And Then It Was Time To Get Ready….

With my trip to far, faraway imminent, ‘twas time to get ready.

Shirts – check; trousers – check; socks – check…. I’m sure you get the picture. Laptop mains adapters – check; flight ticket – check; hotel booking – check; passpor…… waaiit a minute! Where’s that pesky passport popped to? Been there?

Okay, keep calm, so it’s not where I always keep it. Let’s try the least obvious place, the file folder marked PASSPORTS. Must’ve bobbed it in there after the last trip – for some strange reason. Nope, not there. Mmmm. I know! It’s in the folder in front. Okay, how about the folder behind? Nope. Aaha!! It’s slipped through the files and it’s lying in the bottom of the draw, right? Sadly, wrong.

And so it started. With ‘her indoors’ looking on, with increasing amusement, the search progressed. From the obvious to the ludicrous the search continued with ever increasing, but bravely hidden, panic as the number of possible passport pop-up points diminished. Why didn’t I do this six days ago instead of six hours before? Thirty odd years I’ve been doing this travel thing. I mean, really, what’s the ‘learning curve’ on this stuff?

“You hungry?”
”What? Oh, no, not right now.”
”What you digging in freezer for then?”
”I’m still looking for my… nothing. Just checking it’s still cold.”

I collapsed back at my desk to allow my heart rate to steady, to re-group and to think of any other possible passport pop-up places I’d missed, ready for search number five. Or was it search seven?

I was sitting there with my face cast down, hoping for sympathy and so wearing my best, ‘Bad stuff only ever happens to me and it’s just not fair.’ look, when I noticed the lid of the scanner was slightly ajar. With nervous fingers, and another increase in heart rate, I raised the lid. Expelling a huge sigh of relief, so huge a sigh was it you probably heard me, I lifted out my passport.

“First place I’d a looked.” She said.

Quote; Grace Murray Hopper.

“I handed my passport to the immigration officer, and he looked at it and looked at me and said, ‘What are you?’”