Passport to Adventure

So this past week I really tried to get my shite together. With Ali’s birthday cruise about 6 weeks away I realized that I needed to get my passport done. I haven’t had one since I was a child and it was about time. Last weekend (not this past one) I took a tip from Ali herself and went to Hollywood and Highland since she told me there was a small post office as well as a Kodak store that could do my pix super fast and take my paperwork.

Of course the best laid plans went astray with the Kodak’s printing machine being broke so I couldn’t get my picture taken. I was like Johnny Depp in ‘Nick of Time’ as I tried to find a place that could get them done in time for me to get them turned in. When I finally found a place I ran back to the post office to ask if they could wait for my pictures a few extra minutes but that I would turn in my paperwork and checks in the meantime.

Imagine to my surprise that the post office where I had just been earlier was now closed. Not just locked doors like maybe they went to lunch but lights off, gate down, no signs of life closed. And at this point I gave up—I was so frustrated that I ended up going for a little retail therapy and buying myself the DVD of “Dallas’ seasons 1 and 2. I just couldn’t handle any more stress and I knew that if I turned in the paperwork the next weekend I would be fine. The extra time would allow me to get my pix done after work since the Kodak machine would be fixed Monday night.

Now the next part should surprise nobody—I ended up spending the next week stopping by the Kodak store every night and every night the machine was still broken. I was starting to think of other game plans and looking into other places to get the pictures done. It was almost amusing—I say almost because I was starting to feel the heat from certain people about getting my paperwork in order.

So Friday rolled around and I found myself looking at the various places on line to get my stuff taken care off. I found a slew of post offices with picture service so I wouldn’t have to worry about that part of the process and could just concern myself with figuring out which office would be the least busy. I had a goal and the means to get it done so as I left work I was feeling set.

And it was raining that night. I didn’t really get a chance to check the Friday weather report so I had nothing on me to help stay dry but I walked anyway because it was a light rain and I like being wet so it was fine. Of course by the time I got to the Hollywood and Highland Metro stop I was a bit too wet and so I ran up to the bathroom to dry off a little. Imagine my surprise when I saw that Kodak store had its machine up and running.

Taking this to be a sign I went in and decided to get my picture done. The same guy who had seen me every night that week was quite excited and we quickly got everything set up for a couple of quick photos. Sitting in front of the white screen as he warmed up the camera—I lost it. Just burst out laughing hysterically because I realized that I was about to take the WORST picture of my whole life. I looked like a drowned rat after a nice roll in a dryer—with crazy hair and shiny skin and a bright red nose. Poor Waylu had to hold off because I was laughing so hard but eventually I pulled myself together long enough for a few quick snaps.

Photos done and in hand I was feeling quite good as I made my home. The pictures weren’t as bad I thought, with my hair looking somewhat dry and my nose not looking to red. Though it did amuse me to realize that I had two very dry stripes on my shirt that came from the straps of my backpack. But all in my entire mission was accomplished.

So the next morning I woke up early and headed out to turn in my paperwork. I was stunned to find out that the Hollywood Highland post office had changed it hours and was no longer open on Saturdays—turns out my visit last weekend was one of the last Saturdays that office was open. I quickly regrouped and made my way to the next nearest post office. I called Kirby on the way to ask if she could tell me the office’s passport hours and it turned out that I would be cutting it close. Almost too close.

So Kirby decided to help me out by picking me up and getting me to the post office with time to spare. Of course the person who would sign off on my paperwork wasn’t there and was at lunch but they weren’t sure if and when she would be back. After a moment Kirby and I decided to try the next closest office and after visiting SIX places we finally found a post office that had someone who could do my paperwork, that was actually there, and didn’t have a line. I almost kissed the ground and praised Jesus.

Of course the best part of all was that when I went to pay the woman asked me if I wanted to expedite the process. I was confused and said no because I didn’t have the extra 100 some odd dollars to pay for it. That and I had been told that the passport should only take 4-6 weeks. The passport lady then said it take 6 to 8 weeks and that I was risking not getting the passport back in time. But I decided that I couldn’t really afford to pay the extra money and so I would just take my chances. So now it’s a 50/50 crap shoot if I’ll be going to Mexico.

I figure my luck’s got to change sometime.