Stellae Boreales is touring this year, so the girls will be going to New York in May.  We were told back in September to make sure we have passports.   Well, I know we have passports so I didn’t think any more about them.  It turns out that our passports do not have the mandatory six months left on them so we need new ones.

Even though Stellae Boreales is made up of violinists of many nationalities it turns out that my girls are the only ones who are not Canadian citizens.   That means they need extra documentation to get back in the country.  And, yes, those cards have expired too.   Details.

We went to get photos first.  For Australian passports the photos have to be a different size to those for Canadian passports, not the usual for the photographers.  Forms next, a guarantor, witness, supporting documents, details, details.

Today I took it all to the High Commission only to find that I had failed to get some signatures…the passport owners’ signatures!  Also it turns out that A13’s photo was not the right size as we had measured from chin to top of head instead of chin to crown of head.  Mere details.

Despite the missing details I quite enjoyed being downtown on a pleasant winter’s day.  The air was not too cold, the sun was shining, preparations for Winterlude were evident and I fantasized about being part of the corporate world.   I imagined myself eating lunch in the atrium that I had walked through, listening to the jazz band playing, wearing nice boots and a classy long winter coat.  A job?  The children at home?  Details.

I found it odd that the times the buses arrived did not coincide with the times advertised on the timetables.  Perhaps that’s just a minor detail.  We’ll see when I wrap up the last details with another trip tomorrow…