Next on the Agenda:

Next trip to prepare for is Thailand! I was reminded of that at about 3:00 am this morning when the phone rang. It was the Thai embassy in Washington telling me that to get a visa to visit the country, I need to fax them a copy of my round trip plane ticket and also my last bank statement.

I've already sent them my passport, visa application, two photos and a money order for $30. Apparently, they want to be sure I have enough funds to sustain me while in Thailand--and that I will indeed be departing the country and not settling permanently. I was given a fax number and told to fax the required documents to the attentionof Risa something-or-other.

I didn't understand the name of the person I was sending the stuff to and asked for clarification. Could she please spell the name for me? (After all, I want to get this right! Or no visa.)

"No, no!" the caller protested. "Risa! Risa!"

Then it dawned on me. Thais do not pronounce letters the same way we do. In fact, they have a whole different alphabet composed of delicate, lovely letters that look (and sound) nothing like ours. She was saying Visa not Risa, the way I heard it. And the second word was Department, as in Visa Department, not a person's name.

By 4:00 am, I was trying to fax the stuff she wanted--only to discover that the number she gave me wasn't a fax number. Okay, fire up the computer and do a search. Yes! A fax number for the Thais Embassy in Washington D.C. It's one digit different from what she gave me.

Okay, let's try this again. Wait a minute! Was I supposed to send my account numbers for the whole world to see? What if this call is a scam? I blacked out my bank account numbers. Then faxed what she wanted. Now, I just have to keep my fingers crossed that the risa...er, visa...(and my passport) get back to me.

So the adventure begins...

Now to get through the day after losing a night's sleep over obtaining my visa!