19 am and I could pick up my new passport anytime after 10:30 am today! Wahoo! And I still get to keep my old passport, which, to me, is better than a scrapbook! New York airport stamp, Roissy-CDG Paris airport stamp, Madagascar visa and stamps, South Africa Johannesburg stamp, India visa and stamp, Mauritius stamp and visa, La Reunion stamp, French visitor visa, French long-term visa, Madrid Spain stamp, one Cameroon 3-day visa, one Cameroon visitor visa (DON'T want to talk about how much that cost me in bribes), and Cameroon stamps. A passport is like a journal unto itself. Sigh.

I'll have to add a picture of my old and new passports here. Needless to say, both pics are subpar. My old passport pic has my eyes half closed, and the new passport pic has a huge circle of hair sticking straight up from my head. Wonderful. But I guess I don't really whip out these photos very often, and when I do, it's to some stranger, some customs agent in some other country, holed up in a airport, so I guess it's okay!