Passport Photos

I sent in my passport renewal paperwork today at the post office a block and a half away from work. My passport expired in February of this year, and I just haven't been motivated enough to go get passport photos, fill out applications, and find my way to the correct location during regular business hours.

Passport picture from ten years (!) ago on the left, new passport picture on the right. I don't think I actually got paler ... I think my old picture was taken by some sod without very good lighting. And, though my old picture clearly shows my hair over my ears, I was told this time around that my hair had to be tucked behind my ears. What the heck? I have an elementary school child's hairstyle in my new picture because of this newfangled "rule" that I've never heard of before.

Honestly, I can admit that I'm photogenic. You may think this is a good thing, as I look good in pictures. Not so, Internet, not so. Being photogenic means that I am actually uglier in person than in pictures. Be prepared to be unpleasantly surprised if you ever see in me in the flesh, because that's not really what I look like. (I just noticed how nice my skin looks in my recent photo. It's a farce!)

Anyways. Application to get my passport renewed has been sent to the lovely passport people in Philadelphia, who will hopefully get me a new passport pronto (I need it to go to Turks and Caicos!). It was a bit of an annoying process, frankly:

- Expired passport
- Passport photos (Walgreen's, $10 for two photos- I got six, just in case)
- Application (available here- on the government travel website)
- Payment (confusingly, on a separate page), I sent a personal check made out to "Department of State"
- There are two separate addresses to send passport applications, one for regular processing and one for expedited processing. It costs $60 more to get the renewal expedited, on top of the $140 regular cost. I wrote out a $200 check to the government today. After the $1,000+ I shelled out for taxes last month. All this money I give, and still no universal health care. Harrumph.

The two pages of the application, my old passport, two new passport photos, and the payment (personal check with full name and birthday on it) were thrown into an envelope and mailed via priority mail. I opted for priority mail with tracking, because I am paranoid and afraid they'll lose my passport.


I am currently at work, eating western style hash browns from Frontier, which is (I'm told) an Albuquerque institution. They are unhealthy and super delicious: hash browns with cheese, green chile, and what tastes like a pound of butter. Need to enjoy all the green chile I can eat before I blow this popsicle stand!