Damn. My laptop was stolen last night. It was in my backpack, which was in the trunk of my car, which was burgled as I slept, right in the covered parking next to my condo. This is one of those moments where I can be grateful for splurging on a Carbonite subscription. That's a continuous online backup system. Data recovery shouldn't be a problem.

Mirror

Today at the office I suddenly remembered that my passport was in the backpack that was stolen Monday morn. Twelve seconds of sheer panic set in. I quickly headed to the website for ASU's passport reception office, gave them a call. They said there is still time for an expedited delivery of a new passport. I downloaded the necessary DS-11 and DS-64 forms. Filled them out. Shall submit them tomorrow.

I'm so bummed. I thought I was doing so well by getting my Kyrgyz visa in advance from the embassy, reading through their documentation, getting everything right the first time.

Anyway, I will have to adjust my travel plans. No problem, since I hadn't yet purchased my ticket. Still, it means I will not be able to arrive quite as early as I would like since I'll have to do a 60 day or less stay rather than a greater than 60-day stay.

I submitted my new passport application today to the local passport reception office. They glowed about me because not only had I listened to their phone advice, I followed it: I had the right money orders with me, and the forms seemed to be filled out without error. They tell me I should have the passport in my hands by 3 June. That sounds good. I'll book my tickets for a June 11 departure, which, God willing, should provide me with a fudging margin in case of complications.

Today I checked the passport office's status page. Looks like they received my passport in timely fashion and are processing it. Y'know, I love this ability to double check things on the web without a phone call. It's a definite improvement on the way things were decades agone.