Ready, Set, GO!

We all have slightly crazy secret desires like being able to crazy-chop vegetables like the chef in a Japanese steakhouse or having a 500 gallon saltwater tank in our bedroom. For a long time my crazy secret desire was to have a passport. I know that seems rather pedestrian for such a sparkle-pony person, but i REALLY wanted one; a passport opens the door to other continents and wondrous sights. But let's face it, my jam-packed non-profit life doesn't really lend itself to world travel. There was never a reason to get a passport so i never did, though i sorely desired one. Last year travel laws changed so that you need a passport to reenter the US and though i'm certainly not going to jump a jet to Jakarta, deciding to drive to Canada in the middle of the night is always a possibility in the Nikiverse. So last summer i decided that i was going to get a passport. I did the research, obtained the paperwork and started saving pennies to afford it, but decided to wait until autumn since there was a huge rush on getting passports. In the autumn i decided to wait until after the holiday travel season, but with the new year the time was right. Guess what arrived recently in the mail! I love my passport. I gaze at it with deep affection. I have been known to just carry it around in the apartment over the last few days. My only disappointment is that now the internal pages have pictures all over them instead of the plain grid i was expecting, but i'm pretty sure i can get over that. Sometimes I will just flip it open to remind myself that it is mine : yep, that's me: crappy picture and all. I figured my goal would be to get my passport this year and work to get a visa stamp in it next year - there is a surprising streak of practicality in the Nikiverse sometimes. But guess what? I will need it in 45 days! As alluded to earlier, i am going on a cruise. My friend Douglas asked me to go on a Disney cruise with him and though it goes against some of my basic life guidelines to accept such a HUGE present I said yes. I am paying for my airfare, but he is footing the rest of the bill - can you believe it? We leave on March 21st to do the seven-day Western Caribbean Cruise where i will possibly need my passport in Cancun and Grand Cayman. I realize both are still in North America, but i figure it is baby steps out of the country and then off of the continent; next thing you know i'm looking at pyramids, now that i have my trusty passport.