Day 2771

Here's how to waste a day. I got up early, so I could go down to the Passport Acceptance Office and renew my passport before the lines got long. I'd already looked up what I needed to bring with me online. The website said that I could pay with a credit or debit card, but when I arrived the first thing I saw was a large sign saying that passport processing fees must be paid for with a check or money order. Did I have a check with me? Of course not. To make matters even more confusing, there was another sign that said passport photos and other fees must be paid using cash or a credit card. Why did they have to make this so complicated? For one part of the transaction, they want a check, but for another part of the same transaction they demanded cash or a credit card. I'd already downloaded a form and brought it with me, but I saw a third sign saying only the latest forms would be accepted. Did I have the latest forms? Who knows. I grabbed a couple of the official forms from a nearby table before I gave up and went home again.

These new forms seemed longer and more complicated than I'd filled out in the past. They asked for both my parents date of birth and birth city. Jeez, my parents have been dead for quite a while. I couldn't remember when or where they were born. You'd think this information would be readily available, but it wasn't. I finally found my Dad's information on a "Find a Grave" website. I thought I could find my Mom the same way, but her information wasn't listed. I finally found her birth city on my own birth certificate and located her date of birth in a story I'd written about her over twenty years ago.

I though I was home free at this point, but the next section of the form asked for similar information for any marriages or divorces. Give me a break. I was married so long ago and became divorced so quickly that I've always thought of myself as single. I've had numerous passports and I don't think they used to ask all these questions on the application form. Wouldn't they already have the information if I already have a passport? Who knows. Maybe the forms have always been exactly the same and my memory was just better the last time I filled out the application. I'll take the completed application and a check back to the Passport Acceptance Office tomorrow morning. I'd like to put all this nonsense behind me.

When Janet and I were taking Dash on a walk this morning, we saw the neighbor's dog coming out their back door. We immediately panicked and ran back to the safety of our own back yard with Dash as fast as we could. It turned out that the dog was on a leash and there was no danger, but we weren't taking any chances. I don't want to ever be bitten by this dog again and after seeing me limping around the house with swollen legs for three weeks, I don't think Janet wants to get bitten either.

Janet's new car is so pretty that it's got me wanting a new car too. I don't need a new car. I don't really need anything. It would just be nice not to need to be frugal anymore. It would be fun to buy a car on a whim. I'd need a more substantial source of income than freelance writing to do that unfortunately. I wonder if any of the major ad agencies have a division that specializes in marketing to old people. I'd be perfect for that.

Smokey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day