THE NEW PASSPORT IS HERE! THE NEW PASSPORT IS HERE!

And it only took the government a full month to process it... Now I must look at and show to strangers the *ab-solute worst picture of myself, ever* until I am 50 years old. Fifty! And something tells me my mug isn’t going to improve much at all o’er the next decade....

Nonetheless ‘tis a good day indeed when:

-The weather is pristine, high-pressure and cool and you get to ride your bike in it *and* your two-tone hair falls perfectly into place.

-The student tells you there’s something “healing and nurturing” about your rote Ashtanga Basics class.

-You can stand up from backbend.

-The therapist lets loose with some new (to me) ideas, including: You cannot have a successful relationship without each partner being able to:
1. Give and receive love (duh!), 2. Manage their own anxiety, 3. Manage their own anger.... You know, instead of throwing it at the other person and expecting them to try and fix it, you do it yourself -- imagine that! Much work is being done on the last two, Madame, each and every day.

-There’s no waiting at the bike shop (must change the handlebar stem in the hopes of relieving the neck problem), and three of the four mechanics are women.

-There’s no queue at the bubble tea stall, either (Krazy 4 Juice, at 4826 N. Broadway... There, now I’ve gone and ruined it).

-You successfully install the latest version of Internet Explorer, neo-luddite that you are.

-The Trader Joe’s clerk’s pithy patter evaporates to reveal the dark, paranoid personality festering below

-The latest self-help book arrives (“The Ever-Transcending Spirit: The Psychology of Human Relationships, Consciousness, and Development” by Toru Sato).

-The pecking birds (editors) don’t call until 6PM and by then you’re nearly off the hook....so to speak. Or maybe that's just when the shitty part of the day begins.....