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Woot! My first Passport!

Chip NoVaMac

Chip NoVaMac

macrumors G3
Original poster
Dec 25, 2003
8,888
31
Northern Virginia
Got a paper on Thursday that I had an Express Mail that I needed to pickup. I knew it was my Passport. With yesterday being a Federal holiday, I couldn't pick it up till today.

Some my wonder why I am excited by this event, For too long I made excuses, and had little need for a Passport. At 47 yo, I now some how feel "complete". Ready to travel any where, anytime.

Anyone else feel the same way when they got their first Passport?
 
Cool!

I figure you are not a criminal. :p

It is very liberating to own a passport. What you hold in your hands, a King 200 years ago would pay handsomely in gold, meaning you can fly to almost any place in the world in a matter of 24 hours.
 
Chip NoVaMac said:
Got a paper on Thursday that I had an Express Mail that I needed to pickup. I knew it was my Passport. With yesterday being a Federal holiday, I couldn't pick it up till today.

Some my wonder why I am excited by this event, For too long I made excuses, and had little need for a Passport. At 47 yo, I now some how feel "complete". Ready to travel any where, anytime.

Anyone else feel the same way when they got their first Passport?
Click to expand...

i love my passport , not too sure why though ? must be all them good memory's .

i hate it in europe now , they do not stamp your passport anymore if your in th EU :(
 
I was really excited to get my passport, mostly cause i knew it meant i would be going on my trip soon.

My trip was so much fun!! Got the chance to go to Japan this past summer for a month, from July 13 to August 10. So much fun!!

So do you plan on going anywere?? or did you just get the passport to get it??
 
Congratulations, Chip NoVaMac. And yes, it's exciting. I had to get extra page sections added (3 times) on my last one, so they can get big. Be sure to keep it in a safe place, especially when abroad, and have the information filed on hand. U.S. Passport theft is a thriving market in certain places of the globe.
 
Lacero said:
Cool!

I figure you are not a criminal. :p

It is very liberating to own a passport. What you hold in your hands, a King 200 years ago would pay handsomely in gold, meaning you can fly to almost any place in the world in a matter of 24 hours.
Click to expand...

To be honest, I resisted in applying only because when I turned 18 - my parents and I got conflicting messages on my "status" as a US citizen; along with the fact I had no desire to "truly" travel overseas.
 
2nyRiggz said:
so u was trap in the states for 47years?:p

Bless
Click to expand...

Too be honest there has only been one time in my life that I regretted not having a Passport. I was 21 at the time. A friend of mine called me on a Friday morning for a BA SST flight the next day! :eek: :eek: :eek:

After that I did not apply, since he was "downsized: two months later.

Add to that I always felt that if I did Canada or Mexico, I could cross "safely"....
 
Congrats on your new status.

So where are you going?

Trust me, a visit to a foreign country is a real eye opener. Sure you might recognize buildings and places from movies and TV, but they don't convey the reality and authenticity of those places. If I could afford it I would be a professional traveller, or a travel writer.
 
Yep - I definitely felt good the first time I had it. Haven't really done much spontaneous traveling like I thought/hoped I would though.

Still great knowing that if you see some great airfare deal, you can take it on a whim!
 
Now you can join Katie in asking for donations to be sent out of the country on a educational trip.
 
xsedrinam said:
Congratulations, Chip NoVaMac. And yes, it's exciting. I had to get extra page sections added (3 times) on my last one, so they can get big. ...
Click to expand...
I compared passports of my Japanese and Singaporean colleagues. I found it interesting that Japanese passports have 50 visa pages and Singaporean passports have 64. American passports, I think, still have only 24 pages. I suppose if you live in a place where there is a higher number of countries per square megameter (1000 kilometers), you get a passport with more pages. I also had to get a page extension.

As for the EU, you can always ask them to stamp your passport.
 
xsedrinam said:
Congratulations, Chip NoVaMac. And yes, it's exciting. I had to get extra page sections added (3 times) on my last one, so they can get big. Be sure to keep it in a safe place, especially when abroad, and have the information filed on hand. U.S. Passport theft is a thriving market in certain places of the globe.
Click to expand...

LOL. I agreed to work tomorrow for an associate. After going to the PO today I joked that I was was gong to the airport on Sunday. They panicked. They asked why. I said that I was going to either Montreal or Toronto for the day!

If I had I was going to demand that I get my stamp in my Passport!

Thanks for the advice. I did note that it was suggested in "registering/advising" with the US Embassy when traveling aboard. I did note one thing that may keep me "safe". My place of "birth" is Germany (disappointed that it was not listed ad West Germany - born in 1958 <g>).

I intend to have a "copy" in a secure area on my computer, and in a "password" area on my Dot Mac account. What do you think of that?

BTW, I have a co-worker that passed through some point of entry during 9-11. She demanded that they stamp her Passport. She realized the importance of that date.

For myself, at my "age" I would want a record of every country I visited. Whether it was Canada, Mexico, or Poland.

I am disappointed in a major way that my Passport does not meet the "electronic' standards that are being phased in.
 
absolut_mac said:
Congrats on your new status.

So where are you going?

Trust me, a visit to a foreign country is a real eye opener. Sure you might recognize buildings and places from movies and TV, but they don't convey the reality and authenticity of those places. If I could afford it I would be a professional traveller, or a travel writer.
Click to expand...

Thanks!

After my sisters support and love and support during my "divorce" this past Spring. I offered her a cruise. So officially It will be a Caribbean nation or Mexico in October.

Before that it may be a trip to Iceland this January or February. $400 for air and hotel is hard to beat.

Beyond that, I am open to most anything. In the next few months I can find airfare to the UK for under $250, I might be there fora weekend.

Damn it, if I did not have to work on Sunday I might have looked at doing Montreal or Toronto! For I am a kid in a candy shop at this point with my Passport.

I really wish that I lived in a border town at this point. :D

I know where you are coming from. I spent 5 days in in SF this past Summer.
 
Sun Baked said:
Now you can join Katie in asking for donations to be sent out of the country on a educational trip.
Click to expand...

Hey, some of you know what I have been through. But I am not looking for a free ride.

Now if some MR members could find their way to help with lodging, that is a different matter.
 
Congrats, Chip :)

I'm sure no one will have to remind you to take plenty of film and/or storage cards along with you, wherever you go!
 
Too bad you can't keep the stamps from your old passports. :(

In Canada, you can't keep your old passports anymore, I believe. You need to give them your old one before you can get a new one. Unless you lose it while at home. :D

However, if you ever lose it, or even mess up the front cover (ie: get it wet so that it's really messy looking), you'll need to get a new one. However, you need to go to a lawyer/engineer/judge/ (and several other "professional" occupational) beforehand and ask him to verify that your passport is indeed damaged. Then you need to go to the passport office and give them the letter, and then they'll finally give you a new one. Of course, they also tell you that if you damage or lose another one, you won't be issued another one and won't be allowed out of the country for X number of years. :eek:

Anyway, don't get your passport damaged. Its the most important piece of ID you have, and that includes your birth certificate or anything else.
 
47 years old and this is your first passport? Yikes!!

I'm always amazed at how few Americans have a passport, I think the number is around 1 in 5 with only 3% of those having travelled overseas depending on who's giving the statistics. I just can't understand not having the urge to travel - I was brought up moving all over the world and I just can't imagine being stuck in the one country for my whole life.

Mind you, living here means that no matter where you go, you're gonna need a passport.
 
Hmm, well I had a passport a few weeks after I was born as an attachment to my mother's... the first time I flew was when I was a month old. I got my own at the age of ten... that was great! I just went on my first all-alone tour to the States 3 weeks ago. Good stuff... hehe :D




irmongoose
 
liketom said:
i love my passport , not too sure why though ? must be all them good memory's .

i hate it in europe now , they do not stamp your passport anymore if your in th EU :(
Click to expand...

they stamp it if you ask them. that's what i do
 
Chip NoVaMac said:
I intend to have a "copy" in a secure area on my computer, and in a "password" area on my Dot Mac account. What do you think of that?
Click to expand...

Just keep track of the passport number somewhere safe. That's all you'll need in you loose it/have it stolen.


Got my first passport when I was about 12. Now have 2: British + Italian :cool:


When you order a British passport, you can choose to have a "supersized" one with extra pages for visas (64 pages?).


Oh, and Abstract, in the UK you get to keep your cancelled passport if you want :)
 
I got my first at the age of 15 and am currently on my second. We're allowed to keep our old ones here, which I was quite pleased about – not because I had any interesting stamps on it, but because I can ensure my embarrassing passport photo won't be seen by anyone ever again...
 
Chip NoVaMac said:
For myself, at my "age" I would want a record of every country I visited. Whether it was Canada, Mexico, or Poland.
Click to expand...

A record of a visit to Israel can make it difficult to travel to certain other countries. Think it used to be like that for South Africa as well... I think that a North Korean, Iranian or Cuban stamp would also raise an eyebrow at passport control upon reentering the US.
 
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