I am very proud of being an Aussie – one of only 20 million people in the world. But there is a downside. So few Australians (and so few living in the United States) means that there are only a couple of Consulates/Embassies to help with passports while you are living overseas. This isn’t usually a major hassle as most passport renewals are done by mail these days and visas are all electronic. The issue arises when you are arranging a first passport – in this case for Samuel – and you apparently need to attend in person to hand over the documents.

Problem. The closest consulate to Portland is in San Francisco. 1 hour 40 minutes flying time, 1 hour each way to the city. If you do the math, that adds up to around 6 hours of travel for a 10 minute meeting. Yes. 10 minutes.

I wasin a cab at 5am on about 4 hours of sleep because I was stressed wondering about the one thing I was likely to forget. Would the photos be the right size? Do I have all the documentation? Is everything signed and dated in Australian date format (harder to do than it sounds)?

Turns out I forgot my phone. Not the worst thing I could have forgotten in the grand scheme of things, but annoying just the same.

The good news is that all papers are submitted and I should have the passport (and Thomas’ renewed passport) next week. Which means we’re all set for a trip to Australia in the not too distant future.

I’ll need a holiday after this.

This photo (taken on my last trip to SF) pretty much sums up what I will see of the city today before I board my flight home.