~July 2007 K-1 Filers~

[Ovaltine Jenkins 5]

It shouldn´t be a problem to reschedule. I didn´t reschedule and just came there a day before and so they did me a day before

[rae_and_scott 1]

No kidding? That's interesting. I have this feeling, though, that the NYC office is gonna be more busy & strict. Of course, I have no idea. We'll just wait for the next letter telling us when to come in, I suppose, since we can't go in any time next week.

[Ovaltine Jenkins 5]

I don´t know if any offices are busier than the ones we go to since it takes them reaaally long to process our stuff But if you have time this week, you can try to stop by and see if they do the biometrics or not Basically we did it like that because they sent us the appointment letter really late and it said if we wanted to reschedule we had to send them the letter back or something like that and they would reschedule but the letter wouldn´t make it there by the time the date of the appointment and the paper said if we didn´t appear for the appointment they would consider the applications abandoned. So we just drove there

Julez Did they buy it?

[*julez* 124]

Julez Did they buy it?

We've had 5 couples look at the house so far, with another tonight and one more on Thursday. Since we're not there when the prospective buyers are looking, we have no idea of what they think of the place. Our realtor did speak to one of the realtors who showed it last night and she indicated that her buyers were interested and need to think about it. Big purchase and all that. I do hope it sells quickly!

Edited July 15, 2008 by *julez*

[Ovaltine Jenkins 5]

I hope so too Then you can do more work on your new house Then you can go for a massage

[StillThePrettiest 3]

we should all schedule massages for the same day and then show up in here all blissed out

[Ovaltine Jenkins 5]

But I need a table with a hole for the belly

[StillThePrettiest 3]

you can have a shoulder massage

though if I keep making banana bread as great as I did today, I'm going to need a table with a hole in it for my belly, just on a regular basis

[*julez* 124]

Massages for all sounds wonderful! Who's paying???

[Ovaltine Jenkins 5]

.... long silence

[Ovaltine Jenkins 5]

We are all great cooks and need a hole for the belly

[Ovaltine Jenkins 5]

I haven´t seen Aly today. I am suspicious that she is just watching TV cuz she doesn´t know how to turn the internet on

[BabyBlueSusie 1]

For all you ladies with the housework complaints: I don't think it's *just* a cultural thing (although I'm sure that certainly can also play into it); I think it's largely just an old fashioned male / female thing. This is the number one complaint I know of among ALL of my female friends who are married or living with their partners. It was also my #1 complaint the first time I lived with Scott. It is supremely frustrating when you are the one working outside the home AND inside. I don't know what it is with most guys, that they've had their mothers pick up after them their whole lives, or what, but I just know that this is something almost all of us deal with and complain about. Personally, it's not something I'm willing to accept, so I say keep nagging. Scott used to tell me he hated me nagging him b/c it's behavior that reminded him of his mother, and I said, well that's easy, clean things, and I won't nag you. But I don't know how to fix the problem. I would just say, don't let it rest, and don't accept it. We've come a long way as women (not all the way, mind you, but our options are certainly better than our mother's or grandmother's), but then things can still be so imbalanced in this area, it's so messed up! It really peeves me.

Well said, sistah! I hate the word nag, especially that it is basically a word solely used when referring to women. It's like when I have a complaint about something, I am nagging and it's not something that he considers to be a big deal. Somehow when he has a complaint, I have to listen because it's apparently very serious and suddenly legitimate. Grr.

HOLD THE PHONE! I think I hear him cleaning the sinkful of dishes that I purposely left with the hope of him noticing and cleaning them (this tactic usually doesn't work, but it's worth a shot).....no, no...the water stopped running, false alarm. sigh.

Agreed Suck it up Adriano and stop bothering our Susie Life´s a journey and it´s not like your life ended right there just cuz there isn´t enough Italian/Albanian speaking peoplein your area You might end up back in NY after Susie finishes her school

Yea, you said it Marta!!! He has a job interview tomorrow though, let's all cross his fingers that it comes through!! I know it would definitely give him a bit of a boost. I am going with him to the interview to help with translating, hopefully I will do a good job of selling his skills. =]

I want to go back to NY too once I finish, but for now I am hanging ten here in South Bend. Although, there is something very appealing about San Francisco or Portland, Oregon to me. I like that you are able to walk around the city and use public transportation. NY is great, but I think any NYer can admit that it can be a bit overwhelming at times, and the longer I am there, the more I feel the need to escape and take a break. I think a smaller city, with some of the elements of NY that I love so much, would be a nice compromise.

English Muffin - Greatest congrats!!! That is very exciting that you will get the card soon, but even more exciting that there's no more uscis for a lil while!! wahoo!!!

StP - That is a really great thing that you are doing with the ESL and literacy tutoring. A wonderful way to spend your time while giving back to those who need it. Kudos to you.

[rae_and_scott 1]

I want to go back to NY too once I finish, but for now I am hanging ten here in South Bend. Although, there is something very appealing about San Francisco or Portland, Oregon to me. I like that you are able to walk around the city and use public transportation. NY is great, but I think any NYer can admit that it can be a bit overwhelming at times, and the longer I am there, the more I feel the need to escape and take a break. I think a smaller city, with some of the elements of NY that I love so much, would be a nice compromise.

Oooh, Susie, I love Portland too! I only spent 2 or 3 days there but I wanted Scott and I to move there after we'd lived in NY for awhile. Their public transit is great (and free downtown), everyone's so much more environmentally conscious, they have a cool art scene... I dunno, I just fell in love with that place! But Scott wants to be in Canada. At least Portland isn't too far from Vancouver and has some of the same elements; hopefully I will fall in love with it there. I think SF is also a really great city, totally unique and with its own character, but part of my wanting to escape NY someday is that I can't afford to own a home here, and SF's got the same expensive housing problem. After living in Indiana for a few years, you're gonna be like, they want HOW MUCH for a one bedroom?!?!

Oh, and good luck on the interview!!

Edited July 16, 2008 by rae_and_scott

[Jeraly 4]

Whoo Hoooooooo!!!

*** DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS E-MAIL ***

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Application Type: I485 , APPLICATION TO REGISTER PERMANENT RESIDENCE OR TO ADJUST STATUS

Current Status: Card production ordered.

On July 12, 2008, we ordered production of your new card. Please allow 30 days for your card to be mailed to you. If we need something from you we will contact you. If you move before you receive the card, call customer service. You can also receive automatic e-mail updates as we process your case. Just follow the link below to register.

Don't have to deal with USCIS again for a couple of years.

Yay!!!! Gratzies Gillian!! So quick as well! I don't know if I want mine to turn up that quick or not

My news of the week (aside from bank charges!) is that I should be able to get my SSN tomorrow/Tuesday!!! Is it exactly two weeks from entering the US or is it an inexact science?

It is not an exact science. We waited exactly 2 weeks just to find that Scott wasn't in the system and now we're waiting an additional 4-6 weeks on top of that.

For all you ladies with the housework complaints: I don't think it's *just* a cultural thing (although I'm sure that certainly can also play into it); I think it's largely just an old fashioned male / female thing. This is the number one complaint I know of among ALL of my female friends who are married or living with their partners. It was also my #1 complaint the first time I lived with Scott...

Well I managed to apply for my SSN yesterday so it should be with me in two weeks - yippee!! We also got a joint bank account (savings) and I got a new checking account too. So did Jeremy as he closed his BofA account after they screwed us out of $300 - still going to take that further so if anyone has any bright ideas...

As for the cleaning thing, I think it is just that Jeremy has always lived in places that are a) filthy B) messy and c) dirty. He's lived in a tent, on sofas, in trailers, RVs... none have been particularly well kept and so it is just that he is not used to my standard of living - he'll get there, if only because he wants to make me happy

also - went to a training day for English volunteer tutors, and was VERY impressed by the organisation, and can't wait to start

it's reasonably close to home, and there's a good possibility that I can tutor even closer to home, so that's good... I can do small groups of ESL (4 - 5 adults), or one-to-one with English-speaking adults who need to improve their written literacy

I think I'd like to do a bit of both

and since I now know the way to Dave's work, I can drive him in the mornings if I want, and then have the car for the day

though I don't know that we'll make a habit of that as it doubles the petrol usage

but at least it's an option

and in more fun stuff - have been having a BLINDER with cooking; everything I try seems to come out wonderfully, which I'm still pinching myself over

did a fish thing on Friday night, with cous cous, which was the bees knees... and we got all adventurous yesterday evening, and made some Indian paratha bread using a recipe we found online, and it was bloody excellent, and we ate it with Indian dips while watching SeaChange, and told each other how very clever we are

as for the other stuff you've all been discussing -

we're really quite sickening, as we have no pet peeves either

give us time; we might develop some, but it's all been pretty plain sailing so far... we're both pretty good at communicating calmly, so any tiny things tend to stay tiny, and don't get all blown up into silliness

and at the moment, with me not working, I'm happy to do all the housework, and Dave is VERY appreciative of same... I quite enjoy most of it, and he doesn't, so it works that way too (and he's still raving about how great it is to have dirty laundry magically reappear, all washed and ironed, in his cupboard, so I feel quite valued )

plus, if I do a bit every day, I often end up with free time, like now, to chat to all you fine people

Wow StP - you sound like the veritable little housewife!! We are so not as settled as you! We still are severely lacking in the furniture department (although I have seen a garden table and chairs set in World Market that I love ) and our gas has just been turned off because Jeremy didn't ever get it changed into our name... Of course, while I was freaking about all the things I had to do for the move, he was meant to be setting up the utilities... it seems the only one he actually did was the electricity... I guess I should count my blessings though as not having aircon would be hell on earth

So right now we can't cook unless it involves a microwave or toaster. If anyone has any genius ideas here as well then that would be kinda cool... We haven't gotten into a proper eating routine yet either - I want to go out and really do a proper shop for all the food we need but we just can't afford it right now as things are really tight - we found out that cause Jeremy closed his bank account, his pay is going to have to bounce back before he can get access to it as it has already been processed - so no paycheck this week...

we should all schedule massages for the same day and then show up in here all blissed out

Ohhh that sounds bliss As for who is going to pay - well isn't that what our respective partners are here for?!?!?! Even better, we should arrange a VJ July Filers Spa Day!! Ohh wouldn't that be awesome?! A nice day at the spa, followed by a lovely meal somewhere... mmm... Palm Springs anyone?! We have spas and lovely restaurants

But I need a table with a hole for the belly

Awww - you will have to have a special one - they must make them!!!

I haven´t seen Aly today. I am suspicious that she is just watching TV cuz she doesn´t know how to turn the internet on

I can work the internet - it's the TV that is the issue!! Jeremy gets Mondays and Tuesdays off at the moment though so I tend to not get online so much then It's our weekend... of course "hump" day is Friday and today is "Monday" Booo!!!