Whew! I lived a whole week without my laptop. I finally decided to get it repaired. Last year it fell a couple of times and the hinge was damaged and I couldn’t close it without a lot of misalignment. I only closed it when I had to go to work and back. So I finally took it in when I was going to go to Seattle for the webfest with my friend and producer of a web series that we shot last year.
Which brings me to a little adventure. So aforementioned BFF thought it would be a great idea to come along with her to Seattle and I squealed of course at the mention of getaway. Hubby had to work Friday evening, so I had arranged a babysitter and then a sleepover the next night with her daughter and husband. Then after a hectic week, I get home and start packing. I reach for my passport….which was expired! Good grief! Since last summer! My heart sinks. I did not even check before. I text my girlfriend. Many texts and phonecalls later, she’s rightly pissed at me and I’m heartsick. I call and cancel sitter. I’m miserable. I text hubby who texts a border services pal who actually advises I give it a try with my citizenship card and my driver’s license. Now before 9/11, Canadians did that all the time, but since then, the passport is standard travel ID in and out of the country. I’m skeptical, but I can’t just let it go. So I call back the sitter. I throw stuff in my bag and grab my passport and other ID and drive to a hotel parking lot near the border. My friend picks me up and we start chanting like crazy. I let the white girl do all the talking cause let’s face it, I’ve never had much luck with customs officials. Out of all my years of travelling, I always stand a 90% chance of a “random” check. She dazzles him with talk of our show being in the webfest and flashes a poster with my face on it. I have no idea if the guy actually noticed the expiration date or what, but he lets us glide by without a word.
Yay! And guess what, coming back on the Canadian side – just as easy! Omigosh, I’m so glad I didn’t give up! We had a great time, our show won audience favourite and we got to sleep in! Of course, we didn’t get to bed til 3am, but whatever!
And tomorrow we’re going on a little holiday to the Sunshine coast with the kids. No husbands. Hubby’s work is going crazy right now and he’s working 24/7 so going away for more than a night is out of the question. And frankly, he’d just be on his phone the whole time anyway. When we get back, we’re heading out for Easter long weekend to see the in-laws. Hubby will only be able to get away for the Saturday and Sunday.
And the computer? The hinges are fixed, the screen replaced (cause it didn’t work once they disassembled it), video wire replaced and it’s back under my busy little hands. They didn’t do a perfect job, the casing is still separated a bit from the screen but I wasn’t about to let them glue it, so I’ll just live with it. I’ve used my kid’s tablet, my husband’s tablet and my smartphone, but I much prefer my laptop.
There’s more going on but will post again when I can.
A Woman My Age 
What a great solution! I’m glad your friend was a good border-crossing-charmer, and you were able to have your Seattle visit with your BFF! And congrats on winning audience favorite, that’s awesome. I hope all good things for you with all your upcoming travel and the things that are going on that were left unmentioned.
HOORAY! I’m glad you didn’t give up and that it worked out. Have a lovely Easter long weekend. 🙂
I am so glad that worked out AND that you won. A total win.
It’s so good to hear you having some fun. You deserve it. 🙂
So glad to hear you had a getaway (AND got your laptop fixed!). Girls weekends rock! 🙂
Crossing the border these days sucks. :p I was born in a border town, the same place my dad is from, and my mom grew up just 20 miles south. People went back & forth & back again and it was no big deal. When I was growing up, my parents actually knew a lot of the border crossing guards (in fact, one guy was a cousin of sorts to my mom), so it was almost a social kind of thing to do when I was growing up — “how are you, how’s the folks?” I’m sure I was well into my 20s or 30s before I was ever asked to produce some ID (let alone a passport). Not these days…!! :p
Hooray for winning audience favorite! Sucks that you had to rely on your friend at the border. Post racial world my ass. 😦
I usually get security checked about 9/10 when I travel by plane with my husband – who rarely gets double checked. So I have just learned over the years to just keep it simple and let others do the talking unless specifically asked.