~July 2007 K-1 Filers~

[*julez* 124]

I went with Griff to his biometric and we didn't pay for anything, other than parking. The cost of biometrics is included in the AOS filing fee.

[chris4gretchen 1]

Sorry i was confusing people. The $80 paid for the biometrics was paid in the $1010 that we paid for the AOS. We didnt pay anything at the actual biometrics, however we did pay for that and i still feel it was a waste of $80 since Gretch has had in now 3 times in the last 6 months. The AOS fee should be $930. Or the fee should be $1010 and the fingerprints and photo they take at customs is what that pays for. Why do we need it a third time? Maybe they should require it if you are filing over a year from your K1 being activated. I just feel it was a waste of $80 since they had just done it twice within the last 6 months.

Chris

[bakofoil 27]

sorry, sorry... have been very busy; it was Dave's birthday on the weekend, so we were out doing all sorts of things, and I work Mondays and Tuesdays now, and we have trivia night Tuesday nights

(last night we came third and won $10 )

I haven't unpacked NEARLY everything; it's too overwhelming to do it all at once! but I've done most of the furniture, and a couple of boxes - some kitchenware, and my Tintin and Asterix books

the glass-topped dining table was fine, and looks GORGEOUS in our dining area, and we've put the outdoor furniture outside on the patio, where it also looks fantastic... we had coffee out there both mornings on the weekend; so nice that getting outdoor furniture corresponded with the start of the gradual decrease in temperatures!

I'd also brought a stained glass window that my great uncle made for my Grandma... it's beautiful anyway; it's of waterlilies, and is a rectangular panel designed to be hung in a window by a little chain, but it also has sentimental value - obviously the fact that it was made by my great uncle, but also because it hung in the window of my Grandma's house for YEARS, and she just moved into a retirement home - the visit we made to her house when I was in Australia in May was the last time I will go there

the window came through fine as well - there are a couple of small cracks in a few of the glass pieces, that weren't there before, but they're not that visible, and I was scared it would be in pieces, so I was pretty happy with that

I really want to find more of the kitchenware, and my DVDs, and get out some books... but we only have a few bookshelves at the moment so I'll have to choose carefully, and leave the rest in boxes for now

will do a bit more unpacking today - I'm at home all day on Wednesdays

oh, and my ESL class is GORGEOUS and I love them all

I have Jenny from China, Darin from Korea, Anna from Russia, Khalida from Pakistan, and Luis from Mexico, who is the sole male but so sweet we don't mind

they're all very keen, and doing really well, and we're having a lot of fun; and I LOVE knowing I'm helping them with such an important skill

oh, and the centre is all set to offer me a job but of course I can't work

curse this procrastination in getting my paperwork in

(packet is ready to go to USCIS at last, and will be posted today or tomorrow )

there! there's my news! now I can hide away for another week

It's so good to hear from you! I'm glad all your stuff arrived safely, I know you were worried about it.

I have all the tintin dvd's and the comic books as pdf's on a cdrom. Not quite the same as having the books but I got rid of 99%of my books in the months before the visa came through. I had collected a lot of modern first editions over the years and I got more money back for them than I paid, but it was hard letting them go. I was very disciplined about it, apart from two books; EM Forster's 'Maurice' and Philip Larkin's 'The North Ship'. Both first editions and very hard to replace in the condition they were in.

Great news about the ESL class. I know you used to be an English teacher, but did you get an ESL qualification along the way too?

[StillThePrettiest 3]

Thanks for the update! I'm glad to hear that, so far, everything is mostly in good condition.

I can relate to the overwhelmingness of unpacking! Especially about the books. I have no where to put them! We need to invest in some book cases. I've already relegated some boxes to the basement since there are some things that just don't have anywhere to go! The one thing I loved about my old house was the built in book cases and mantle, and without those I amhard pressed for displaying photos and knick-knacks. In time we'll buy some occasional tables or something.

I am glad you are loving your ESL classes! That is great! Now get that AOS stuff in the mail!!

Oh, and a belated Happy Birthday to Dave!

thank you

yes, I was very relieved that things came through ok... all the glassware I've seen so far has been fine; the only damage so far is to a little wooden wall cabinet with glass doors - ironically the glass was fine, but an ornamental carved thingamy at the top is snapped, and the wood is half an inch thick! but it's a sort of distressed look anyway, so I'll mend it, and it won't look too bad

and yes, I hear you on the book cases... I have boxes and BOXES full of books; it would be embarrassing if it wasn't so cool

we want to get some built-ins too - the lounge room here is a sort of ell-shape; you're supposed to make the short part a dining room, but we have the table in the breakfast room next to the kitchen, which is handier and nicer anyway, so why on earth would we want ANOTHER space for eating that we'd hardly ever use?! so we want to have that whole section lined with books; three walls full... there's a window in the centre of the middle wall, and we'll put in a window seat and so on... it will be lovely, but we have to have some money first

in the meantime - well, we have no basement, and the attic would be a bit hot and humid and I'd be worried they might get wrecked, so I think they're staying in the lounge room for now!

yes, I just love my ESL classes

if anyone has ever thought about teaching, do look into it in your town... many organisations will give you some training, and you generally don't need any prior experience, and the students are really great... my org has a waiting list of over 300 so the need is there

[Jeraly 4]

Well I have billions of books as well and more than half are still at my mum's

We are going to pick up a cheap shelving unit from a thrift store and use that when we need to - there isn't much point in us spending loads of money when as soon as we move to a larger place, we will want to get newer things anyway!! But I hear you on the books - I love my books - while there aren't many rare or valuable ones, they are all novels I love and I am building a veritable collection of classics combined with fantasy... My Enid Blyton ones are in the UK still though along with my 100 year old encyclopedias

[StillThePrettiest 3]

It's so good to hear from you! I'm glad all your stuff arrived safely, I know you were worried about it.

I have all the tintin dvd's and the comic books as pdf's on a cdrom. Not quite the same as having the books but I got rid of 99%of my books in the months before the visa came through. I had collected a lot of modern first editions over the years and I got more money back for them than I paid, but it was hard letting them go. I was very disciplined about it, apart from two books; EM Forster's 'Maurice' and Philip Larkin's 'The North Ship'. Both first editions and very hard to replace in the condition they were in.

Great news about the ESL class. I know you used to be an English teacher, but did you get an ESL qualification along the way too?

just as an aside, it took me a little while to work out that you were our dear old babbles

I saw the avatar, and kept THINKING it was you, but then would see the name and think it was some imposter using your old avatar... good to have worked it out; it was freaking me out a little

I love Tintin and Asterix... I have about half the Asterix titles, but I have the full set of Tintins, collected over many years... as well as some companion guides and things of that nature

they all went into storage almost four years ago, when I went to London - it was SO satisfying to rip that box open and settle down on the floor with Asterix in Britain

I didn't ever get an ESL qualification, no... I looked into it a few times, but all the course I could find were fiendishly expensive, plus they either used up all my evenings when I was working full time (not possible; would die from tiredness ) or ran throughout the entire summer holidays (ditto )

but my two majors are English lit and German; between the two it's pretty close!

[bakofoil 27]

just as an aside, it took me a little while to work out that you were our dear old babbles

I saw the avatar, and kept THINKING it was you, but then would see the name and think it was some imposter using your old avatar... good to have worked it out; it was freaking me out a little

I love Tintin and Asterix... I have about half the Asterix titles, but I have the full set of Tintins, collected over many years... as well as some companion guides and things of that nature

they all went into storage almost four years ago, when I went to London - it was SO satisfying to rip that box open and settle down on the floor with Asterix in Britain

I didn't ever get an ESL qualification, no... I looked into it a few times, but all the course I could find were fiendishly expensive, plus they either used up all my evenings when I was working full time (not possible; would die from tiredness ) or ran throughout the entire summer holidays (ditto )

but my two majors are English lit and German; between the two it's pretty close!

Tis me. I'm baking in the heat in bako! 'Babbles' was always a bit too fluffy for me, but was apt at the time.

The reason I was asking about the ESL was because I have looked into an ESL qualification many times and decided against them for the same reasons you describe but had been wondering whether I can do a bit of ESL. My degree is not even close to ESL though and I can't even speak a second language myself so I'm prolly clutching at straws!

[StillThePrettiest 3]

oh, I don't think so for a moment

the place I volunteer at will accept anyone... you've just got to be committed to a twelve week stint, and attend one training session (about three hours) and observe a class... the class I observed wasn't even all that inspired, to be honest; I mean it was adequate, but the teacher was just working through a text book, and didn't seem to have supplemented it with anything... but the student was learning, and it was fine

so anything on top of that is gravy

have a look around near to where you live! lots of churches and social/community centres run classes, and there may even be a dedicated organisation like the one I'm volunteering with... and it's easier than you think

[bakofoil 27]

oh, I don't think so for a moment

the place I volunteer at will accept anyone... you've just got to be committed to a twelve week stint, and attend one training session (about three hours) and observe a class... the class I observed wasn't even all that inspired, to be honest; I mean it was adequate, but the teacher was just working through a text book, and didn't seem to have supplemented it with anything... but the student was learning, and it was fine

so anything on top of that is gravy

have a look around near to where you live! lots of churches and social/community centres run classes, and there may even be a dedicated organisation like the one I'm volunteering with... and it's easier than you think

Will do! I feel very inspired now. I missed your reply to Julez about ESL prolly whilst I was writing about clutching at straws. And strangely I noticed an ad in the paper today for ESL teachers!!

[StillThePrettiest 3]

do it, do it!!!

[Jeraly 4]

There's been an immigration raid in Palm Springs

http://www.mydesert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti...er-breakingnews

At least they are doing something about illegal immigration... Makes me feel a little smug about doing things the expensive and long-winded "proper" way

[StillThePrettiest 3]

well, I maybe feel glad that the legal way was open to me, but I don't know that smugness is exactly in there... some people have far fewer options than we do

[Jeraly 4]

Oh I know what you mean - but at the same time you get soooo many illegal people here - I don't know if they are unaware of how to go about things the "proper" way or if they have the means - getting into the US is a nightmare as we all know, but at the same time, does it mean you should just move to a new country illegally if you don't like your own?

I guess it's a mixed bag - part of me does feel sorry for them but at the same time, where do you drawn the line.

I wish life were just fair for everyone... Man - if I were prettier I could enter a beauty pageant and give my speech on world peace

[bakofoil 27]

I think people just do what they have to do sometimes. I suppose the US government giving amnesties from time to time has encouraged some abuse of the immigration laws. I'm not against amnesties but it has to have an impact on the choices of future generations.

Also, if you read the waiver threads there are often people from Mexico who have been denied based on illegal presence in the US when they were children and had no choice in the matter. There are other, what I deem, minor law violations which totally mess them up too. I can understand why people get frustrated and just bypass the visa application in those situations.

The VWP thread I was griping about is another example. I have no objection to people adjusting status from VWP 'IF' they had no intent to immigrate when they entered the US - and it's not difficult to be totally clear about that in your own mind. People were making AOS from VWP sound so simple, almost advocating it as an alternative to the K1 route - so much so that it made me question the whole visa application process. But the fact remains that the VWP is a privilege and there are people from other countries who do not have that ease of passage into the US. We all complain about Mexico but it seems equally unfair to me that there are people using the VWP to suit their own needs and circumvent the visa application procedure.

[Jeraly 4]

Totally agree with you on the VWP thing - I know the principles behind it, but there is no way I could have happily gone down that road, knowing that I was in a relationship, visiting my boyfriend or whatever...

Now, if you were over for three months to go sight seeing or something and happened to meet the man (or woman) of your dreams in such time then fine, by all means... But yeah... It's ropey at best when people see it as a viable alternative to the K-1 etc...