The Vent - Part Trois

[OBX 51]

Our medicals are on Tuesday and who get a cold. I haven't gotten sick at all this winter and I have to get sick now, I am SO mad!!!Hopefully I can shake it before Tuesday.

You'll be fine, a little cold won't be a problem. Good luck.

[Wyatt's Torch 45]

You'll be fine, a little cold won't be a problem. Good luck.

Agreed. They actually had signs up at Woking Medical Services (the panel physician here in Vancouver) that said that if you have a cold or the flu, just inform them. I believe they'll give you a mask to cover your mouth, and possibly plastic gloves. But it almost certainly won't affect your medical. Your blood pressure may be a bit higher, as will your white blood cell count (part and parcel of the body fighting off an ailment), but it really shouldn't matter.

[sdw 10]

ok thank you. It started on Friday and I am feeling quite a bit better already, all sinuses.

[OBX 51]

Agreed. They actually had signs up at Woking Medical Services (the panel physician here in Vancouver) that said that if you have a cold or the flu, just inform them. I believe they'll give you a mask to cover your mouth, and possibly plastic gloves. But it almost certainly won't affect your medical. Your blood pressure may be a bit higher, as will your white blood cell count (part and parcel of the body fighting off an ailment), but it really shouldn't matter.

When I had my medical my blood pressure, which is always normal, was running a bit high. The MD just asked if I was tired, which I was having to leave home at 5 a.m. to make the drive to Toronto! He didn't even bother at all about the reading. Once the medical is over you will realize how easy it all was.

[trailmix 77]

We had our Auto insurance with Allstate in Florida, they were great, premiums were good, they accepted our Alberta Driver's Abstradts - all good.

So now we need a letter of experience. I have a lot of Alberta insurance history but my Husband doesn't have as much so in order for us to get the best rate, we need that letter.

I first call Allstate last November - sure np, we will mail that out to you. Nothing arrives. So I call back around January - hmm, we will send it to you!

I call back about a week or so ago - no record of your request, but I will ensure this gets done. Oh you can call us back to double check later if you like. Now it is a week later, so I call back. Yes, it has been requested - but it says "hold for response". I get transferred to another department to find out what that means. What it means it that Allstate does not mail out the letter - they will not - you either have it faxed to you or you don't get one, that simple.

Great.

[ashenflowers 5]

Wow trailmix... that's ridiculous. Too bad it took 4 people to figure out that you can't get what the other people said you could. That makes me so much happier that

I quit working in call centres. People are dumb.

Here's my vent. I could probably make my own thread about it, but I don't want to. My husband was fired from his job the day after we arrived in California last month. I haven't mentioned this before because I wasn't sure I wanted to talk about it here, but there ya go. So, now we no longer have the money needed to file for AOS (we had to use it for living expenses), and we no longer have the financial support they require. He hasn't been trying as hard as I think he should to find another job (he's 33, and has never actively looked for a job before... he's only had 2 jobs his whole life, and both kinda fell in his lap, so he doesn't even know HOW to look for a job). I'm helping him about as much as I can, but a month and a 1/2 with no leads, and little effort from him has basically got me fed up.

90% of the reason we moved here, instead of him moving back to Canada (he's dual citizen), is because he had a good job, and I didn't really like mine. Had we known that he was just going to end up getting fired and this 'good job' would be non existent, he could've easily moved to Canada (he had a lot less stuff than me and was living with his parents). We could have been married there with all our friends and family, and he could've had a job with his previous employer there. We could've filed DCF for CR1 or something, which also would've been better, had we decided we wanted to move to California again.

I'm actually really upset by this, and am furious with his former boss for being a ####### and completely doing this unexpectedly out of the blue. It really screwed up our ability to move forward with immigration, and really put into perspective how much I don't actually like it here, and how much I wish I had just stayed in Canada. My husband has NO friends here. NO ONE. Only his parents. And he's been here almost 2 years. The only time I'm getting out to do anything fun is when I initiate it (like volunteering at a film festival a couple wks ago).

So in short, life here has SUCKED so far, and I want to go home. And this really goes beyond the regular bouts of 'homesickness' that everyone gets.

/vent

[Rhiannercakes 14]

Wow Ashen.. that really sucks.

I know what you're going through though.. my husband also lost his job and he's not really trying to look for one either. I had to re-do his resume for him so it would look good enough for a job application!

He hasn't applied for anything for 2 weeks and I try to get him to do it. He hasn't job hunted for 6 years now, and now he just doesn't really try.

He keeps saying that there's no jobs right now because it's still a bit after the holidays, but there's more places hiring than he thinks.

I don't regret moving here because my job back in Canada was terrible, but I do wish it was easier for my fiance to find a job here.

Looks like you've got a bit of a partner in that, Ashen. Too bad we don't live closer, we'd come visit.

[Wyatt's Torch 45]

NO offense to either of your husbands, but I can't imagine not looking for another job right away. I've been going nuts not working for the past while, even though it was the best possible recourse in my immigration situation. I've already been sending out resumes before I even get to the U.S.... Even besides the financial issue, I get into a funk when I'm not occupied with something. I'm the sort of guy who probably won't be able to retire, just because I'll want to be doing things up until the day I die.

I really sympathize for both of you.

[ashenflowers 5]

heh.. thanks Rhiann. We live kinda close! Relatively speaking, but yeah, not quite close enough. How are you guys moving forward with AOS? Are you getting a co-sponsor? I know you'd mentioned a few things about it before, but I don't remember. I'm sorry. We're going to have to get his dad to pay the AOS fee and be a co-sponsor now I think, and I'm really pissed about that. I'm WAY beyond the mindset of needing mommy and daddy to help out, so this really ruffles my feathers. My husband is an only child though, and I don't know if that has anything to do with it, but he's really used to them taking care of him. It's kinda... sad.

And Wyatt, no worries... I'm not offended, and call me a jerk, but I don't care if he'd be offended. LOL I'm really angry about this. I'm going nuts with him being around the house CONSTANTLY, and not having freedom or money to do things I want, and not having a job to keep me busy too! So yeah, I'm trying to keep busy with volunteering. I'd like to see effort like that from him, but I'm not. I'd like to say it's not his fault that he got fired, but it is. They didn't downsize, they didn't eliminate his position, he wasn't 'laid off'... he was FIRED for being undependable. He let it happen, and didn't fight to keep his job or try to prove himself to them. He was supposed to get PROMOTED, but instead this happens. He's a hard worker, so this never should've happened. I've NEVER been fired from a job, so I'm really trying not to look down on him for this and I'm trying to be supportive, but it's really hard. I'm really disappointed in him. And yeah, just considering the fact that had we known this was going to happen we easily could've had a MUCH better situation, I'm just... $#%)^*&@$^%@ UGH... yeah, I don't want to talk about it anymore.

[J&K 0]

ashen,

So sorry to hear about your situation

I was worried about John not being able to support us, as he sounds much like your husband, but luckily he has stepped up his game and is doing really well at work now.

I know you're in California, and his parents are there, but would there be any chance when looking for employment to relocate?

Just thinking about Cali's job situation, it might be worth it to look at big companies and where they are hiring.

I wish you both luck, and a speedy AOS process so that you too can start looking for employment.

[Rhiannercakes 14]

heh.. thanks Rhiann. We live kinda close! Relatively speaking, but yeah, not quite close enough. How are you guys moving forward with AOS? Are you getting a co-sponsor? I know you'd mentioned a few things about it before, but I don't remember. I'm sorry. We're going to have to get his dad to pay the AOS fee and be a co-sponsor now I think, and I'm really pissed about that. I'm WAY beyond the mindset of needing mommy and daddy to help out, so this really ruffles my feathers. My husband is an only child though, and I don't know if that has anything to do with it, but he's really used to them taking care of him. It's kinda... sad.

And Wyatt, no worries... I'm not offended, and call me a jerk, but I don't care if he'd be offended. LOL I'm really angry about this. I'm going nuts with him being around the house CONSTANTLY, and not having freedom or money to do things I want, and not having a job to keep me busy too! So yeah, I'm trying to keep busy with volunteering. I'd like to see effort like that from him, but I'm not. I'd like to say it's not his fault that he got fired, but it is. They didn't downsize, they didn't eliminate his position, he wasn't 'laid off'... he was FIRED for being undependable. He let it happen, and didn't fight to keep his job or try to prove himself to them. He was supposed to get PROMOTED, but instead this happens. He's a hard worker, so this never should've happened. I've NEVER been fired from a job, so I'm really trying not to look down on him for this and I'm trying to be supportive, but it's really hard. I'm really disappointed in him. And yeah, just considering the fact that had we known this was going to happen we easily could've had a MUCH better situation, I'm just... $#%)^*&@$^%@ UGH... yeah, I don't want to talk about it anymore.

Yeah, we used his dad as a co-sponsor.

We were thankfully able to pay for AOS through wedding gift money, I think I would have went crazy if we weren't able to pay for that.

I know how you feel too about the mom/dad thing. My husband's lived with his parents his whole life, he moved out for a while, but he's been living with them pretty much any other time. He's so used to having things like meals done for him, it's hard for me to get used to it somedays.

Time to whip him into shape, my husband that is

[trailmix 77]

I understand you don't want to talk about it anymore ashen, just want to say that is a hell of a position to be in and i'm sorry you guys are. Hang in there and vent as needed!

[Ban Hammer 13,110]

We had our Auto insurance with Allstate in Florida, they were great, premiums were good, they accepted our Alberta Driver's Abstradts - all good.

So now we need a letter of experience. I have a lot of Alberta insurance history but my Husband doesn't have as much so in order for us to get the best rate, we need that letter.

I first call Allstate last November - sure np, we will mail that out to you. Nothing arrives. So I call back around January - hmm, we will send it to you!

I call back about a week or so ago - no record of your request, but I will ensure this gets done. Oh you can call us back to double check later if you like. Now it is a week later, so I call back. Yes, it has been requested - but it says "hold for response". I get transferred to another department to find out what that means. What it means it that Allstate does not mail out the letter - they will not - you either have it faxed to you or you don't get one, that simple.

Great.

imo, it seems customer service in the usa has really gone downhill in the past decade.

[Rhiannercakes 14]

I'll do anything I can before I resort to phone customer service.

I HATE IT!! Yes Hate.

I guess I should cut those people some slack though, they probably get yelled at at more than one occasion.

[ashenflowers 5]

Thanks for the comments everyone. I wish there was a hug emoticon. But in the mean time.. --> lol

On that note, I should add that I still love my husband.

and LOL @ the Customer Service... haha I shouldn't laugh, and should be less critical because I have done the job before, but I think because I have experience in it it makes me even more critical. Ahhh... is good times.