You Are Now Free To Move About The World!

My "get of jail free" card (as Mrs. TBF has been calling it), just arrived via registered mail.

MY NEW CANADIAN PASSPORT IS HERE!

I am VERY happy about it! Not only am I now able to venture outside of Switzerland, but I am also now all set for my trip to the U.S. at the beginning of next month.

It's funny how little things like getting a new passport are now big issues for me. When I worked, and had a zillion things going on, something like getting a new passport was a no-brainer. I barely gave it a second thought. But now, since I don't really have that much going on, I semi-obsess over things like getting a passport. No, I don't lose sleep over it. NO, I don't really worry about it. But...I would say that it kind of "weighs" on me.

Last month, the day after getting back from London, Mrs. TBF and I took the train to Bern so that I could drop off my passport application at the very low-security (at least when compared to the fortress that is the American embassy) Canadian embassy. When we arrived, we had to wait out front for a few minutes because THEY WERE CLOSED FOR LUNCH, but at about 1:01 p.m. we rang the doorbell.

Embassy lady (over the little speaker): Hello. May I help you?

TBF: Hi. I'm here to drop off my passport application.

Embassy lady: Please...come in. The four foot high driveway gate slides open.

We went into the lobby (nobody was there except for us), I submitted the application, paid the fee, and...that was about it. Oh...we both used the lobby bathroom. So, since I think entering the embassy meant that we were both legally in Canada, I can proudly say that we both peed in Canada that afternoon before walking back out into Switzerland. Fortunately (for the embassy's janitor), I was over my stomach flu (before coming down with it again a few days later) by that point.

Pretty exciting stuff, eh?

Actually, I guess there was one bit of excitement on the way back to the train station: we were both asked to show our tram tickets by Bernese tram inspectors doing a random inspection. Yes...OF COURSE we had valid tickets! I think I was only inspected three or four times during all of 2008 in Basel, and then were inspected in Bern on the one day we rode their tram. What are the odds?

After a quick, exorbitantly-priced pizza lunch at the Bern train station, we hopped onto the train for the return trip to Basel. As you can see, I was elated that I could now cross "submit passport application" off of my things-to-do list and focus on things like doing laundry, shopping, cleaning King's litter box, and vacuuming.

I'm guessing that I had pretty much the same look on my face this morning right after signing for my passport.

Turn It On Again!

I just bought two tickets for us to go see Genesis when they play at the Stade de Suisse in Bern in June during their "Turn It On Again" Tour - their first tour in fifteen years. It's been a long time since I last saw them in concert; the first time was in June, 1980 (the "Duke" tour) and then I saw them again during the summer of 1982 or 1983. Let me tell you something...

Genesis tickets cost A LOT more now than they cost back in the 80s. WOW!

I guess I could have saved about 35% on the tickets if I had opted for the Stehplatz (standing room) area, but I'm a LAZY (read: old) concert-goer and I thought we'd be happier with the reserved seats. The thought of standing for 2+ hours on my "glass" knees isn't too appealing to me. Plus, Mrs. TBF isn't the tallest person in the world, and I didn't want her to have to be standing on her tippy-toes (although it would be kind of cute!) struggling to see the stage.

See? I take care of lil' lady!

The high ticket price kind of surprised me. I mean, I just read a quote from Phil Collins in Rolling Stone where he said that they're not doing the tour for the money because "...we're all loaded!"

I'm soooo happy for them!

I had big plans of us going to Bern early, checking into a nice hotel, having a late lunch, going to the concert, eating a late dinner afterward, spending a night in L.O.L., and then heading back to Basel the next morning. However, since I just paid so much money to go see a bunch of "loaded" guys reliving the good old days, I'll probably end up calling our friend James - who lives in Bern - to see if we might be able to crash at his place that night.

Hey, James...WASSUP?