Yeah - Agnes - sounds to me like you're best off out of it - working all weekends and all holidays sucks big time!! The holidays in the US are bad enough without slitting your throat on the national ones as well!!!

CBR - haven't seen Audrey for a while although she is prolly going mad crazy trying to get things ready for her OH to move I don't think she has long to wait now

I'm being lame and really taking being apart from Jeremy hard still - it's insane - I am normally fine but this time I have come home and I just can't seem to shake the sadness

Oh, I see! Well, I suppose anyone in a management position for an insurance company would be required to work on weekends and holidays. That's pretty understandable. Well, I'm sure you'll find something that fits your availability. Good hunting!



Kirk, you are TOO funny..

Hey Jeraly, POE was Atlanta on March 18th. Finally!

WOOOHOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! Welcome back Kevin, and a big welcome to America for your family. Congratulations to you all!!!!

Thank you


I am offended. Please speak not to me anymore.

Wait, you weren't speaking to me were you?

And oh yeah, I don't offend very easily.

So, n/m

YAAAAYYYYYY KEVIN'S BACK!!!

How are Natasha and Vika settling in? Ok - so I know it has only been two days but still!! So glad to see you back at last

I'm here, I'm here. I have been reading the posts and must go out and buy pie.

Sounds like everything is moving right along. Had a great weekend with Phil. He's back in England again and trying to get ready for the interview. So relieved - so happy. His trip here last week was so relaxing knowing that we've come this far and fanally have something to hold on to. Believe it or not - USCIS is still showing our petition pending. They just don't have it together yet.

So we have put our offer in on the house here and it looks like it will be accepted today. We would like to close by May 1 and move in by June 1. So much to do and so little time to do it.

More later... must get on to work.

Hi all, Gretchen has settled in quite nicely and seems to be adjusting. she is not use to the 70 degree weather and is alittle cold , but loves being with me and Vegas. She is currently trying all sorts of food each time we eat, and learning all the particulars to operating the appliances and tech in our home. My cats now spend more time with her than me lol, and she has worked out communication with all her friends and family. So far all is a success and we are so happy to be together and finally living a normal life.


Chris & Gretchen

I'm glad you two are settling in nicely together! Griff and I would give anything for your cold weather! Its still in the 30's here and we are soooooooo sick of winter!

Yay! Audrey!! I am so happy things are coming together for you at last - haha - you're going to be with Phil before I even move I am sure - and you'll prolly get the CRIS e-mail saying you are approved about six months after you get married



Oh Chris I am so happy for you and Gretchen I must say I would quite like 70 at the moment as well although it was pretty sunny today which is something It is so nice to hear that she is settling in ok and has it all figured out in terms of getting in touch with her family - I am sure that will make her relax more and help her settle in

Don't be a stranger - we all want to see wedding pics from everyone!! Or is that just me...

Jeraly, you are so sweet you always just make me smile!!!! and no it doesn't make you sad, it makes you wonderful and very helpful as I am obsessed with with spreadsheet checking and am grateful to you for making one so that I can feed my beast and speaking of the spreadsheet, can you update it again please?? We just received notice for our biometrics appt for both the AOS and the EAD.... its April 3rd 11AM here in Seattle!!!!! I am soooooo excited to be on our way I know its still a really long road but it feels like we are finally making real progress! YAY!!!!!


and since I am in a celebrating mood and feel like I can share things in this forum (sorry if this is TMI) that I can't say outloud in my 'real life' I just have to share that we have decided to stop using birthcontrol and let things 'happen' I am so excited I think I just may burst. ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh I just can't believe all the amazing things that are happening in my life! what did I ever do to deserve all this happiness??? I don't want to obsess or track anything, I just want to let whatever is going to happen, happen, you know?? but I do have to say I feel soooo excited and soooo warm and fuzzy and soooooo close to my husband that I have these crazy happy butterfly feelings and a really stupid grin on my face!

somebody pinch me!!!!! I love everyone and everything right now

That's wonderful news! I am so pleased that things have happened so perfectly for you. Best of luck!!!

thanks babbles!!! I know you have had a stressful road, but hopefully only smooth sailing for you from here on out too! when do you plan on coming home?? I think you have said before but I don't remember and where are you going to be living here in the US??

Oh Sara that is awesome!!! Jeremy and I want to wait a little before we go down that road so we can just enjoy having time for us - plus we want to get into a family home before we start a family!! We're only going to be renting somewhere cheap to start with so we want to get a bit more settled. But OMG!! I think I might have to start a July Filer baby tab If anyone has any ideas how to set it out then that would be soo cool We can have user name, conceived date, due date, birth date, boy/girl, name of baby or something? How does that sound? OOOhhh I want babies now just so I can make my new spreadsheet

Ok - now I *know* I am sad




BABBLES!!!! What are you doing still here!! Ok so it was over 12 hours ago but still!!!!

Ok - I conceded... I made a sheet called "JBP" (July Baby Progress) Oh that just makes me feel so happy and fuzzy as well

Ok - I conceded... I made a sheet called "JBP" (July Baby Progress) Oh that just makes me feel so happy and fuzzy as well
[/quote]
love the new spreadsheet!!! oh I can't wait to be on it! we have been wanting to try for about a year, but between the immigration stuff and living between two countries, (we flew back and forth every month for a year) it just didn't seem like a great time, but now we are settled, getting more so everyday and just figured its time to see what happens! now I have to RELAX and enjoy the journey!!!! of course we are also getting our house ready to put on the market to buy our new family home (we found one we love and are thinking of having it built - its a new community, you choose the lot and the floor plan and then get to pick out all the details, colors, floor, trim, etc - but it wouldn't be ready until late fall) so we have a lot going on!

so is it just me or are there others headed the family way?? I know many of us are in different life stages (which is something I love about our group!) anyone else have big life plans/goals for the next year??? oooooh, this might be a fun topic.......where do you hope/plan to be one year from now?? please share!!!

for us.....in a perfect world, we would be moved into our new home, either just about to give birth or with a new infant, and planning our first trip back home to london to visit since the big move over to the US! what about you all???

Oh the house thing sounds wonderful! How do you even get to do something like that? Is it expensive? Jeremy and I want to build our own home as well but financially we are in no position to buy anything decent for a good while We'll prolly rent cheap, buy cheap then get something we actually like - a lot of moving around but I am hoping we can be settled sooner rather than later - I just want to stop and relax as well now without having to worry about moving and saving and money and all that BS

Can't wait to add you to the new spreadsheet either!!!! I am thinking of highlighting the details in pink or blue depending on whether it is a boy or girl

Well, we have finally completed the AOS packet! It would have been Tuesday, but we've both been so ill this week that it simply didn't happen. It goes out in the mail tomorrow!

As for goals, we're currently making repiars/updates to my house so we can sell it and buy something a bit larger in a better school district. And since I have 3 kids and Griff has 2 adult children, there will be no babies for us! Good luck to those trying! Enjoy!

Hahah - sounds like you already have a handful there julez!!

I've updated your AOS thingy as well Hehehe

A handfull for sure! And then some. Hopefully things will calm down soon.

Thanks for updating us on the AOS front! You are the updater extraordinaire!

ah, that sounds wonderful, teachmehistory!

i have babyfever like crazy, but i really first need to work for a year or so. plus, a mortgage doesn't pay itself automatically.

OH, BIG NEWS: my parents will arrive tomorrow and stay for 3 weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

have a great visit!!! Don't forget the free hugs!!

everybody around me here is sneezing and coughing, so no hugs in real life, but PLENTY OF HUGS FOR ALL MY VJ-FRIENDS!!!!!!

Hahaha - it's not like I have a husband to keep me occupied yet! Especially when he gets called into work early



YAY!!! Oh that will be wonderful! Have they been to the US before? You must be so excited Mum is still looking at trying to come out in August but the flights alone are over £600!!



YAY!! I was going to have cuddles with Jeremy tonight (that is, reading "together" in bed while on the phone) but he got called into work - grrr Everyone here is sick as well - sneezing, coughing, sore throats... yuck

I am just finally getting better after a solid week of illness. Griff had it too. UGH! It was awful. Thankfully, the kids have been unscathed by it thus far.

All it takes is one person to come into the office whilst sick and it spreads like wildfire. The lesson: Stay away from the sickos peeps!

im making my debut here since adriano will arrive tomorrow!!!!!

whatup everyone???

we gotta wait 5 more years before we can start to think about a baby we want one, but i want to get my phd even more...im just starting my studies this summer, so it will be 5 more years before i complete the degree...then time to get a job, and even BEGIN to think about having a kid *sigh*

in a year from now i will be married and living in indiana (lord save my brooklyn heart ), one year into grad school, and developing a master's thesis...i will be working as a teacher's and research assistant, hopefully researching some nifty things that will allow me to travel a bit and work my bilingual talents...adriano will hopefully be working in his field (construction), for a union somewhere not too far from our apartment...we will hopefully be thinking about purchasing a home at that time, even if we will only live there 4 more years and hit the road when i graduate...we can always rent it out to some college kids lol...i will also have a car a year from now, which will be a definite change of pace...but first i gotta get through tomorrow!!!

Haha - I think I gave it to everyone in my office but I couldn't afford to take time off Sucks but man I really need the money right now... I am so skint...



Yay!! You must be soooo excited!!! PhD in what? I always fancied doing a PhD but tbh I just can't be bothered nor can I afford it - we are going to need the both of us working full time and that as well as school would just be too much - we'd never see each other and I want to have my children before I am 30 I can always go back later in life although I can't see me wanting a career that would require me to have a PhD so I think we will just save the money

Hooray! You made it!! Welcome to the next phase! Not long now and you'll have your man by your side!!!

Let us know how it all goes with POE/settling in/wedding/AOS etc!! I can add you to the AOS spreadsheet then! And don't forget to pm any K-1 updates as well - I need to go through again and update I think!!!

wow, as usual some great news in this thread! it's so much fun to come in and see all the happiness; does the heart good
special congrats to Chris (and Gretchen!), and teachme; REALLY great news for both you guys

I've just spent a week in Yorkshire (snow!) with my good friend, her husband, and their two kids, but before I went I booked my flights! depart the UK on April 28 (arrive Australia April 30; egad ); Dave arrives Australia May 11, and we both fly out May 25 (POE: LAX)
it's all becoming very very real...

plans after that - no kids, thank you very much
it's funny; I love kids; I've always enjoyed teaching, especially the younger ones; I work for my friend looking after her two on at least three days a week, and love that too - but have never wanted any of my own
plus, I'll be 36 in July; unless we wanted to start straight away - and we want to get used to the whole living in the same country thing; it will be such a novelty - I'd be pushing 40 before giving birth, and while I know some people cope with that fine, I'm just glad it's not a decision I have to make

Dave's going to finish his degree though! he's all enrolled, with only a small amount of - reminding
he did a year at Rutgers, before rebelling and joining the navy, and is EASILY smart enough to do very well, so I'm very excited about that for him
at first it should be pretty easy to fit it in around work, and by the time he may need to work part time for a year, to fit everything in, I should be earning, so we THINK it will all work out fine

Ohhhhh StP!! That is awesome news!!! *notices pms but runs off to update spreadsheet anyway*

Did I miss where babbles' POE was?

I am extremely excited!! Adriano called me at 4 am to let me know that he made it to Milan, and he now is flying over the Atlantic Ocean as we speak!!

I am getting my PhD in Cognitive Psychology, not many prople know what that is so: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_psychology. I will be doing research, specifically, in the area of psycholinguistics. People always ask me what the hell that is, so here is another one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psycholinguistics. I could not afford it either, but luckily I will be working as a Teacher's / Research Assistant, so they have waived my tuition (would have been $35,000 per year) and they are paying me to work for the school. It is a pretty sweet deal, and the only way that I would possibly be able to pursue such a thing. I will get my degree when I am 28 and we will probably end up having children when I am about 30 or so.

Congrats StP!!! How exciting that your plans are made! I suppose this means we won't be hearing much from you once you're back in Oz?

As for babbles, her POE was Chicago, IL - O'Hare International

sounds like a wonderous plan! what will he be going to school for? rutgers is a fun place, i visited some friends there a few years back, had a good time...thats so wonderful that you guys can come to the US together!! i wish i could've done that with adriano!!

oh, I know; I've done so much solo travelling - in fact solo everything - that I wasn't exactly NERVOUS about completing immigration on my own, but I like it SO much better that the whole last leg will be done together
it was actually pretty easy to organise, too - I booked my flight first, and double checked there was loads of space remaining, and later that day Dave booked his on the same flight out of Kingsford Smith
I've never tried for an upgrade before, but I'm going to do my best with that one... surely our story is one that will make the heart melt?!

Dave started his degree in Electrical Engineering, but is just going for straight Engineering this time... his work in the navy (he was in nuclear subs) and what he's doing now will count towards it, so it will probably only be three years part time, and the navy has a deal where they pay your tuition fees for up to ten years after leaving, so THAT'S great as well (that was part of why I needed to remind so much; the ten years will be up soon )
he loved Rutgers too... but loved New York more; he kept going off and hanging out in the city
I'm glad I know him NOW; I'm not sure I would have liked him as much back then

julez - I will probably be pretty quiet while I'm in Aus, but I hope not to disappear completely... and then after that I'll be back with a vengeance

yea, your situation is quite different from ours...adriano has never been on a plane, nor has he been to america, nor does he speak english!!! makes me very nervous i hope they dont give him a hard time!!!

thats awesome that the navy will pay for his schooling, a sweet deal indeed!

of course he was always sneaking off to the city, nyc is freakin' awesome!! im so sad that i have to leave here for school, but i guess a nationally ranked top 10 university would be a good reason to do so

oh, I hear you; I still can't believe, sometimes, that I'm giving up London for HOUSTON

but there's method in our madness... we're getting other stuff we want, in place of the things we like we have to do without... I doubt either of us regrets our choices

is there any way you can arrange for an interpreter for Adriano, ahead of time?
in any case, I'm sure he'll be fine; even if it takes him a bit longer than some others, he'll get there, and then you'll be together, and happy forever

i have not a clue as to how these things work, but i told him to make friends wth someone on his flight who speaks both italian and english...that shouldnt be hard considering the flight is from milan to nyc on alitalia airlines...lol hopefully his new friend can walk with him through immigration...otherwise, im sure it cant be THAT hard to find someone who speaks italian in this fine city...ill keep my fingers crossed for him

Susie - it sounds wonderful I did psych in high school but I never pursued it - I went down the art route instead I loved history as well.. in fact I think I just kinda liked learning. My two dissertations in uni were awesome - I got firsts for both of them - not sure of the US equivalent... one was on animation and the other was on video games

StP - I am realyl glad I am going to have Jeremy with me as well although part of me does kinda miss the fact that I am not going to have him waiting at the airport to welcome me then introduce me to our first real home together Ah well - he'll make it all look lovely before he comes out so it will be beautiful because he is really well organised like that...

Julez - I figured out it was ORD when I heard Audrey was going through there (well - Phil was ;P) and remembered Maggie's entry!! Have updated and highlighted!! Yippee!!

Finished updating CSC - VSC tomorrow cause I really ought to do some work this afternoon!!!

sounds like a plan, Susie

I hear you, Aly; I feel the same way... and I bet it won't even occur to Dave to get things all set up for my return (not that he really CAN; all the furniture and things will be coming later ), or at least, it will only occur to him on the plane back to LA when it's too late to do anything about it

I'm sure he'll have perfected the in-ceiling speaker system for the stereo, however

Hehe We have just a little bit colder here today 69 ;-) Nice to hear you two are settling down

I´m glad everyone is doing so well...I read all the recent stories I´m sure Adriano will make it just fine Right now I´m done with all the paperwork for a while. Did AOS, taxes, paperwork for registering the marriage in Europe... So now I can just wait till I hear something from all the offices. Hopefully everything was filed ok and they will work on everything soon Though haven´t heard anything from USCIS yet. We sent AOS almost two weeks ago and it was only yesterday when they cashed the check (apparently they cashed it as bulk so they were waiting to receive paperwork from lots of other people ). So hopefully will get the biometrics appointment letter soon

How did everyone spend their Easter? We spent it with the family and it was a lot of fun I showed them some of the Czech traditions and they all loved it

StP I bet you can´t wait You probably didn´t see your family in a long time right? Are they all excited that they get to see you and your almost husband?

it will be almost a year - almost to the day; I think I'm about a week off - since I was last in Australia... before that I hadn't been there since leaving in 2004
I saw my parents last year, in October, when they visited me here, but there are loads of people - including my two brothers - who I haven't seen for a year, and who I'm looking forward to catching up with

and yeah, they're very much looking forward to meeting him... SO weird that they haven't yet

Received all 3 NOA1s today

Hahaha - yeah I bet we have a home network set up! I am sure he will do me proud - I do jest as he has his lame moments but generally he is pretty good - this is a really big deal so he'll prolly surprise me with something really cool... Of course I don't want to get my hopes up



YAY!!!!! Now we just need to decide: do we use the notice date on the hard copy? Or do we use the date received for our AOS spreadsheet?!?! Personally I think it should be the Notice date on the hard copy as that is what they ask for on the VJ timelines so can people check their AOS section to make sure I have the right date?! I haven't bothered e-mailing people for updates yet - am still working on the K- sheet!!

good times...im guessing that the US equivalent would be an A...we get letter grades, A being the best, then B, then C, then D, and the lowest grade is F which means you FAILED and you must retake the course...there are also pluses and minuses involved, for example if you didnt quite reach an A (which would typically be 93% or better), but you came close (90% through 92%), then you would normally get an A-...im assuming this is what you were referring to...im sort of curious how the system works for you...is it just 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc?? what is the lowest?

i love psychology and i also love history...im with you on the love of learning thing...it took me a while to choose what i wanted to study, because i was interested in soooo many things!! i loveeee philosophy (political philosophy was my minor), i took many many history courses and entered undergrad as a music major!! go figure that i would end up doing research in psycholinguistics lol well thats my story *shrugs* oh yea, and we dont do dissertations until we get into grad school (for masters and PhD only)...bachelors dont have dissertations, is that would you did your dissertations for?

Kinda like that although our system is crazy - to get a 1st class you need 70% - I don't think it means it is easier than you getting an A, just that the way the % works is different - I don't really see the point of having a top 30 percentile that doesn't alter the grade you get but there you go... They changed it all here in the UK - now you get:

A - 1st class - 70%+
B - 2:1 (2nd class, 1st division) - 60%-69%
C - 2:2 (2nd class, 2nd division) - 50%-59%
D - 3rd class - 40%-49%

Anything less than that is a fail. A 2:2 is known as a "drinker's" degree - ie you spent more time on the beer than studying - it's not horrendous but not preferable as a general rule. A 2:1 is kinda your average - it's seen as a decent final grade by an employer and I think (although am going by guesswork) that most people get this. A 1st is pretty tough to get and sometimes can be detrimental to getting employment as employers feel they might have to pay out more money... again - this is just what I have heard (I got a 2:1 ).

I would have loved a 1st and I was soo surprised and pleased when I got them for my dissertations (which are all bound up with covers and look really cool ).

For a BA which is what I have you generally have to do a dissertation. Because of my crazy degree I had to do two - one about general primary teaching/current issues and one about my subject specialism and primary teaching (art & design). These were shorter though and totalled I think (if I count the words I wrote but didn't include ) nearer 11k-12k words. I am sure for a MA or PhD they are much longer

I'd love to go back and study but I just don't think I could afford it... I would love to just learn all the time and get paid to do it but I don't think I'd enjoy it so much then I want to feel like I am progressing so the next thing would be a MA... who knows... maybe in a few years when wee find our feet

Hey Aly, Griff actually sent his AOS petition today (26 March) as he was too sick the last few days to get to the post office. Just thought youmight want to update the whizzy spreadsheet!

So much been happening here, I've missed so much. It's realy annoying not having internet so only get a few mins when I pop over to Nick's rent. I thought I'd just check in and say Hi to everyone. Would say I'm setlleing in but not really had chance. Been sorting out wedding stuff, ordered cake yesterday. Going to send out invites next week and get other stuff finalised. Only been here 2 weeks today but it really feels like longer. Going with Nick's mammy tomorrow whilst Nick at work to apply for SSN.

Take care all and I'll check in again when I get a chance.

Woohoo!! Yay!!!

*runs to update the spreadsheet*

Small things and all that...