Passportopia

Posted on December 13, 2011 by TheJessicaness

Caleb let me know yesterday that he had us scheduled for a 12:30pm appointment at the Pottsburg Post Office to submit our passport paperwork. Online lets you know all the required documents and the qualifications a self-portrait must have. We had our mom’s send us our original birth certificates. I had trouble last year having the correct, updated, certificate when I had gotten motivated to have a piece of paper allowing me to come home in case I just wanted to leave the country for lunch.

We showed up an hour early, to get pictures taken, and hoping there wouldn’t be too long of a wait. We were the only ones there upon arrival as three others showed up. I attempted to take the pictures myself. I have this neat program, that I know practically nothing about, but I also happened to get a new number last night and shared that fact with my Dad over Facebook. He let me know that Magic Lantern has a ‘passport photo’ setting and it worked amazingly with Caleb’s face.

I used another setting – motion sensor, to take my picture. I could’ve used the timer as well but that wasn’t the issue. In Lightroom I noticed we had shadows on our faces and I couldn’t get my face centered just right. I would’ve let Caleb try but I was supposed to have them sized down to 600 x 600 pixels when he got home so we could go to Walgreen’s to print them. After our appointment he has to go back to work so before that we detoured to T-Mobile to get our plan fixed; now that I don’t need a cell phone.

They put Caleb on the phone and cut our monthly cost in half. He will be getting my cellphone when I put all the contacts into the land-line phone. He currently holds his screen in place with new applications of scotch tape depending on frequency of use. Back at the post office, the lady said we could send off everything to the Department of State today, and pay, but most likely they’re going to require me to get yet another updated birth certificate.

Last time, the form ID was no longer used. This time, the same department that will charge me for the information they have, wants my parents’ names on the document. I could be someone else entirely until they charge me another $50 to send me a form that I will have to send right back with the information they have at their fingertips. It’s a good thing that we started this process early but the current paperwork from their website says the one we turned in might work too.

It might be a small hassle but everything that is worthy isn’t easy. We were told we should hear from them in a week about whether or not the form will work and they will send us our originals back. I was worried about doing it over the holidays because I figure soon they will be closed for two weeks. As soon as our passports get here I am going to want to visit Mexico and Canada; they are close and Canada has polar bears! Then it is off to see the world one bucket-list item at a time.

As we were leaving with our passport receipt, money order receipt, credit card receipt, and picture receipt Caleb wondered why we had been given a copy of our passport photos. Caleb is used to posing for military photos. Mine looks like I have jaundice or maybe I am finally developing a tan from living by the beach for over five years. I told him they were for our overseas driver’s licenses; he said they would be good for a year. I was going to try to get us international student IDs but neither of us go full-time anymore. Know any other cool clubs we can join? What clubs have you been in or are still with?

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Peeing in the Rain

Posted on December 12, 2011 by TheJessicaness

 

 

It’s raining. It has rained before. I tried to let the dogs out on their own but Piggy wouldn’t even go down the stairs. I carry her down with an umbrella and escort her under a tree. Even though she was dry she knew there was wet all around her; like pre-shower when she’s already in the tub, she knows what comes next. I let her run back up the stairs and put their jackets and leashes on. Sparky was quick to go; he knows the drill but Piggy was willing to suffer that extra minute to drag out the moment.

Because it’s raining I let her sleep in, not that she wouldn’t by herself but I know her fear of rain. She does finally stand in the tub without total resistance and will walk in the smallest amount of waves on the beach, especially when birds are there. But her fear of rain made her pee in the house once. She tried to act all cool and let me know she could hold it, for five seconds, before she became relaxed and let go. But we weren’t the only ones out in the rain this morning. Is this how squirrels take a shower?

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Magnetic United States

Posted on December 11, 2011 by TheJessicaness

Some Americans travel to Disney World or the nearest relative for the holidays or for the weekend. Many websites claim that only 30% own a passport but when compared to Britain and Germany that get more vacation days perhaps the workaholics are doing the local economy some good. If we work our citizens ‘overtime’ and let the media influence bad behaviors, then they will never save enough to experience other states in America, other countries, or other continents.

And why would they? The media tells them it’s too dangerous, so is driving your car to work. It’s too expensive, so is the car you drive, the cigarettes you smoke, and the cable you watch every night. Life is about priorities and Americans are taught that they are superior to other nations so they have no need to waste their time learning about other cultures and languages. I feel shamed that I have attempted to learn multiple languages but then have difficulty finding someone to help keep me fluent.

Anyways, the magnets are another one of my collection ideas. I like to collect things in small amounts, like 10. I have some rocks, snow-globes, stamps, and coins; none that are too overwhelming. My biggest collection yet is now tickets, not the kind given by police, but tickets to museums, concerts, and parks. Notice the states are incomplete. There are three that we shouldn’t have but six that we’re missing. They were not made to fit together which will make it easier for me to continue to forget about them and finally let them go.

I will soon be joining the third of Americans that have a passport. I don’t know what kind of trinkets other countries sell to increase their revenue but I have moved on to buying experiences and equipment to help me capture them, for my blog of course. There is plenty to see in America that could take a lifetime, or two, depending on your interests, but there is also the rest of the world that I think deserves a bit of exploration. I look forward to the day that the dots on my virtual world map are as spread out, but just as close, as these states are supposed to be.

 

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Bloody Pomegranate Breakfast

Posted on December 10, 2011 by TheJessicaness

This morning started out a different way. Usually the alarm sounds, I turn it off and roll over, and then the dogs trample my kidneys until I get up; then I can take them out. This morning, the alarm was making noise, I turned it off, but couldn’t roll over because there was a dog pinning me down. Soon he would bark letting me know Caleb was home from work; now we could all get up. Caleb was on his way to Frisbee-golf and we went for a morning stroll.

The dogs ate while I showered and then I was hungry. I love buying fresh, non-packaged items, but sometimes packaged things can be eaten more quickly. I had gone to the fridge and had multiple fruit options and chose the pomegranate. Had I chosen any other fruit I would have filled my hunger quickly. 20 minutes later and I’m about to give up and eat something else but I can’t just leave it lying there, half done, so I take a picture instead.

I finish the job and notice I’m getting better at tearing this fruit apart for consumption. My first attempt years back left the kitchen splattered in fruit blood and it stains better than beets do. Half of the fruit is on the tiny cutting board, probably just for cheese, but I like it for individual fruits and veggies. In the green bowl are the seeds I have successfully detached and the other bowl has the skin for composting.

As I make more dirty dishes I realize it’s time to wash them and start the washer. I get a bowl of sticks (healthy cereal) ready to eat with my seeds and as earthy as this sounds I get soy-milk to moisturize the mixture instead of river water. Breakfast was waited for but well worth it. This fruit is liked and perhaps that’s because it comes ready-to-eat from the store, like most, we have yet to have the same luck with persimmons. New cookbooks equals new recipes equals new foods; this happened to be one of the many.

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Orange Juice and Toilet Paper

Posted on December 9, 2011 by TheJessicaness

I prefer my oranges straight from the skin or with extra pulp; and to buy my toilet paper single-ply, from 100% post-consumer recycled paper, and not individually wrapped. I am also not one to let free things go to waste. There is plenty more where these items came from. Our neighbor decided to move across town and get rid of a year’s supply of toilet paper, couple cans of juice, hours of Stravinsky and his musical brothers, our new living room lamp, and a bottle of rum.

What we did not want we took to Goodwill. I sometimes think of the small change we could make if we were to sell some of the things we get but then those items wouldn’t be going to the people who need them most. Then again, I wish there was a single place, or website, we could go to ensuring us that who really needed something was the one getting it. There are websites where you can buy things for you or as gifts to family and friends, and gifts are given to those in need.

Some of those websites are for bicycles and shoes. Others are e-cards that give goats and airline miles that go towards sick children. TerraCycle and greenopolis will give money towards homes and schools that recycle certain products. You can share a car or your home or swap with someone else. And you can either give things to your neighbors or let them borrow them. Possibilities for free or cheap and kind gifts are endless. When is the last time you gave without expecting something in return?

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