this passport is not a mirage

I really wanted to write yesterday but got caught up in my weird compulsive cleaning. Actually, it's not so much cleaning, as it is a strange desire to go through all of my drawers (anyplace where things are stored in bulk really) and throw out old, outdated stuff, and reorganize what is left. I don't know why, but it feels really cathartic and when I'm done I feel way more accomplished than I should. The strange part is that I'm somewhat motivated by this thought: "What if I die? Do I want my parents to see all of my things in such disarray [which isn't true in the first place, but boy it sure seemed like it]?" And if I die, I am fully in control of what I'm leaving behind - no scary secrets here! Like I said, strange.

Thursday was going well, then by late afternoon it was sucking, because I was working on a timeline to get home, as Rose and I were going to see Tortoise at the El Rey. I get all worked up because I hate being late anywhere. Way too worked up; see the previous paragraph. So I had just missed the bus I needed to get home, and the anxiety was building up, apparently so much so that I became blind and got on the number 2 bus instead of the 12, and didn't realize it until the bus made a turn down Wilshire and I had to be let off Veteran and walk my ass all the way back, just missing the next bus. This was frustrating, and I was feeling especially mad at myself. Phew. I got home and made a very fast dinner, and proceeded to eat way too fast, making my stomach really upset for the next hour. Me thinks thou dost protest too much, stomach!! On the way to the El Rey, I realized I had next to no gas and proceeded to latch on that as the next thing to fret over. I. Am. So. Neurotic.

All that being said and done with, we are finally at the El Rey, and the place is still pretty empty. Some d.j. did a set as opposed to an opening act, which was a little ehh at best. But finally Tortoise played, and they did a fantastic set with two encores. Not bad. They played material off of Standards and It's All Around You, and as far as I could tell, nothing else. The only bummer for me was that the set was almost identical to the set they played last year at the Troubadour. But, a solid performance nonetheless, and it was the first time Rose has seen them, and I think she fully enjoyed the show. Before we left, I had an internal debate about bringing my camera, and decided against it, as I've never had the luck to get a good spot from which to take pictures. I tried to take some at Mum a few years back and they turned out el crapo. But of course, we got the perfect spot near the front but off to the right where we were on a raised platform and had a perfect view of the entire stage. One more thing to kick myself for. Two events in the past week that I regret not having my camera at. Why don't I just bring it everywhere? But, I did get a shirt for $5; it's a design from the Standards tour.

I've seen them three times now and I can't exactly pinpoint which has been my favorite show. The first time was 2001, and I saw them at Royce Hall on the UCLA campus (pre graduate school however), on the Standards tour. That was a great, great show and Jet Black Crayon opened, and has gone on to be a band that I thoroughly enjoy. They also played some older material. Then the Troubadour and El Rey, which had almost identical set lists. Kind of a toss-up.

Passport update: it turns out that expiditing my passport application produced better than expected results. I submitted the application last Wednesday, and got it in my mailbox this Thursday, eight days later. That includes the day it took to ship it back. So one week total processing time. Pretty good, considering that expiditing right now gives results in 2-3 weeks on average. I felt a sense of relief when everything went through without a problem, they didn't lose my paperwork or my birth certificate, and I can now buy my ticket to Costa Rica with confidence.

Listening: Tim Hecker - Mirages

passport....a.k.a. why the government is lame

If you have been following the news lately, there is a huge backlog of U.S. passport applications due the changing laws that will soon require a passport to travel back and forth between our neighboring countries of Canada and Mexico, and the Carribean. I haven't traveled much, but I assume that this just wasn't needed before? And of course it's all the name of security, because we're fighting the damn GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR, DON'T YOU KNOW THAT?

No matter, the real point of the story is that I was recently asked to join B on a trip to Costa Rica for a friend's wedding. Who is going to pass that up? Oh you would? Huh. Not me. But I don't have a passport!! For a few days I was in a panic after learning it was taking upwards of 12 weeks to get the passport when I realized last week was basically the 12 week mark until the trip date, and I had done little to research the passport issue. Panic mode!

I finally got all my paperwork in order (luckily my mom had given me her copy of my birth certificate sometime in the recent past, as she figured I need it more now that I'm well into adulthood, for things like this) and went down to my nearby post office today. Of course I paid the $60 to expidite the whole process up to about three weeks. I've learned that when it comes to matters where a lot is on the line financially, i.e. the cost of a trip to Costa Rica, it's better to pay a little to be safe rather than sorry. But good lord, after factoring in the cost of the pictures (side note, didn't come out half bad) and the express mail to get the passport to me, it was almost $200!! Money is a little tight right now as it is the end of the quarter, and my summer payment hasn't gone through yet. I'm getting to the point where I check my school system every day to see what the status is. I hate money stress. The fact that I wanted to make more money in interest, tying up a lot of extra money into a C.D., is something I'm regretting right now. Not entirely, but it would make things a little less stressful. Money issues could take up a whole slew of entries, but not right now.

So the passport application is off, and if all goes well, I would say four weeks should be reasonable, then I should be getting the passport in the mail right around the middle of July. It all doesn't go well, I should be receiving the passport no later then the middle of August. If things go horribly, and they lose my application or something, I suppose I could spend another $200 and still get a passport by the beginning of September. I really hope it doesn't come to Plan C...

Listening: Esmerine - Aurora