To Infinity and Beyond!

Back in 1995 Toy Story came out in theaters. Pause. 1995?! Ohhh man do I feel old and young all at once. I don't remember being that young when it came it out; I could have sworn I was at least nine, but I was only four. Four! I digress. One could argue that the most famous line in that movie is "To infinity, and beyond!" Every superhero/action figure has his catch phrase, and Buzz Lightyear is no exception. It's a great phrase to yell because it fits a ridiculous variety of situations. For example: "Let's go to pizza." "Where?" "Deli News sounds good." *walking to the car* "Awesome. I love Deli News. To infinity, and beyond!" Really bad example, but you get the idea don't you?! I know, I can hear you disagreement from over here. Don't you get sassy with me!

Why am I bringing up Buzz Lightyear and his catchy catch phrase? Well, I think it fits quite well with my feelings today. I got my passport today! Finally. And I feel as if I could travel anywhere in the world. Oh, that's right. I can. Hehehe. My delight knows no bounds in this regard.

Let me tell you the saga of my passport and why I am so stoked to have it in my hot little hands.

Back in May I knew that I needed to start the fun that is applying for a passport so I could give myself plenty of time to wait for it to come in the mail. On average it takes four to six weeks to get back to you, but often it can take even longer. Knowing my luck, I wanted to give myself a wide berth of time before I needed my passport in September.

So I printed out the application and filled it out. That's when I realized I needed my birth certificate. Uh-oh, I didn't have my own copy, my mom did. She wanted to keep it, so I had to get my own. Which would seem simple and easy, but no, not for me. I had to go through Sacramento, not Long Beach, because I am legally adopted by my Stepdad. So I had to fill out paperwork to get my birth certificate, send that off, and just wait. It came at the end of June. But by then, a couple problems had arisen.

First off, I didn't have any extra cash to buy a passport. So I would have to wait until I did, which would narrow the amount of time for my passport to process. Secondly, Christiane (my German mom) emailed me some forms that I need to fill out for the au pair agency. One of the things they needed was a copy of my passport. Which meant I would need to find the money to get the passport a little faster than I had expected.

July flew by and I found myself without a passport and with the paperwork incomplete. (So much for a wide berth of time right?!). A nagging feeling of doom had descended upon me. Mind you, this was only last week. Being the basket case that I am, I was so worried that I wouldn't get the paperwork mailed in time and my passport wouldn't come... the thoughts spiraled from there. My friend Amber told me about a passport agency in Santa Monica that helped rush passports. This was to be my solution.

I drove out to Santa Monica, to Ambassador Passport and Visa Services, with all my papers and documents. Geez, was I impressed by them. I totally recommend them to you; they were so professional and nice. And they got the job done. I went in on a Wednesday and got my passport on a Tuesday. Bravo.

I'm sure you are thinking, 'Ashley, I thought you didn't have extra money for this and I am sure this rush delivery cost you a bundle!' Yeah, I know. Well here's your answer: I was able to get a bit a money for this because God really knows how to provide for me. It's amazing how I some how get just enough money to pay for something. God is good. The 48 hour rush delivery is not as much as you would expect (it's the 24 hour delivery that costs you an arm and a leg). But it was still painful for me to fork out the money. This was worth it though.

Today I picked up my passport. Well, technically yesterday since it is past midnight now. Technicalities. I was so stoked to go and get it. I had to brave the nasty hour-ish drive for the third time in a week, and I have found a new appreciation for all the lovely people that have to commute that far to work everyday. Let me tell you, holding that passport in my hands made me super proud to be American. I am not super patriotic (I save it up for the 4th of July) but I have my moments. This is one of them. You know that swelling/soaring in the heart feeling? Definitely got that for a few minutes.

I pretty much skipped/ran from the Ambassador office to my car. Once I got in it, I inspected the passport. It just so surreal that I have it. Ever since I was little I have dreamed of traveling to distant countries and just soaking up world culture. Now I can. A little blue book allows me to leave this country whenever the frick I feel like it. I could just hop on a plane right now and go anywhere. That is truly a freeing feeling. I can go anywhere. To infinity and beyond!