Good Vacation?

The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative looks like it's finally going live on June 1 of this year. No more delays.

What that means is that if you want to leave or enter the United States after that day, you'll need to have a passport of some kind. Even if it's just a day trip by car to Canada or Mexico.

The process is currently taking four-to-six weeks and may get longer as the deadline draws closer, so head down to your local acceptance agency soon.

All the details are here.

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HOW GOOD *WAS* THAT VACATION?

Don't just listen to the stories and look at the photos ... watch your coworkers for a few days after they return from a vacation and determine which of the following statements comes closest to describing them. The lower the number, the more you can be certain they didn't have *that* good of a time.

1) They remember everything about how to do their job and are really looking forward to getting back to work.

2) They remember everything about how to do their job but aren't really in a rush to get back to their desk. They loiter around the water cooler and have frequent conversations with coworkers about the vacation ... away from their desk.

3) They have forgotten some of what they were doing before they went on vacation and are caught re-reading old e-mails or flipping through day planners looking for hints.

4) They have completely forgotten what they were doing before they left and need to have their work reassigned to someone else in the company.

5) They have forgotten their passwords, keys, or some other vital piece of information critical to their job.

6) They have completely forgotten how to do their job and need some retraining.

7) They have forgotten where their desk or office is and are sometimes seen wandering the hallways, looking lost.

8) They have forgotten where they work or how to get there. They often show up late and are sometimes missing for hours after lunch.

9) When they do return to the office they have to be reminded who you are and what they were doing.

10) They just don't come back.

Find out where they went for vacation and book your next trip there ASAP.

[copyright 2008 by Ben Keene; used with permission from Mikey's Funnies]

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WORDS for YOUR WEEK: "And that's the wonderful thing about family travel: It provides you with experiences that will remain locked forever in the scar tissue of your mind." (Dave Barry)

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