the 29th i got approved then i was touched on the second and third do they usually look at your file that much after aproval? or there just getting ready to send it or sending it now? just wondering

SAME HERE!

Today is freakishly quiet...... Not much going on...no approvals, etc...

Maybe people will log on later....I hope so!!!

Yeah.. I suppose most aren't as insane as I am about it! I honestly wish there was something that would defray me from thinking of it too much... Even at work, I take every opportunity to check it. Marco jokes.. "what are you going to do when we actually have the approval?"

Well, I just checked, but no - nothing! Not that I'd expect anything

But it seems to happen when you least expect it!!!

True!

As a side-note, I can't believe it's March already!

I swear time moved a lot slower when I was a child.

Time was going much faster until I saw January approvals! I now keep thinking.. "are we there yet?"

No news to report here on my end in London. Counting down the days until I see Aidan so I can at least stop worrying about this process for a few days!!!

No news here either

It does move slower. That's why you're suppose to enjoy childhood.

Time goes by so fast...I'm trying to finish my National Boards for teaching and the portfolio is due before I go to England at the end of the month...running out of time...

B-b-but I hated school and suffered from years of sinus headaches!

The rest was pretty good, though.

There are many things I used to do that I wish I still did now, like read and draw a lot.

greeneyedgirlfl - good luck! I am full of admiration for teachers, you're all overworked and underpaid and do a very valuable job.

So, TRUE! It took me a while to get adjusted to school in the states. That was back in 1979. When I came to Washington, D.C. the teachers were on strike. When I did start school I was a total cultural shock. The kids spoke back to the teachers and had no respect for them at all. Of course, I was always the teachers pet.

It seems like the workload gets bigger every year, but our paychecks don't reflect that...but I didn't go into teaching to make money, that's for sure...but I would like to make enough to live beyond just rent, food, and utilities...lately, with petrol, groceries, rent, and utilities going up in price more than my pay, it's difficult...but I have a job that I love, and I'm thankful for that...

Do kids really talk back to teachers and have no respect there? Some of the teachers from here who are now working there have also reported the same, but most of them are in the florida, california and new york areas.. i don't know if that makes a difference.... and also, is it true that praying is prohibited in schools?

Anyway, KUDOS to you Dawn and to all the other wonderful teachers. I'm a business grad but i took units in special education and worked for a few months with children with autism and also those with ADD/ADHD. While I love being with special children, I don't have the patience for the recording part. I don't know if it is the same there but here there are just tons and tons of paperwork associated with teaching.

I'm hats off to teacher who have true passion for teaching and also have the patience for paperworks...

When I get there, I am hoping to find a way to work with special children without going into teaching... perhaps learn about other forms of interventions and do volunteer work. Here, all forms and methods of intervention programs for children with autism are being tackled in class discussions for teachers but only in theory. In reality, the few schools for special children here only use modified ABA (applied behavioral analysis) which I personally find very restrictive and aversive. My heart would always break when I see the regular teachers (the regular teaching staff at the special school i was with) forcefully restrain children when they have their so-called "tantrums" without addressing what may have caused the agitation... everytime, I would just turn around and force myself not to cry.

Now, if i could have the chance to learn and master some less aversive intervention program when i get there, i would surely bring it back home and share it with the schools for special kids here... well, i am rambling already

Good luck on the national board Dawn... gosh, your hands may be so full right now! That's GIRL POWER!!!

Teachers can certainly have a rough time here. Not just from the children, but also children's parents! There are few rights for teachers and you do hear some horror stories, and to be a good teacher you really have to have an extremely strong personality. It takes a special person to be a teacher; I could certainly never do it! Of course, I don't think everyone is cut out to be a teacher no matter how angelic the children are, but it seems a shame that unruly kids are almost expected at schools.

However, what my teacher friends/relatives have found the hardest is the sheer amount of paperwork and bureaucracy...I don't know how it is in the US, but it's almost impossible to do anything without first filling in a bunch of forms! My aunt taught special needs for several years before having her own children, and after her children were old enough to attend school themselves she tried going back to work - but in that short amount of time the paperwork had more than tripled. You can't lay a finger on a child - even if it's to help them, i.e. with a cut - without first filing a report.

Paperworks! that's what i hate the most. Well, actually, it is the redundancy of the reports that i really hate.. you just have to keep repeating everything over and over again and i just don't have the patience for that.

Anyway, I hope we would see favorable movements with VSC and CSC today.

Good luck everybody.

How old are the children in your class, greeneyedgirlfl ?

I don't know what it's like in highschools and elementary schools, but I remember that when I went to study in the USA, the students at the university seemed a lot more involved than at my university in France. Here, half of the students don't care much about their classes and don't pay attention to the professor. Whereas in the USA, the students asked many questions to their professors, they also seemed to work more (at least during the classes). Maybe that's because universities are so expensive in the US, so people don't want to waste their money.
Though from what you're saying it seems that for 'younger' schools (highschool, ...) that's the opposite

Reason why I no longer belong to the PTA. I have a lot of friends that have tried (especially in D.C. and Baltimore schools) and decided to change careers. She said she could no longer deal with the parents. It's bad enough when the kids are disrespectful, but when the parents start to act the same, it's too much to deal with. Imagine being PUSH and SLAPPED by a parent in front of your students. That was the last straw for my friend! Some students really want to learn, but some parents want the TEACHERS to parent their child (and that's not going to work). She has since returned to Jamaica, because it was too much to deal with after 15 years. I don't care how bad the situation is...a PARENT has no right to put their hands on a TEACHER, because the teacher failed the student. They need to CHECK themselves

My best friend is a DC public school teacher and I get to hear all the stories! She even worked at Choice (where the kids who get kicked out of school go) .. It feels hopeless when the parents are worse than the kids!! She has been a teacher for 11 years and I can tell she gets more discouraged every year!

Here in Maine my daughter is so lucky... great school and great teachers!! I am blessed to have wound up in this town. I may not like it much as its not very diverse but the school system is amazing!!

While I understand the aggravation teachers have to put up with, you have to admit their schedule is pretty cool.

I'm an engineer for Philips and I feel like something is wrong if I have a day off!

I hear you Irie,

I work in D.C. everyday and I use to take the metro, but the kids are some DAMNNNN unrully it's not even funny. So, I started to drive in. They would be on the train spiting paper at each other. And now a days you really don't want to get into it with a group of school aged children, but I had to say something. The kept spitting paper and it was hitting other people who said nothing. So, I had to push the emergency button. I told them I will KNOCK them the HELL back from where they came from if they got into my face. Metro police escorted them from the train and out of the station. It's just a sad state.

You go! I would love to have been on the metro with you!!! :-)
I used to take the metro everyday to work and always had a new "crazy person on the train" story!! :-)

Oh boy - I'm not looking forward to working longer hours and having fewer holidays in the US! Not to mention poor maternity leave/benefits...I haven't completely ruled out moving back to the UK at some point in the future.

I'm soooooooooooooo JEALOUS of my European friends when it comes to VACATIONS, work hours and MATERNITY LEAVE. Even my friends in Canada laugh at me.

Yep im gonna miss that for sure

I agree too. I wish I could keep all my vacation days, and be able to have several months of maternity leave before and after my children's birth!

I consider myself very blessed. When I had my daughter 6 years ago I was living in VA, I wanted to come back to Maine to raise my daughter and my boss would not let me quit. I have been "teleworking" ever since. I think it is becoming very popular in the states. I dont have to buy work clothing, or pay for a commute to work.
If my daughter is sick I am home...If I am sick I dont really have to call in (unless I am so sick I need to stay in bed and even then I can bring the laptop to bed!)I also have about 6 weeks of "paid time off", and can use for whatever reason I want. I do tend to work more than I would if I were going to an office from 9-5 but I am also able to travel and not take time off. As long as I have an internet connection and I can work.

This is the whole reason I was able to stay in St Lucia for 6 months and meet my Sweetie! :-)

I have been touched every single day since i got the nao2 on the 29th except for the 1st, so thats three days in a row is it usuallly every day like that? orrrr people usually don't as much?

how do u know it gets to other places? just click on the receipt number?
thanks~!

hello susie... here's a link of the K1 process flowchart. Pls. click HERE

i think you can call the NVC to check if they received your I-129F application.. the flowchart says, you can call after 2weeks, but i have read about people calling just 1week after receiving their NOA2 and they still received favorable response.

some also tried emailing the NVC... for the NVC contact information, pls click HERE

i hope this helps.

oh ok thanks!!

Indeed, I feel blessed as well. I moved to Rochester, NY for a company back in 1999 and after a year, I just didn't like Rochester (just wasn't for me). And I tried to quit, but they wouldn't let me. So I telecommuted and moved back to Houston (where I lived then) and funny thing, I quit about a year later, because another company hired me to telecommute! best/worst part - 4 years later, the company from Rochester bought the company I worked for in DC!!! So now I'm back with the company in NY, but working from home. But yes, it helps in this situation. When I go overseas next week I'll just telecommute from there and don't have to worry about the vacation time. Since I am definitely not as lucky and have 6 weeks!!!! And I'm trying to save mine for the wedding/honeymoon stuff But yes, it is more popular in the states, and I too work more than I would if I went into the office, but I wouldn't trade it for working in the office!!!

Hope everyone is having a great Tuesday!!!

Yes, we have quite a bit of "vacation"....however, most of my vacation in the summer is either attending teacher trainings (some mandatory, some voluntary) and teaching summer school for a little supplemental income (if I don't get to teach summer school, I have to find a summer job, sometimes with my own students...makes it a little awkward)...my days off during the school year are often spent with catching up on grading and lesson planning. And our "hours"...most teachers at our school (we start at 7:20 AM) get there at 6:30 (or earlier) and often stay until 4 or later (our students go home at 2:15)...I also teach night school that goes to 8 PM two nights a week...

I guess if I did the bare minimum of what I'm required to do (in regards to hours work and contracted schedule), it would be a lot of time off....

I love my job...it's demanding, but very rewarding....I wouldn't want to do anything else!!!!

I work 7:00AM to 4:00PM regularly. I am on call 24/7. Holidays we typically work because the plant is shut down and the equipment is free for us to work on.... I have two installations per year, which include 4 weeks, of 80+ hours/week. I get called in in the middle of the night on average of 2 times per month, sometimes more, sometimes less... Definitely more after a new installation, etc...

I also work on average of 2 Saturday's per month (but only 1/2 days), although February was pretty calm. I get 10 vacation days / year, and we are only allowed to take 1 "week" in a row off per year.. The other vacation days can only be used at 1 at a time...

Although, I completely love my job too. I wouldn't consider a job change right now. It's really cool to see something I designed up and running...

All to familiar with that. My brother used to work for Philips -- he worked very similar to what you do. He left a few years ago already. But he was working there while I was in college, and I was studying Chemical Engineering and almost spent a summer working there, until I decided that Engineering wasn't what I wanted out my career. I still have a great interest in it, but I just couldn't see myself in it for the long haul. But I do get the whole seeing something you designed up and running - nothing better than that feeling, regardless of what work you do. Makes you feel like you've made a difference!!!

Ahh, the US and vacation, all the rules and such. If they only realized that giving us more vacation might actually improve employee morale!

And given the current affairs with the US economy, we should all just feel blessed to have jobs!!

Hey guys, we have another january approval.. our first in March. .

Good luck to us all who are still waiting.

Woo! Congrats to the mystery couple!

IrieCat - wow, that sounds absolutely ideal. If I could find a job like that - well, it'd be perfect!

Yes it can be great and it is in the travel industry....
Although it can be boring with no adults to talk to throughout the day and the kitchen so close!! LOL

I guess everything has its pros and cons!!


Congrats to the new approval!! Yeah!!!

Its sad that the USA is the only industrialized country in the world with out a law on vacation days

In Europe, after one year of labor you are entitled to twenty vacation days!!!

In my current company it takes 20 years for 20 days and I am also an Engineer.(Hopefully I wont be there that long)

Yeah it is sad and no consistency. My current company - you get 1 week your 1st year, after 1 year of service you get 2 weeks vacation, and 5 years you get 3 weeks, after 10 years, you get 4 weeks, and so on. Let alone, a lot of companies have taken away a number of paid holidays. Most banks, government institutions get them, but a lot companies don't give Easter holidays so much anymore.

I always joke with my fiance, because he's had 4 weeks vacation since he started ... I am like uh yeah, I've got 9 years with my company, and only getting 3 weeks!!! I'm just holding out for my 10th anniversary to get 4 weeks

LOL ... I know that feeling ... if it weren't for the dogs here and the occasional run in with the neighbors, it would be way too quiet!!! But I swear, when I have to go into the office to work, I feel like I can never get anything done!

That's what you get with a country where business is king, much to the detriment of workers (pardon me, we're starting on the Progressive Era soon, and I've been gathering materials...)

I hardly ever talk to anyone at work!

But that's the way I like it. I work best with no distractions - no music, gossip or background noise.

I think I would find it hard being in the house, though. I'd have to have a very clearly delineated 'office' space.

Oh definitely -- in both houses I've worked from home, I have a separate office. Infact in this house, I made sure it was in the finished part of the basement. It's like its own little room ... once I leave, I don't hear the office line ring, and I don't check my emails, etc. It's work, and when I leave work, I'm done for the day. But it does have plenty of challenges -- like making sure not to sleep in, too easy to hit snooze, knowing you just have to walk to another room in the house

My office space is the living room but I do get alot of work done. After spending 6 months in St Lucia (essentially homeless in the USA) I came back to a 1 bedroom apartment I share with my daughter. Its ok though I like it and its a great school system but I had to take what I could get (or what my aunt got for me while I was gone). I am one of those people that like to move - I keep minimum things and I am lucky my daughter takes after me. When my Louis gets here we will find a 2 bedroom or eventually buy a house but he is used to sharing also and my 1 bedroom apartment will be a mansion to what he is used to!
Oh and even though I telework .. there is still juicy office gossip! LOL Can't live without it. I work for a small company and we are like a family - but like a family that is always in each others business ... Its a good thing we all like each other!!

I think in the end, if the company knows you are a "good" worker, they don't care where you work from, as long as you do your work! So then it just becomes personal preference about how you want to work!

I tried in the living room when I was in Houston, but the dogs were always nosing around through all my work papers!

I know...sometimes, some of my fellow teachers devolve right back into the high schoolers we teach (he said, she said....)...but mostly the younger 20ish teachers...the rest of us just ignore it...

Sometimes I wish I could work from my home...maybe working for Florida Virtual School...