Woops, nothing to see here. Posted on the wrong blog.
But I'll just say...travel on Boxing Day is a bad plan in Britain!
Saturday 29 November 2008
Early Winter
HI!
Well, I've scarcely been online at all this month. Many reasons which I won't go into here except for the two most general and pervasive: business and bad internet reception.
I missed Thanksgiving. It was sad. I'd even gotten stuff to make pumpkin pie. But I was busy and then it was Thanksgiving and there was no time left and we just grabbed some quick food before Ron headed to Akido practice and I headed to choir rehearsal. I couldn't even call people and say "happy Thanksgiving" because while I can receive international calls on my mobile, I can't place them. And using a calling card using anything but a land line...well I would have gotten as far as saying "hi" and maybe saying "Happy Thanksgiving" before the card was used up! And the only person left who I know with a land line lives on the opposite side of Glasgow. So that was that. Well, the turkeys were safe from me this year.
Immigration
Ron's interview is this coming Thursday. The medical exam is Monday. So he'll going to London tomorrow and staying with his mom in Essex for the first half of the week till Wednesday night when I'll join him down there. We'll spend the night in London since traveling from Chelmsford to London for an 8am appointment is impractical to say the least. So, be thinking good thoughts our way on Thursday. I'll let y'all know the result when we have an answer.
It does look like I am unlikely to use the return section of that ticket of mine, so when I come to California around New Year it may well be to stay. I'll still be quite busy those first two months regardless, but hopefully Ron will join me there before too long and then we can both see about permanent jobs in the same place--novel concept!
Music
So, I have at least one more Madrigirls concert, our Christmas concert/service on my birthday. For anyone in Glasgow--come see the Madrigirls on Dec 7 in the Glasgow University Chapel, 7:30. It's free! There will be free mulled wine afterwards!
We've been busking this year. I missed today's busking, but I've made the other busking sessions and we've raised a fair chunk of change so far. While our concert donation proceeds always go to charity, our busking proceeds are to fund a performance tour this summer. Last year we went to Northumbria and the borders. This year they want to go to Italy! Rather ambitious, don't you think? But as long as the various hopper flights to Europe stay so low, it's not all that far fetched. And singing in Italy! How cool would that be? Of course, it's unlikely I'd be able to go. But who knows? They've already said that Madri-alums are welcome to join in the tours, so if I do happen to have both time and money by then, that would be truly amazing. Madrigirls has been, without a doubt, one of the best things about my time in Glasgow. I don't know how I'm going to get over leaving behind such an awesome choir. I will have to hunt long and hard in the Bay Area and see if I can find something vaguely approaching being as nifty.
Research and Theology
I've been using the library again. More precariously this time, having to petition for every day I go in. The first day I did this I stayed reading till they shut at 2am!!
Out of time!! I'll try not to go weeks without popping on again.
Well, I've scarcely been online at all this month. Many reasons which I won't go into here except for the two most general and pervasive: business and bad internet reception.
I missed Thanksgiving. It was sad. I'd even gotten stuff to make pumpkin pie. But I was busy and then it was Thanksgiving and there was no time left and we just grabbed some quick food before Ron headed to Akido practice and I headed to choir rehearsal. I couldn't even call people and say "happy Thanksgiving" because while I can receive international calls on my mobile, I can't place them. And using a calling card using anything but a land line...well I would have gotten as far as saying "hi" and maybe saying "Happy Thanksgiving" before the card was used up! And the only person left who I know with a land line lives on the opposite side of Glasgow. So that was that. Well, the turkeys were safe from me this year.
Immigration
Ron's interview is this coming Thursday. The medical exam is Monday. So he'll going to London tomorrow and staying with his mom in Essex for the first half of the week till Wednesday night when I'll join him down there. We'll spend the night in London since traveling from Chelmsford to London for an 8am appointment is impractical to say the least. So, be thinking good thoughts our way on Thursday. I'll let y'all know the result when we have an answer.
It does look like I am unlikely to use the return section of that ticket of mine, so when I come to California around New Year it may well be to stay. I'll still be quite busy those first two months regardless, but hopefully Ron will join me there before too long and then we can both see about permanent jobs in the same place--novel concept!
Music
So, I have at least one more Madrigirls concert, our Christmas concert/service on my birthday. For anyone in Glasgow--come see the Madrigirls on Dec 7 in the Glasgow University Chapel, 7:30. It's free! There will be free mulled wine afterwards!
We've been busking this year. I missed today's busking, but I've made the other busking sessions and we've raised a fair chunk of change so far. While our concert donation proceeds always go to charity, our busking proceeds are to fund a performance tour this summer. Last year we went to Northumbria and the borders. This year they want to go to Italy! Rather ambitious, don't you think? But as long as the various hopper flights to Europe stay so low, it's not all that far fetched. And singing in Italy! How cool would that be? Of course, it's unlikely I'd be able to go. But who knows? They've already said that Madri-alums are welcome to join in the tours, so if I do happen to have both time and money by then, that would be truly amazing. Madrigirls has been, without a doubt, one of the best things about my time in Glasgow. I don't know how I'm going to get over leaving behind such an awesome choir. I will have to hunt long and hard in the Bay Area and see if I can find something vaguely approaching being as nifty.
Research and Theology
I've been using the library again. More precariously this time, having to petition for every day I go in. The first day I did this I stayed reading till they shut at 2am!!
Out of time!! I'll try not to go weeks without popping on again.
Wednesday 5 November 2008
Politics
It's strange how a topic that I usually find repellent and terrifying--politics, not arachnids--has sucked me in so much over the past weeks culminating in the last few days of fevered attention. Considering the record voter turnout, I imagine I am not alone in this.
CNN and BBC were clearly good websites to hang out on, in the absence of TV...in fact I think they were better than TV, though I wish I'd seen the speeches, both McCain's and Obama's. BBC radio at least obliged me with most of Obama's victory speech this morning.
BBC's website was nice in that it gave running updates, both from BBC reporters and analysts leavened by some comments from the general public. I never did figure out how they selected those comments--I've had gripes with BBCs forums in the past--but it did add a certain flavor to things as sentiment shifted through the night.
*warning* My political views become glaringly obvious beyond this point, so if you don't want to know, read no further.
CNN on the other hand was thick with tools and statistics, and was far more wary of announcing results such that I felt more confidence in them once they were announced. It was interesting to play with their electoral votes calculator, running scenarios if this state or that voted this way or that. I could also feed in the predictions from the BBC site and see how things were progressing. So it was that as soon as BBC announced Ohio had gone Blue, a quick run through the calculator adding California, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii to the Blue section showed 271 votes. I hadn't dared believe till that moment. It was at least another hour till even more quick jumping BBC said that Obama had to have it.
CNN also let me customize things to easily follow a large number of other races. The Propositions most caught my interest. It was sad to see so many states--including California--choose to specifically ban homosexuals from marriage. I hear the gay pride flag in the Castro flies at half mast today. It was a tight thing, and there is some hope that the state supreme court may overturn it. Homosexuals are often portrayed as and scorned for being promiscuous. And yet they are not to be permitted, let alone encouraged, to engage in a committed lifelong relationship to one other person?
I found myself digging into the data CNN put at my fingertips: break downs on votes by gender and age, by county lines. Strange to see counties side by side voting so radically opposite. My own county back in Georgia was no longer an island of Blue and nor was it faintly Blue like in 2004. Of the less than 1000 registered voters, 643 voted for Obama! And that is in the rural South! Of course Georgia as a whole went Red, but only by a 5% margin. And it was amazing to see how many states that were Red last time turned Blue this time.
I still think the electoral votes system is strange and ungainly. I mean, Obama clearly won the popular as well as the electoral vote. But actually not by as big a margin. At present, with two states still too close to call for sure (there's only about 6000 votes difference between McCain and Obama in Missouri right now) the electoral votes stand at 349 to 163, a huge difference. And yet the popular vote gives it as 53% to 46%, significant, but not landslide. An odd system.
Anyway, I am actually proud of my country today. The huge voter turnout, the classy speeches from both McCain and Obama this morning (ok, I've only seen quotes from McCain's. There are *some* disadvantages to not having video coverage). Today, I actually feel like there is hope to make a difference, to change things for the better.
It has been very strange going through all this abroad. There are fireworks going off in the background as I write. They are not the impromptu fireworks of celebration like in San Fransisco and elsewhere today in the US. They are, rather, long-planned celebrations of bonfire night. Remember, remember the fifth of November... Well, I have to say that in the after effects of the 4th of November this year, I completely forgot about the 5th.
CNN and BBC were clearly good websites to hang out on, in the absence of TV...in fact I think they were better than TV, though I wish I'd seen the speeches, both McCain's and Obama's. BBC radio at least obliged me with most of Obama's victory speech this morning.
BBC's website was nice in that it gave running updates, both from BBC reporters and analysts leavened by some comments from the general public. I never did figure out how they selected those comments--I've had gripes with BBCs forums in the past--but it did add a certain flavor to things as sentiment shifted through the night.
*warning* My political views become glaringly obvious beyond this point, so if you don't want to know, read no further.
CNN on the other hand was thick with tools and statistics, and was far more wary of announcing results such that I felt more confidence in them once they were announced. It was interesting to play with their electoral votes calculator, running scenarios if this state or that voted this way or that. I could also feed in the predictions from the BBC site and see how things were progressing. So it was that as soon as BBC announced Ohio had gone Blue, a quick run through the calculator adding California, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii to the Blue section showed 271 votes. I hadn't dared believe till that moment. It was at least another hour till even more quick jumping BBC said that Obama had to have it.
CNN also let me customize things to easily follow a large number of other races. The Propositions most caught my interest. It was sad to see so many states--including California--choose to specifically ban homosexuals from marriage. I hear the gay pride flag in the Castro flies at half mast today. It was a tight thing, and there is some hope that the state supreme court may overturn it. Homosexuals are often portrayed as and scorned for being promiscuous. And yet they are not to be permitted, let alone encouraged, to engage in a committed lifelong relationship to one other person?
I found myself digging into the data CNN put at my fingertips: break downs on votes by gender and age, by county lines. Strange to see counties side by side voting so radically opposite. My own county back in Georgia was no longer an island of Blue and nor was it faintly Blue like in 2004. Of the less than 1000 registered voters, 643 voted for Obama! And that is in the rural South! Of course Georgia as a whole went Red, but only by a 5% margin. And it was amazing to see how many states that were Red last time turned Blue this time.
I still think the electoral votes system is strange and ungainly. I mean, Obama clearly won the popular as well as the electoral vote. But actually not by as big a margin. At present, with two states still too close to call for sure (there's only about 6000 votes difference between McCain and Obama in Missouri right now) the electoral votes stand at 349 to 163, a huge difference. And yet the popular vote gives it as 53% to 46%, significant, but not landslide. An odd system.
Anyway, I am actually proud of my country today. The huge voter turnout, the classy speeches from both McCain and Obama this morning (ok, I've only seen quotes from McCain's. There are *some* disadvantages to not having video coverage). Today, I actually feel like there is hope to make a difference, to change things for the better.
It has been very strange going through all this abroad. There are fireworks going off in the background as I write. They are not the impromptu fireworks of celebration like in San Fransisco and elsewhere today in the US. They are, rather, long-planned celebrations of bonfire night. Remember, remember the fifth of November... Well, I have to say that in the after effects of the 4th of November this year, I completely forgot about the 5th.
Tuesday 4 November 2008
Immigration: An Interview Date at Last
Today the news came (in response to an email I sent a week and a half ago about a form I'd resubmitted a few weeks before that...). Yes, that's right, Ron finally has a date scheduled for his immigration interview. It's scheduled for 8am sharp on a Thursday, Dec 4, in London.
The good news: yay! a date!
The bad news: since it's midweek, getting time off may be tricky, and if they're annoying about it and he ends up having to quit his job in order to go, then that will put a lot of pressure on this all going right so we can immigrate promptly after that. Logistics all the way around will be tricky, but it's time to start researching them.
But...YAY! A Date!!
Now, the theory I'm working under is that this interview will lead pretty much immediately to a green card. If I'm wrong on the immediately part, there could be more delays. If I'm wrong on the green card part then there might be some disconnect between the permission to come to the US and when the work visa part comes through.
I will be doing more immigration research in the days ahead to figure out what we can expect and what all we need to do to prepare. Yes, I had done some such research a year an a half ago when we began this process, but it's been a while and I need to refresh myself.
But...YAY! Progress!!
Now I'll go back to tensely awaiting news of whose administration we'll be coming to. And yes, I tracked my absentee ballot to delivery, so my vote had counted!
The good news: yay! a date!
The bad news: since it's midweek, getting time off may be tricky, and if they're annoying about it and he ends up having to quit his job in order to go, then that will put a lot of pressure on this all going right so we can immigrate promptly after that. Logistics all the way around will be tricky, but it's time to start researching them.
But...YAY! A Date!!
Now, the theory I'm working under is that this interview will lead pretty much immediately to a green card. If I'm wrong on the immediately part, there could be more delays. If I'm wrong on the green card part then there might be some disconnect between the permission to come to the US and when the work visa part comes through.
I will be doing more immigration research in the days ahead to figure out what we can expect and what all we need to do to prepare. Yes, I had done some such research a year an a half ago when we began this process, but it's been a while and I need to refresh myself.
But...YAY! Progress!!
Now I'll go back to tensely awaiting news of whose administration we'll be coming to. And yes, I tracked my absentee ballot to delivery, so my vote had counted!
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