The 2023 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) begins on Thursday.

I booked my AirBNBs for TIFF in early May.

I early-bird registered for TIFF industry accreditation in mid-June.

I booked my flights to and from TIFF shortly thereafter.

Throughout August, I researched places to eat at during TIFF.

And then, 24 hours before my flight to TIFF, I discovered that my passport expired in July.

[sigh]

That time I discovered that I had left my packed bag at home after landing in Las Vegas has been supplanted.

I considered changing my flights to and from TIFF to accommodate an expedited passport renewal, but I would be spending like $918 to not lose $1068.

I'm comforting myself with the fact that this year's strike-impacted festival missed out on a bunch of notable films.