Passport Check

Last night I opened my safe box and saw the pile of passports. The latest one (12/2008-12/2018) was at the bottom of the stack. It's the pretty, artistic new passport, and I thumbed through the visa pages and was momentarily surprised they are all blank. Then I remembered that the last time I was out of the country, my passport only had 3 months left on it, and the airlines had changed their rule to require 6 months. For tourists, a stupid rule. And airlines should not be making up their own laws.

EVA gave me a hard time about leaving the country on a perfectly good passport, but when I pointed out that I had a return flight booked in less than a month, and the passport was good for 2 months longer than that, they let me fly, but with a warning I might not be allowed to fly back.

Long story short, I did have some problems getting through immigration at Malaysia and Singapore on my way back, but none at SFO. The officers at Malaysia and Singapore understood how ridiculous it was to try to stop someone from going home on a valid passport - they could arrest me, but they would end up deporting me anyway.

I took out my 1998-2008 passport and marveled at all the visa stamps. Since December 2008 I have been unemployed or a contractor for all but 10 months. WHen I had time to travel, there was no $$, and vice versa. Plus I was making frequent trips to Seattle to see my parents.

Living in the Future Bites

My present is pretty darned good. Steady job w/benefits, and the weather is like summer.

But there are some things way in the future which I must wait for, and it is frustrating.

Thing the first - I have to move. My lease is not up till October.
-- The 9 speed car-killer bumps between the gate and my parking space.
-- The dishwasher which is too small and breaks down a lot
-- Patio door, which is the best exit to go to the pool or the office, does not have a lock
-- Patio fence cannot be made cat-proof
-- Kitchen counters suck dirt into themselves something fierce
-- No supermarkets within miles
-- Having to open a fire door and climb stairs to get from garage to apartment is getting old. It's especially bad when I have lots 'o' stuff or something heavy to haul to or from the car.

But I want to wait until summer is over, because the grounds are beautiful and there are two lovely pools.

Thing the second - trip to Thailand. The way the organizers have set things up, I may not have a chance to get to some places I really want to go.

Thing the third - For the next several weekends there are more events and things to do than I have time for.

Whine moan.