So I renewed my passport today. I got in just under the wire, as it takes 6 weeks to get a new one and my flight leaves Friday, June 29th (8 weeks from today). My dad and I are going to Amsterdam via New York via Toronto via New York via Kansas City via Los Angeles. Why the long legs? The Toronto leg is two fold: Niagara Falls (missed it on my first New York trip in 2002) and the new Lord of the Rings Musical. I’m wary, but I’ve read several articles and it looks like fun. Definitely worth the trip. While in New York we’re going to check out Spamalot, since Steven Wynn is a bastard (he landlocked the West Coast with a contract for a SHORTENED VERSION that will only play in Vegas in a new theatre he’s building…damn youse!). To get to New York from Los Angeles, we have to switch planes in Kansas City. But the real goal of the trip is to get to Amsterdam for computer training. But on to the real story.

When my number came up and I walked up to the counter, Mike (Postmaster/Sales Associate), said that whenever he sees someone with a wireless phone headset, he thinks of the Borg. That led to the cell phone being like a communication device from the early Star Trek series (one of the cooler reasons to own a flip phone). While the process is kind of laborious, requiring you to recall details of your life that you thought you knew but didn’t (like your mom’s birth date, city and state…I promise mom…one of these days I’ll remember all on my own when your birthday is), I certainly didn’t notice the time thanks to Mike. He also introduced me to a new phrase that he coined. ITD’s or Internet Transmitted Diseases – referring to all manner of electronic bugs and viruses. He derived it from the more popular STD’s (Sexually Transmitted Diseases).