i wish my boobs would grow!!!

Going to have to get used to US sizing too...arrrg

Oh - muffin tops. People love to blame us for our own muffin tops, but seriously. I have a naturally high waist but it's impossible to find high-waisted jeans (I'm not looking for the 'mumsy' types - just a couple more inches, please!) and everything is cut to sit around my hips - not on top, but around. So I have the choice between buying jeans/trousers that ride far too low and will always give me a muffin top no matter how shapely I am, or buying jeans with a slightly deeper crotch but that - once I find a pair that fit my bottom/hips - hang loose around the waist. It's not always a simple solution of 'buy a bigger size'.

Okay - rant over Sorry, I have far too much to say on the topic of sizing!

i just don't think sizes are designed around real people

I find that you get a bigger size to compensate for boobs and I end up looking like I am three sizes bigger than I am!! I look frumpy!!

As for bog boobs Debz - mine are killing me at the moment so there are benefits to them being smaller I bet!! I think maybe it's my hormones...

i don't want big boobs...I just want to fill out clothes better.

Haha - maybe we can share

I have the problem of much smaller waist, much bigger bust and hips....

Plus, I have lost 80+ pounds...and I have no idea what my size is...at least in formal dresses...

rub them with toilet paper

Well this sucks but don't think I am ignoring you tomorrow guys - seems my work have blocked VJ again - boo!!!

Ugh! That really stinks! Although, I sometimes wish my work would block VJ since I have such a terrible addiction to it and hardly get any work done anymore! I've been somewhat better at staying away, but really need to buckle down and focus on my work!

Haha - well they blocked loads of sites by mistake so looks like I am back in action!!! Am a temp so it's not so bad for me

g'morning all

Morning!! Well, afternoon

Watching Alan Carr on youtube over lunchtime - almost choked on a cherry tomato!

Ahh - you get sound?! We don't - boo!!!!

Ahhh but we only get sound because of the way the dictation is hooked up... got to have some perks!

Hahah

grumble grumble...fighting with my bank...grumble grumble

Hello all in Brit OT.

I have been staying away from VJ for a while, trying not to think about immigration since we won't be going till at least august. But now i need to get back to it, cos i still haven't gotten my RFE's sorted out. and it's been a while since they sent me the letter for them. grrrr. just can't seem to find the motivation.

how are you all??

grumble grumble...still fighting with bank...grumble grumble

fecking bankers!

Haha - yeah - I am not looking forward to going through all that - feel like I have so much to do!!

Bummer about the RFE - hopefully you'll hear back soon!! Welcome to the Brit OT

Hey all -- I'm back! Well, only gone two days... But still!

Bruce came back on Sunday night so there was laundry to be done (I'm sure some of the old-timers will understand of which I speak!) and then I was in New York Monday and Tuesday. I ran a symposium there on proxy voting standards (thrilling, huh?) and it totally ROCKED! I am basking in the afterglow of emailed thanks from participants. Now the hard part starts -- I have to figure out what to do with the decisions made in the meeting, and that means at the very least a policy paper to write.

AAAAGGGHHH!

Oooh - sounds important!! What do you do?! And more to the point - do you enjoy it?!

Welcome back Poiteen & Maven! You have both been missed!

On a personal note, the weather here is filthy! Wind gusting between 60 - 70 MPH all day, and I work on the 15th floor of a 20 story building. Its been noticeably swaying all day and I am feeling quite ill as a result. All dizzy and nauseous - kinda like after you come off an amusement park ride that doesn't agree with you. I'm not liking it at all!

Ewww - that sounds scary - I wouldn't be feeling sick - I would be demanding they let me work on ground floor!!

The battle with my bank finished 0-0 for the day with 2 faxes, 3 emails and 4 angry calls. The war recommences at 9am tomorrow as soon as the bankers (replace with similar sounding word!) in that call centers get their wee bums on their seats!!!!!!

What's been the problem!?

I really could go a nice Wednesday night zinfandel...

I hope you manage to sort things out with your bank eventually, debz! Banks are terrible except when they're wanting to take money off you - I'm supposedly with a more ethical bank with 'good' customer care...my foot.

Morning all. Awful weather! It was sleeting/hailing this morning on my way to work and the wind was blowing so hard I couldn't use my umbrella and I also couldn't breathe. My face stings from being blasted with sleet! My trousers are soaked through and I have little choice but to sit here and hope they dry quickly. I often get rained on but this is ridiculous.

Eww - I hate that - makes you feel cold for the rest of the day!!! Just think - nice hot bath when you get home!!

Was really windy and horrible here too though I am guessing if we have gales it muct be worse elsewhere!!

Ok - I am now at the "this time next week" stage so you'll have to bear with me!!

This time next week I will be in Ireland... now I am not sure how soon after I get to Dublin I have to go through US immigration so any input would be gratefully received!!! I just want to get immigration done and out of the way!!! I am sooooo nervous about it

julez - is your building safe?? That sounds pretty scary. I would be home with vertigo if i was in a swaying building all day.

Jeraly - are you flying to the US via Dublin? If you are then you go through immigration at around the time (i think just after) you go through the main security screening, and before you get to the departure lounge. So make sure to have any paperwork you need in your hand luggage.

Right, every night i think to myself, I have 3 of the affidavit's 60% finished it won't take long.... and then I don't do it. What is it about them that makes me want to avoid it so much?



Weedebz - hope you've got some scores against your bank by now!

Haha - yeah - am going through US immigration there so I can relax across the Atlantic! I am sooooooooooo nervous. I am hoping that as soon as I land and have picked up my luggage that I can go straight through all the immigration, passport control, customs, security, whatever almost immediately so I can get it over and done with.

I feel sick just thinking about it

I'm pretty sure you don't have to go through it all again, when you've been through immigration in Dublin. Why are you nervous? This isn't the BIG MOVE trip right?

Just relax and be excited about seeing your boy and having your lovely ceremony. Immigration are pains in the asses, but as long as you have all the paperwork with you, you will be fine.

Yeah - this isn't the big move - just a lot riding on it as if I get denied entry my whole family will be there for our lovely ceremony we planned and I won't be!!! The thought of that is kinda funny in a sick way...

The thing I am worried about is that really I have no ties to the UK - when I first started going through this process and left uni, I made sure I was in a position to up and leave with a week's notice as we were aiming for our February wedding. As that got more and more unlikely, it became less important to be able to move at such short notice but I am working as a temp and I live with my mum.

I have a letter from my employment agency stating when I am due to return to work (she wrote the letter as I dictated so it sounds ok!), I have my NOA1/2 so I can show I am going through the proper channels and I have a rental agreement I kindly borrowed from someone that I am going to sign along with my mum to show I am paying rent...

I just feel like it all sounds really ropey and I am worried that they won't believe me

yeah, high-rises are supposed to be able to move a bit as it actually helps keep them stable...not sure how it all works as I'm no building engineering or physics expert. Its not usually a problem, but the wind yesterday was unusually wicked!

On a positive note - Griff is already in flight on his way to me!! Only 12 more hours and he's home for good!!

Jeraly - good luck! You have all the proper documents and I'm sure you'll be fine. I hope your wedding all goes according to plan!

julez - awesome news! Must be soooo exciting

Also, screw you, English weather...ever since I arrived to work it's been dry and sunny! You wouldn't have any idea how nasty it was this morning

Haha - yay Julez!! I can't believe it! I will have to make you a July K1 graduation certificate Will take requests and suggestions on what you want on it Still have to try and make small versions so you can add them to your siggies

Julez - You must be so excited. I am moving 6 weeks today, it can't come quick enough for me.

The weather has been really bad this morning here in Grimsby. 70mph winds along with hail, sleet, snow, rain and whatever else the sky decided to throw down!!! The Humber bridge and Immingham docks had to close too. Sunny now but the wind is still howling.
Out of all the weather I hate wind or fog the most, it makes me so nervous.

Well it's brightened up a bit here althought the wind is still strong as well. I am going to be moving in... 21 weeks and four days if I move on the date I am expecting... seems ages away

So thats what? 5 months?
It will go quick, believe me. At least you will have some time with him before then. I last saw Randy on Nov 5th , nearly 4 months ago, I do hope this next 6 weeks fly by. I'm sure it will, got so much to do!!!!

Yeah - about 5 months - it seems like an age away, esp as my fellow July-ers are all graduating and I am bringing up the rear! At least I can keep the poor people waiting company It will be nice to have all that time to organise things, packing and banks and bills and paperwork and stuff - but I am really ansy to just get on with my life now - I feel like it has been put on hold for the past year and I can't move forward until I move.

Funny to think of how fresh-faced I felt when we first applied for the K-1

g'morning uk!

Morning!

Dont know about good weather is awful.
Morning to you !!!!

It's a little hard to explain what I do, but I'm a Research Fellow at a think tank attached to a business school. My area of expertise is in corporate governance (how companies manage and run themselves), with a particular interest in executive compensation (i.e. fat cat pay!). Basically, the whole theory is that better-managed companies will provide better returns to investors because risks relating to poor management (like inflated salaries, payment for failure, scandals like Enron and Worldcom) are reduced. There's a lot more to it as well, but that's the gist of it. It's all about having more efficient capital markets.

I'm working on three projects here (won't bore you with the details ) and it is hard work but fun. I get to work with two of the biggest names in my field so it's a constant swirl of big new ideas and enthusiasm. The coolest thing is that I only work 25-30 hours a week (more or less if I like) so I get to run away a few afternoons a week to go to the gym or goof off. The worst thing is that technically I'm not a permanent employee so I don't have health insurance through work. That's the pits.

If you're really interested, check out the center's mission statement.

Oooh - will do so! I am always amazed by the jobs people have - I think because I have always had a job in admin/retail/childcare I find it fascinating how people get their jobs!! I would love to find a job I love and I just always wish there was some kind of test I could take to find my perfect job or a database of careers that can be searched... that would be awesome!! That is my next big goal once I move - find a job I love as much as my OH

Aww - that was really sappy wasn't it!?

still battling with bank! HAAAAARRRRUMPH!!!!

Sappy, but cute!

I had some career counselling after I had gotten the sack from my second job -- Bristol Uni allowed you to do it for free as long as it had been less than three years since you graduated. (I had been fired twice in the two years from my graduation, so I fit the bill... ). It was a major turning point in my life and my working life has been infinitely more enjoyable since then. I took a whole battery of tests and then met with an advisor and I learned two things: 1) I was never going to be any good at the two things I had tried my hand at (working in TV production, which is what I went to grad school for; and managing a used bookshop -- I was particularly badly suited to retail!) and 2) I needed to go back yet again for more school. I was best suited to be a secondary school teacher in English or a commercial solicitor. I thought...hmmm. What makes more money?

So I went to law school in London, and through a series of strange events ended up working for a big pension fund on the investment team. I didn't end up being a lawyer, but I think what I do is pretty cool. I have been to some very interesting places, gotten a little sloshed with Al Gore in Amsterdam (!), shook Bill Clinton's hand, made railway pensioners more comfortable in their retirement and learned way more than I ever expected about how big business works. No regets.

But that's great though! It sounds like you have come along on such a journey and found your calling!! I just need to find a way of setting off on that journey!! I figure that moving will open my eyes to new things - everything is going to be new so why not go for something different?!

Just very frustrating that in the meantime I am just treading water

Good morning/afternoon everyone. We're back from our hols with my sister and BIL. Lots of good fun and laughs. Dropped them off at the airport late yesterday afternoon. Goodbyes are so sad.

They really are, but I guess it just makes it all the sweeter when you reunite again!

Glad to hear you had a great time