Remember when I was all happy and "praise God" about finally sending away my paperwork? To get my greencard, which grants me Lawful Permanent Residency in the US? That happened the week before Christmas.
And then we didn't hear anything.
Normally, when they get something, they send you a Notice of Action. And they tell you what's up with the papers. We waited and waited for one, and we didn't get one. I wondered if maybe it was just taking a long time, because we did send it just before Christmas. I tried not to worry.
Then, last Friday, we got a large envelope in the mail. It felt rather thick. And I knew, before I even opened it, that it was every piece of paper I had sent them.
Sure enough, we opened it, and there on top of all my paperwork was the Notice of Action we were waiting for, and it said Rejected in nice, big, bold letters. Believe me, seeing that word elicits all sorts of warm fuzzy feelings. Like.........rage. Or maybe just very strong exasperation.
We read through it, found out what they wanted, and thankfully, the problem is easily fixed. Art thinks I'm being a drama queen about it, but it's my paperwork, so I have a right to be dramatically annoyed.
When we sent out the very first piece of paperwork for my visa, we got a Notice of Action for that one as well, only it said "approved" on it. So now, for this new process, they want that original Notice, along with everything we already sent them. They want it as proof that a visa petition made on my behalf was approved. Which it was. Because I have a visa. And I sent them a photocopy of the visa that I have. You would think a photocopy of my visa would be proof enough. But it's not. Because they're picky. Or thorough.
I actually understand the reason they need that one extra piece of paper (and don't worry, I won't attempt to explain it to you. It's complicated). However, it's just a bit disappointing. It's a setback of another month. Another month where I'm stuck at home, not working, not contributing to our already paltry income (not for lack of effort on Art's part. I think he's applied for every available job within 50 miles).
Of course, with the recent crash of the economy, it looks like having a greencard wouldn't help me anyway. So it's just as well. Oh, and they sent back the money too, which is a huge relief. If we had to come up with another thousand dollars, my adjustment of status would never happen.
I had Sozan photocopy the Notice for me (since they want us to keep the original for our records), and she'll be bringing it over tonight. I'll add it to the stack, and we'll try sending it out again tomorrow.
It's a comfort to know that in a year and a half, I'll be done with all of this. Of course, that's when I plan on starting the "fun" process of changing my name....
January 12, 2009
January 11, 2009
News Bites. Bytes? Bits?
I bought a bathrobe on Thursday. I've been wanting a bathrobe for quite some time now. I went shopping with Sozan, and Wayne's brother Phil, and we stopped in at American Eagle, and I saw it, and it was on sale. So I bought it. It's not made of terrycloth. It's made of something WAY softer. It's white. It's perfect. So just as soon as I wash it, I can wear it.
On Friday, I finally had a chance to go to Mount Baker! My new winter boots came in, and Sozan has an extra pair of snow pants and a matching parka. In bright yellow. I couldn't get lost if I tried. We purchased a few snow saucers, packed a lunch and a change of clothes each, and headed up to the mountain for a few fun hours of sledding.
Actually, it's almost a miracle that we got to go at all. We got an unusual amount of snow in December, and then it melted. Plus, it's been raining a lot. There's quite a bit of flooding around here, and along the main road up to Baker, there was even a huge mudslide. The road opened mere hours before got there. I have never seen a mudslide before, but I saw the effects of it. Unbelievable. Messy. So many trees and houses ruined. Cleanup will last for weeks.
In other places, large parts of the road are covered with deep water that is just shallow enough to be considered drivable. One of these "puddles" proved to be too much for Sozan's car. It took the rear bumper off. Yes, that's right. Her bumper FELL OFF. This doesn't say so much about the water as it does about her bumper, which was attached by a wire on one side, and plastic screws on the other.
It sucked then, but it's kind of funny now. We were forced to leave the bumper in the ditch. (Did you know that you can get a ticket for not having a bumper on your car? It didn't happen, but we were all afraid that it would. I have never heard of that before. It's not like it's a key ingredient for safe driving).
On Saturday, I was sitting at home, all comfy in my pajamas, happily occupied with the laptop, when suddenly my friends showed up at my house. I had no idea they were coming over, so I was a bit embarrassed, especially since it was 2:30pm. In my defense, I wasn't planning on doing anything that day besides cleaning, so why would I need to change my clothes?
My friends didn't stay for long, but just before they left, they informed me that I was going to Oak Harbor. I looked at Art (who had just gotten home from work) and asked when he had planned on letting me know. His reply? "We're leaving in an hour. And you need to pack some clothes. Because we're staying overnight."
We need to work on this advance notice thing. He should know by now that I like to plan ahead, and even when I plan on doing nothing, to me, it's still a plan. In HIS defense, he didn't have much notice either. A friend of ours from Oak Harbor texted Art while Art was on his way home from work, and asked us to come down to meet his new girlfriend, who was visiting from California.
Of course, Art isn't as much of a planner as I am, so he was fine with the short notice. But I had a lot more to do than he did in terms of getting ready. I had to put on makeup. I had to go from schlumpy to beautiful, and pack for an overnight stay, in less than an hour. It didn't happen.
Despite the sudden change in plans, the weekend was quite fun (other than sleeping on the hard floor at Art's parents house). Cameron's girlfriend is very pretty (and very nice). We had pizza, played Apples to Apples (which I can never get enough of), and watched Rocketman. Also, Art had a ton of sugar and caffeine. And he doesn't exactly need help in the "getting hyper" department.
We went to Art's former home church this morning (which is also where we met for the very fist time), had Starbucks and Chinese "buppet" (buffet) for lunch, and hung out with Art's parents' friends for a couple of hours. They watched a football game on a HUGE flat screen TV. Huge. Probably as wide as I am tall.
So yeah, it's been a pretty eventful four days. I have more news than that, but it deserves its own post. Mostly because this one is already long enough. I gotta learn how to be more concise. And just in case you're wondering what my "more news" is, I'm not pregnant.
On Friday, I finally had a chance to go to Mount Baker! My new winter boots came in, and Sozan has an extra pair of snow pants and a matching parka. In bright yellow. I couldn't get lost if I tried. We purchased a few snow saucers, packed a lunch and a change of clothes each, and headed up to the mountain for a few fun hours of sledding.
Actually, it's almost a miracle that we got to go at all. We got an unusual amount of snow in December, and then it melted. Plus, it's been raining a lot. There's quite a bit of flooding around here, and along the main road up to Baker, there was even a huge mudslide. The road opened mere hours before got there. I have never seen a mudslide before, but I saw the effects of it. Unbelievable. Messy. So many trees and houses ruined. Cleanup will last for weeks.
In other places, large parts of the road are covered with deep water that is just shallow enough to be considered drivable. One of these "puddles" proved to be too much for Sozan's car. It took the rear bumper off. Yes, that's right. Her bumper FELL OFF. This doesn't say so much about the water as it does about her bumper, which was attached by a wire on one side, and plastic screws on the other.
It sucked then, but it's kind of funny now. We were forced to leave the bumper in the ditch. (Did you know that you can get a ticket for not having a bumper on your car? It didn't happen, but we were all afraid that it would. I have never heard of that before. It's not like it's a key ingredient for safe driving).
On Saturday, I was sitting at home, all comfy in my pajamas, happily occupied with the laptop, when suddenly my friends showed up at my house. I had no idea they were coming over, so I was a bit embarrassed, especially since it was 2:30pm. In my defense, I wasn't planning on doing anything that day besides cleaning, so why would I need to change my clothes?
My friends didn't stay for long, but just before they left, they informed me that I was going to Oak Harbor. I looked at Art (who had just gotten home from work) and asked when he had planned on letting me know. His reply? "We're leaving in an hour. And you need to pack some clothes. Because we're staying overnight."
We need to work on this advance notice thing. He should know by now that I like to plan ahead, and even when I plan on doing nothing, to me, it's still a plan. In HIS defense, he didn't have much notice either. A friend of ours from Oak Harbor texted Art while Art was on his way home from work, and asked us to come down to meet his new girlfriend, who was visiting from California.
Of course, Art isn't as much of a planner as I am, so he was fine with the short notice. But I had a lot more to do than he did in terms of getting ready. I had to put on makeup. I had to go from schlumpy to beautiful, and pack for an overnight stay, in less than an hour. It didn't happen.
Despite the sudden change in plans, the weekend was quite fun (other than sleeping on the hard floor at Art's parents house). Cameron's girlfriend is very pretty (and very nice). We had pizza, played Apples to Apples (which I can never get enough of), and watched Rocketman. Also, Art had a ton of sugar and caffeine. And he doesn't exactly need help in the "getting hyper" department.
We went to Art's former home church this morning (which is also where we met for the very fist time), had Starbucks and Chinese "buppet" (buffet) for lunch, and hung out with Art's parents' friends for a couple of hours. They watched a football game on a HUGE flat screen TV. Huge. Probably as wide as I am tall.
So yeah, it's been a pretty eventful four days. I have more news than that, but it deserves its own post. Mostly because this one is already long enough. I gotta learn how to be more concise. And just in case you're wondering what my "more news" is, I'm not pregnant.
January 7, 2009
Diet Math
Art and I had this conversation at 12:30 last night:
Art: "So...........16 x 7...............so that's..............112? Yeah, 112. Jenene, remember that number."
Me, sleepily: "112"
Art: "Wait................that's not right. Uh....................16 x 0.7! What's that?"
Me: "11.2"
Art: "Okay. Wait. Something's missing....................................Oh! It's 160 x 0.7."
Me: "That's still 112."
Art: "Right. So 160 x 0.8.............so that's 80 + 48.............so that's 128. Okay, so, 128 - 112?"
Me: "112"
Art: "128 - 112 is................16? 16. Wow. That's almost a two-block meal."
Me: "I really wish I knew what was going on."
Art: "Well, I'm just comparing different activity levels."
Me: "Never mind, I don't want to know after all."
Art: "You don't?"
Me: "Well, not right now. I'm afraid you'll explain it me."
Yup, this was last night's pillow talk. Did I mention it was at 12:30 at NIGHT? And for once, I was actually tired by that point. I went to bed before Art, and I fell asleep JUST before he came to bed and started up with calculations.
The math actually makes sense. I have a vague understanding of what he was doing, but it hurt my brain to try and think about it at that point. It has to do with calculating carbs vs. fats vs. protein in each meal. He does the math to make sure each meal is balanced. I leave it up to him, because I don't think I could ever grasp the concept.
Aren't we just the nerdiest couple you've ever heard of???
Art: "So...........16 x 7...............so that's..............112? Yeah, 112. Jenene, remember that number."
Me, sleepily: "112"
Art: "Wait................that's not right. Uh....................16 x 0.7! What's that?"
Me: "11.2"
Art: "Okay. Wait. Something's missing....................................Oh! It's 160 x 0.7."
Me: "That's still 112."
Art: "Right. So 160 x 0.8.............so that's 80 + 48.............so that's 128. Okay, so, 128 - 112?"
Me: "112"
Art: "128 - 112 is................16? 16. Wow. That's almost a two-block meal."
Me: "I really wish I knew what was going on."
Art: "Well, I'm just comparing different activity levels."
Me: "Never mind, I don't want to know after all."
Art: "You don't?"
Me: "Well, not right now. I'm afraid you'll explain it me."
Yup, this was last night's pillow talk. Did I mention it was at 12:30 at NIGHT? And for once, I was actually tired by that point. I went to bed before Art, and I fell asleep JUST before he came to bed and started up with calculations.
The math actually makes sense. I have a vague understanding of what he was doing, but it hurt my brain to try and think about it at that point. It has to do with calculating carbs vs. fats vs. protein in each meal. He does the math to make sure each meal is balanced. I leave it up to him, because I don't think I could ever grasp the concept.
Aren't we just the nerdiest couple you've ever heard of???
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