This is a story of a heart attack that nearly was.
This past week I went to drop off the final payment for the immigration lawyer we've been working with. You know- the immigration lawyer that currently has all 600 pages of evidence and has just about total control of the applications we turn in to the department of immigrations? Yep, same one.
So this week, I drove downtown to his office to drop off the final payment check and check how things are going. Though there is only so much that you can check on when the government is involved and gives you a window of a 5 month wait time for a response. It's kind of like the cable guy telling you he'll be there sometime between 8am and 6pm. Thanks, cable guy...that's extremely helpful. And thanks to you too, department of immigrations, you're specificity is simply meritorious.
Back to the story. So I drove straight to the lawyer's office, parallel parked my Kia Sportage like a champ (p.s. I'm getting back into the groove of parallel parking), and got out of the car to walk up to the converted Victorian house that the lawyer's office occupies.
At this point, there are only 3 things wrong with this.
1. There is Caution tape stretched across the gate.
2. There is absolutely no furniture inside the house. How do I know this? There are no window treatments which give me a complete view into the entirely empty house.
3. There is a large "For Rent" sign very thoroughly attached to the ground.
Enter the near heart attack.
A long string of words that I shouldn't say and certainly cannot type out on this blog immediately entered my head. If my thoughts had subtitles... you would have seen a lot of this: #*!&%**@!!!!!!
Now, I don't have a lot of experience with gypsies but at this point, I was pretty sure I had just had my first encounter with one, and my lawyer was currently dancing around a gypsy campfire in the forest with his gypsy wagon posse, celebrating their latest victory. Either that, or my lawyer was wearing a Hawaiian shirt and swinging peacefully in a hammock, sipping a very large fruity cocktail with all sorts of paper umbrellas in it somewhere off the coast of Bora Bora and smugly thinking about how he ripped off another one.
I probably should mention at this point that he technically hadn't charged enough to escape to Bora Bora or to buy a gypsy wagon and posse, but my imagination wanders. I can't help it.
Somewhere in all this, a brief second of rational thinking peeked through, and I decided to call the main number. I was so relieved when someone answered, and even more relieved when they answered with the name of the law firm.
I casually asked "so where's your new office located?" And the receptionist casually gave me the address of a building about 3 blocks away.
I drove over to the new location, parallel parked like a champ again, and got my heart rate back down to normal once I saw the sign on the front door. Silly lawyers. They might be really good at complex interpretations of the law; however, they're pretty terrible at spreading the word to their clients about minor things...like when their entire office changes locations.
And that my friends, is the heart attack that NEARLY was.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
The great mystery of time and the great fun of Cake
How is it that so much time can pass so quickly between my blog updates, and yet everyday seems like it lasts for 10 years as I try to look towards the future?
*Sigh* The world may never know. Scratch that. I'll never know. It does me no good if the whole world knows and I don't.
Anyway, I'm not really sure what I want to write about. The spirit is willing, but the thoughts are jumbled. BUT with that being the case, I will talk about the most recent really fun thing I've done lately and how it is that I actually got to do it.
Alice 105.9 is a radio station here in Denver. They play alot of top 40 songs, but their afternoon radio hosts Slacker and Steve are really funny, so I like to tune in for the show and then change the station anytime Ke$ha comes on (she makes me want to drive a spike through my eye). I digress.
Slacker and Steve have a lot of listener interaction, and everyday they'll have some sort of a topic that you can call in for and share your story. If you have the best story, then you get some sort of a prize. A couple weeks ago, I was listening and the topic was "I have never..." They were wanting to hear stories about something that you've never done that most people have.
I wasn't planning on calling in until they announced the prize- two tickets to the Cake concert!
I quickly dialed and got through, and was able to tell the story that I have never been to a football game. Yep it's true. Never ever. Not a high school game, not a college game, not a professional game. Oddly enough, I've been to all sorts of other sporting events- Basketball; hockey; soccer; heck, I've even been to curling matches, but never a football game.
Slacker and Steve were shocked, and because of my football deficiency, I was able to score those tickets. I went with Missy to the Ogden Theater (which is a fantastic Colfax Theater by the way), and we got there just in time to score some pretty decent standing room only spaces.
If you ever get the chance to see Cake live, do it. Unfortunately in this day and age, singers don't necessarily have to know how to sing well, and musicians don't necessarily have to be able to play their instruments well. So even though it shouldn't be a rarity, it is always pleasant to find a band that performs just as well if not better live than they do on their CDs.
Plus, they gave away a tree in the middle of the concert. Who wouldn't like them?
*Sigh* The world may never know. Scratch that. I'll never know. It does me no good if the whole world knows and I don't.
Anyway, I'm not really sure what I want to write about. The spirit is willing, but the thoughts are jumbled. BUT with that being the case, I will talk about the most recent really fun thing I've done lately and how it is that I actually got to do it.
Alice 105.9 is a radio station here in Denver. They play alot of top 40 songs, but their afternoon radio hosts Slacker and Steve are really funny, so I like to tune in for the show and then change the station anytime Ke$ha comes on (she makes me want to drive a spike through my eye). I digress.
Slacker and Steve have a lot of listener interaction, and everyday they'll have some sort of a topic that you can call in for and share your story. If you have the best story, then you get some sort of a prize. A couple weeks ago, I was listening and the topic was "I have never..." They were wanting to hear stories about something that you've never done that most people have.
I wasn't planning on calling in until they announced the prize- two tickets to the Cake concert!
I quickly dialed and got through, and was able to tell the story that I have never been to a football game. Yep it's true. Never ever. Not a high school game, not a college game, not a professional game. Oddly enough, I've been to all sorts of other sporting events- Basketball; hockey; soccer; heck, I've even been to curling matches, but never a football game.
Slacker and Steve were shocked, and because of my football deficiency, I was able to score those tickets. I went with Missy to the Ogden Theater (which is a fantastic Colfax Theater by the way), and we got there just in time to score some pretty decent standing room only spaces.
If you ever get the chance to see Cake live, do it. Unfortunately in this day and age, singers don't necessarily have to know how to sing well, and musicians don't necessarily have to be able to play their instruments well. So even though it shouldn't be a rarity, it is always pleasant to find a band that performs just as well if not better live than they do on their CDs.
Plus, they gave away a tree in the middle of the concert. Who wouldn't like them?
Saturday, May 21, 2011
I think I wiped out a rain forest somewhere...
Well, supposedly the world is set to start ending at 6pm tonight. I figured I should at least get one last blog post in to leave my legacy. Though I guess if the world's ending it's not really going to matter anyway.
Hm. Anyway...
It's finally sunny here for the first time in what seemed like forever (but really it was 5 days of rain). Weather conditions can really get me down if it's gray for too long. And it was especially tricky this week to have the weather getting me down. Why? Well. I'll tell you.
After a loooooooooong (I'd add more "o's" but that's an obnoxious amount already) time, I was finally able to submit all of the evidence to the lawyer for Jamesson and I.
And at this point in my blog post, you might either be saying "Hey! That's great news!" Or you might be saying "What the heck are you talking about??" I can't remember if I've mentioned this before, but we're engaged. (Yippeee!) And because the world works the way it does right now, Jamesson is not allowed to marry me, until Uncle Sam says "welcome to my country."
And how does one get an invitation into Uncle Sam's country?
A lot of paperwork.
The first step in a process that I still don't know all the ins and outs of but thank God my aunt was able to recommend a good lawyer that does and is helping us, is to get together a lot of evidence of our relationship to submit with the application. We had to gather documents, passports, birth certificates, drivers licenses, tax info, e-mails, photos that are dated and labeled with the names of anyone else included in the photos, letters (plus envelopes), emails, chat conversations, phone bills, affidavits from people who know us, proof of insurance, wedding plans (for a wedding that we're still not sure if Jamesson will make it to), and a slough of other items to say that we a too legit to quit.
So now you know how I've been spending the last few months of my life. With a lot of paper cuts. BUT the good, no...the great, no....the FANTASTIC news is that FINALLY we had all the evidence we needed gathered and I handed the very large stack over to the lawyer on Thursday. It was a big relief. However, now we start the waiting game.
How does it work?
We wait; for an undisclosed amount of time.
Know any card games?
Hm. Anyway...
It's finally sunny here for the first time in what seemed like forever (but really it was 5 days of rain). Weather conditions can really get me down if it's gray for too long. And it was especially tricky this week to have the weather getting me down. Why? Well. I'll tell you.
After a loooooooooong (I'd add more "o's" but that's an obnoxious amount already) time, I was finally able to submit all of the evidence to the lawyer for Jamesson and I.
And at this point in my blog post, you might either be saying "Hey! That's great news!" Or you might be saying "What the heck are you talking about??" I can't remember if I've mentioned this before, but we're engaged. (Yippeee!) And because the world works the way it does right now, Jamesson is not allowed to marry me, until Uncle Sam says "welcome to my country."
And how does one get an invitation into Uncle Sam's country?
A lot of paperwork.
The first step in a process that I still don't know all the ins and outs of but thank God my aunt was able to recommend a good lawyer that does and is helping us, is to get together a lot of evidence of our relationship to submit with the application. We had to gather documents, passports, birth certificates, drivers licenses, tax info, e-mails, photos that are dated and labeled with the names of anyone else included in the photos, letters (plus envelopes), emails, chat conversations, phone bills, affidavits from people who know us, proof of insurance, wedding plans (for a wedding that we're still not sure if Jamesson will make it to), and a slough of other items to say that we a too legit to quit.
So now you know how I've been spending the last few months of my life. With a lot of paper cuts. BUT the good, no...the great, no....the FANTASTIC news is that FINALLY we had all the evidence we needed gathered and I handed the very large stack over to the lawyer on Thursday. It was a big relief. However, now we start the waiting game.
How does it work?
We wait; for an undisclosed amount of time.
Know any card games?
Saturday, May 14, 2011
And the beat goes on...
Right before I left for Ireland, I decided that my life was missing something.
Well, it was missing Jamesson...but even more than that, it was missing a small musical instrument in the shape of a ukulele. It was....a ukulele.
So one night at 11pm, when I seem to get most of my whims (read: really good ideas), I purchased a ukulele. I left to go on vacation before it came, so luckily when I got home, and was visciously thrown back into the cruel monstrous claws of reality, I had a nice little wooden ukulele with a turtle on it to cheer me up. I immediately sought pedagogy from the teacher that is available 24/7, dear to my heart, and known as Google. And thus began my musical journey.
I quickly picked up the 4 easy chords, which translates to me picking up 80% of pop music, which means that I'm no pro, but I can strum up a couple of ukulele storms including, but not limited to Happy Birthday, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and Home on the Range. I also am very very proud to say that I can now play one of my favorite Noah and the Whale Songs- 5 Years Time.
Look out Ukulele World! I'm heading straight to the top! Just as soon as I can figure out how to strum and sing at the same time.
Well, it was missing Jamesson...but even more than that, it was missing a small musical instrument in the shape of a ukulele. It was....a ukulele.
So one night at 11pm, when I seem to get most of my whims (read: really good ideas), I purchased a ukulele. I left to go on vacation before it came, so luckily when I got home, and was visciously thrown back into the cruel monstrous claws of reality, I had a nice little wooden ukulele with a turtle on it to cheer me up. I immediately sought pedagogy from the teacher that is available 24/7, dear to my heart, and known as Google. And thus began my musical journey.
I quickly picked up the 4 easy chords, which translates to me picking up 80% of pop music, which means that I'm no pro, but I can strum up a couple of ukulele storms including, but not limited to Happy Birthday, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and Home on the Range. I also am very very proud to say that I can now play one of my favorite Noah and the Whale Songs- 5 Years Time.
Look out Ukulele World! I'm heading straight to the top! Just as soon as I can figure out how to strum and sing at the same time.
When Irish eyes are smiling.
So I went to Ireland.
Oh. Em. Gee. It was magical.
What can I even begin to say about this? Alot, actually. For brevity's sake I will merely touch on the important parts. The first being that I would move there in a heartbeat (as long as Jamesson isn't too far behind in meeting me there). Just about everything was right up my alley. The fun people, the sense of humor, the bright colors and the amazing historical places. There were a few things that were not so up my alley, but I'd be willing to overlook them- mainly the fact that Budweiser is one of their top selections for beer, and the fact that many Irish girls have been delusional in thinking that leggings are pants. They're not pants. Stop acting like they are. I think if Ireland and I sit down and have a good heart-to-heart, we can work out both of these things.
Overall though, Ireland was such a great country to visit, and the company made it that much more wonderful. We drove to Dublin, went to the Guinness factory (where I'm going to try and convince Jamesson we need to move to), we ate incredible food and our weight in chocolate, made friends with the locals, saw some amazing natural scenery and landscapes (pretty much everywhere, but especially at the Cliffs of Moher. And we completely exhausted the word "cute" because everything is adorable in Ireland. Everything.
One great thing about going to Ireland with 4 art majors is that we all very much had the same goal in mind- Get. Good. Pictures. Generally, we'd park the car somewhere to get out and see something, and then 4 girls would all walk sort of in the same direction, but all stop at different points along the path (which was never well defined) in order to take pictures of whatever caught one's eye.
I'm pretty sure I got around 400 or 500 pictures, but feel free to take a gander at whichever photographs catch your eye! And please, if any of you readers out there stumble across a big bag of money and don't know what to do with it, feel free to send some of it my way so that Jamesson and I can move to Ireland immediately.
Links to Facebook Photo albums:
Day 1: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.541424170316.2038915.85500234&l=4253ee7d61
Oh. Em. Gee. It was magical.
What can I even begin to say about this? Alot, actually. For brevity's sake I will merely touch on the important parts. The first being that I would move there in a heartbeat (as long as Jamesson isn't too far behind in meeting me there). Just about everything was right up my alley. The fun people, the sense of humor, the bright colors and the amazing historical places. There were a few things that were not so up my alley, but I'd be willing to overlook them- mainly the fact that Budweiser is one of their top selections for beer, and the fact that many Irish girls have been delusional in thinking that leggings are pants. They're not pants. Stop acting like they are. I think if Ireland and I sit down and have a good heart-to-heart, we can work out both of these things.
One great thing about going to Ireland with 4 art majors is that we all very much had the same goal in mind- Get. Good. Pictures. Generally, we'd park the car somewhere to get out and see something, and then 4 girls would all walk sort of in the same direction, but all stop at different points along the path (which was never well defined) in order to take pictures of whatever caught one's eye.
Links to Facebook Photo albums:
Day 1: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.541424170316.2038915.85500234&l=4253ee7d61
Cheers!
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Spring is...springing
Well...I think I can safely say that I made it through the winter.
It's strange. I lived the entire first 18 years of my life in Colorado, spent 18 winters there with no problem. I spent 4 years in South Carolina, where the winter was a little less harsh, but still wintry. And then I moved to Peru where the weather really never got below 55 in the winter.
I only spent 3 winters there, but somehow, that made my first true full winter back in the states a bit difficult. I forgot what it was like to have the sun go down BEFORE 5pm. And what it was like to scrape the ice off my windshield, and what it was like to be so pale!
Being a native Coloradan, I am a bit ashamed to admit that this winter hit me hard...especially because by Colorado standards, this was one of the mildest winters we've seen. However, it did. I'll admit it. I was a wuss this year. And now, I am so very thankful for the spring.
The days are getting longer. The weather is getting warmer. I heard birds outside the window last week, and I saw the first little purple crocus coming up in our front yard.
One thing that I've always liked about Colorado is how very different and unique the 4 seasons are. Winter is very clearly winter with the snow and freezing temperatures, but then spring comes, and later in the summer, we get up to near 100 degrees often. Fall is beautiful in Colorado and unlike any other.
I think one of the reasons I appreciate this so much is the fact that I am not static person. I thrive on new experiences, and get so eager for the next change that is coming my way. So I welcome spring with open arms, and shorter sleeves.
See you later Winter...don't come back soon!
It's strange. I lived the entire first 18 years of my life in Colorado, spent 18 winters there with no problem. I spent 4 years in South Carolina, where the winter was a little less harsh, but still wintry. And then I moved to Peru where the weather really never got below 55 in the winter.
I only spent 3 winters there, but somehow, that made my first true full winter back in the states a bit difficult. I forgot what it was like to have the sun go down BEFORE 5pm. And what it was like to scrape the ice off my windshield, and what it was like to be so pale!
Being a native Coloradan, I am a bit ashamed to admit that this winter hit me hard...especially because by Colorado standards, this was one of the mildest winters we've seen. However, it did. I'll admit it. I was a wuss this year. And now, I am so very thankful for the spring.
The days are getting longer. The weather is getting warmer. I heard birds outside the window last week, and I saw the first little purple crocus coming up in our front yard.
One thing that I've always liked about Colorado is how very different and unique the 4 seasons are. Winter is very clearly winter with the snow and freezing temperatures, but then spring comes, and later in the summer, we get up to near 100 degrees often. Fall is beautiful in Colorado and unlike any other.
I think one of the reasons I appreciate this so much is the fact that I am not static person. I thrive on new experiences, and get so eager for the next change that is coming my way. So I welcome spring with open arms, and shorter sleeves.
See you later Winter...don't come back soon!
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Things are piling up...
Scattered thoughts, droopy eyelids, and the slight formation of a knot in my shoulders is what I'm working with tonight.
Between things getting busy at work, Jamesson and I trying to gather enough evidence so that Uncle Sam will give us his blessing on our marriage, and that oh so joyous thing we call life...I'm starting to feel like the water is rising and I am stuck to the floor with super glue.
I knew that the process would be frustrating from the beginning. Anyone who's spent over 25 minutes at his or her local DMV can relate to the bureaucracy. This is the same...but much worse. We have to gather evidence to prove that we're not scamming the government with a fradulent marriage. We have to gather photos, chats, emails, affidavits from people that know us, all my notebooks that have Jamesson's name scribbled across the front in bubble letters and surrounded by hearts and daisies, and every other little scrap of evidence to say "HEY! Let him into the country. It's legit, I promise!"
Knowing is half the battle they say....in this case...just knowing how frustrating it will be doesn't amount to a hill of beans. (what does that really mean anyway?)
KNOWING that this was going to be frustrating, just gave it time to marinate in my mind...and knowing now just makes me want to send my computer in a bubble wrapped envelope to the department of immigrations and say "HERE! TAKE IT! Look through the photos and e-mails yourselves!"
As frustrating as it is, Jamesson's of course worth it, so I guess for now, I'll just hold my tongue (maybe not completely) and try to learn some patience....not my strong suit.
On a happier note...this is movie I want to see. Be prepared for some "Awwwwwws" and some possible warming of the heart.
Soap Box Commentary: Not every movie needs to be in 3D. Just saying.
Between things getting busy at work, Jamesson and I trying to gather enough evidence so that Uncle Sam will give us his blessing on our marriage, and that oh so joyous thing we call life...I'm starting to feel like the water is rising and I am stuck to the floor with super glue.
I knew that the process would be frustrating from the beginning. Anyone who's spent over 25 minutes at his or her local DMV can relate to the bureaucracy. This is the same...but much worse. We have to gather evidence to prove that we're not scamming the government with a fradulent marriage. We have to gather photos, chats, emails, affidavits from people that know us, all my notebooks that have Jamesson's name scribbled across the front in bubble letters and surrounded by hearts and daisies, and every other little scrap of evidence to say "HEY! Let him into the country. It's legit, I promise!"
Knowing is half the battle they say....in this case...just knowing how frustrating it will be doesn't amount to a hill of beans. (what does that really mean anyway?)
KNOWING that this was going to be frustrating, just gave it time to marinate in my mind...and knowing now just makes me want to send my computer in a bubble wrapped envelope to the department of immigrations and say "HERE! TAKE IT! Look through the photos and e-mails yourselves!"
As frustrating as it is, Jamesson's of course worth it, so I guess for now, I'll just hold my tongue (maybe not completely) and try to learn some patience....not my strong suit.
On a happier note...this is movie I want to see. Be prepared for some "Awwwwwws" and some possible warming of the heart.
Soap Box Commentary: Not every movie needs to be in 3D. Just saying.
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