My Year of Meaningful (2011)

...of how sometimes you just gotta have a little faith!

So as per yesterday's blog there stood I, all worried and stressing and down in the shyte... dreading my appt. with the Embassy folk today (for what reason, I have NO idea, it's just that in my old age I have started to just assume that when there's Government, there's gonna be turmoil). I couldn't even really relax yesterday & last night and was quite fretful this morning too.

Got to the Big House today, passed through all 384 gates & guards and friskers and scanners, and waited patiently for my turn, had a "this looks weird but hear me out" conversation regarding getting LJJ a visitors' visa, was funnelled off to someone else, then waited some more. In fairness to the Someone Else, they really did a lot of research for me right then and there on our situation ("the situation" being why are we only applying for a visitor's visa for her and not a passport & citizenship - long story, but there's a reason, yes, but to them this just looks tres bizzare) and ultimately after an hour of deliberation (and about 950 bucks processing fee - which i had to leave the premisis to go acquire... including 2 different ATM machines because one of them ran out of money... and then back through the 384 gates & guards and friskers and scanners), informed me that he has given LJJ a 2-year visa and that we can hold out on naturalizing her til 2011 if we want. Yay! This is like the best case scenario ever! Why did I doubt that it wouldn't be just fine? I don't understand myself sometimes. I just tend to assume the worst. Probably based on how things work around here & how I've just gotten used to it all.

And as the cherry on top, Dude at the Emb. was so nice and friendly and helpful, he even gave me the actual form we need to fill in in 2011 when the time has come to Yankee-fy this girl, as well as a very comprehensive explanation of how things work and the various options we have to consider regarding the kiddo's future nationality. Very helpful indeed.

So anyhoo, that was the last bit of hooey that we had to check off the list before hitting the road at the end of June. Done!

I have been interviewing gov't ministers this week for my thesis. That means I'm busy as hell. And work is up the walls again too. This leaves precious little time for things like banjoing, reading, pianoing, violaing, working out, relaxing, etc. And, we keep getting more and more work, at work. so I have no idea what my future sanity is going to look like but I think one thing I need to put into my sanity management plan is something like "only work on thesis on certain days". Because if i have to face that shit every day, as well as work, I swear I'm gonna jump off a cliff. Maybe a weekly routine would work. As in, "Monday = office/work, gym. Tuesday = home/thesis/banjo. Wednesday = office/work, gym. Thursday = home/work, cooking."... etc. But shit like meetings and site visits and picking up The Mr.'s slack because of HIS meetings, site visits, etc always wreck any possibility of planning any day of my life like that. Jeez.

Talked to El Hermano (aka The Bwuddaman) last night regarding our trip back. Considering he lives in KC (where we're flying into) it was always ARSE-sumed that he would be fetching us at the airport at 10:30pm when we arrived, and we would stay at his place that night (or rather, "whatever's left of that night by the time we get to his place"). Then he could schlep us over to the g'parents house the next morning where we are due to spend the day before heading back to the hometown (The G'pa is in terrible shape and basically on his death bed so it'll be important to spend as much time there as we can manage while back... if he's even still around by June). They live just around the corner from El Hermano, so it was all going to work out just fine and dandy. However, he just found out yesterday that his new job has scheduled him to be out in western Kansas that day (it's a Monday) and so he won't even be around to do the brotherly airport schlepping duty. Bollocks~!

He clearly felt shitty about this whole thing and I didn't want to make him feel worse than he already did about something that he can't control (since he just started this job he can't jockey his schedule around yet and hasn't even accrued days off yet) so I told him what the hell, we'll just get a hotel at the airport and rent a car, t'sokay. And then lo and behold about an hour after we hung up I had a FB message from his new GF (who i don't know at all) saying that she would be more than happy to come out at O-dark-thirty to the butt-ass-other side of the city and pick us up and take us back to his apartment where she could let us in so we can stay. AND if we need a car (which we do) she can organize us her dad's because he's having surgery around then and won't be able to drive anyway for most of the time we're there. Wow. So the Bwuddaman must have gotten busy fast. I'm flattered and honored that she would be so kind with her generous offer, but just feel really guilty and bad about taking her up on it. I mean we don't even know each other - I know she's in good with The Fam and they all think she's a good catch, but we haven't even so much as talked on the phone. What to do... what to do.... if it wasn't so damn late at night I wouldn't probably feel bad either, but 10:30... on a school night.... and what if our flight is delayed, and all that crap? It WOULD definitely be an advantage to be able to get back to El Hermano's apartment since it's so close to the G'parents. Hmmmm.... Oh well, it's something to consider anyway. But to make a long story short, I like people who give you the benefit of the doubt and offer to do nice things for those they may not even know. I choose to use this as a good sign regarding the Bwuddaman's new girl, and we should all be so kind once in awhile, no?

Labels: trip planning