See, I'd LOVE this! If Alex didn't have a small, newly-painted apartment, I'd be begging him to refrain from doing any interior decorating until I arrived there! Then again, I guess it would be pretty stressful if you were newly arrived in a strange country. Good luck with painting, anyway, Blake!


Yes! I really hope you catch us all up soon!

I really, really hope that the visa arrives either tomorrow or Friday, because I plan to visit my parents this weekend! I can't really afford it but...it's my birthday on Monday, I have a four-day weekend, and no one is around in Sheffield! So it's either spend four days on my own in an empty house, or fork out the money for a train ticket and spend it with family instead. I figure that four days' worth of food has to be at least half the cost of the train ticket, so maybe it won't be too expensive after all.

Today I picked up my visa at the postoffice

but.. lol.. again things were not going so smooth for me guess I really have to do something to go through this all lol..

I arrived at the postoffice at around 1 pm and the receipt that the mailman left yesterday said that I should be able to pick it up today at around 1 pm lol.. I gave the receipt to the guy behind the counter and he went to look for the envelope and came back with.. nothing >_< I was like wtf o_O no way!! my passport and visa should be here, the paper says so... and the guy goes like 'yeah but it should be here since this morning already but i cannot find it' (and he did search for quite some time, I could see that) so he entered the registered mail number thingie into his computer and it said that it was already delivered but at some distribution point.. He then told me that it was probably still in the van of the mailman and that I should try again later this day or, if it hasn't arrived by then, call some number to start an investigation (which actually takes up to 2 to 3 months to complete)..

so yeah, I left the postoffice quite stressed out again and went back to work, worked till 5pm and went back to the post office.. this time some lady helped me and she was standing near the packages and such so I could easily look along in what she was doing while she was searching for my package.. then, I saw some envelope which looked pretty much like the envelopes which I received before from the consulate but, she looked at it and put it away :S so I was like, hmm, maybe that's something else and while she kept on searching I asked her if that envelope wasn't for me (she already looked at it twice by then) and she looked at it agian and goes like 'oh yeah, it is the envelope, I must have looked over it'... right.. both her and the other guy didn't see that one envelope? Weird if you ask me but oh well.. at least I got the visa now

bleh... I was soooooo stressed out this afternoon.. imagining the package wouldve been lost in the mail.. we would have to go to the police, claim money from the postoffice, I would have to throw away my planeticket, find a job since I wont be able to fly and, worst of all, who knows what they will do with the visa petition... when I told my fiance this, she was as shocked as I was when I realized that things may go totally wrong still :S

The Gods are just teasing you Jeroen, don't take it personally.

Hmmm.. I suppose you're right.. besides, you can know this as you have close connections to them with you being Moses and all haha

very well put

Good morning my fellow Jan filers So happy this week is on the downslope I always look forward to the weekends....who doesn't aye?

Anywayyyy CONGRATS to Jeroen for getting the visa in your hot little hand! I know you are relieved! Ok so check in here who actually has VISA in hand now? Who has flights to US booked? Rachel you get your visa yet?

We got our LND number last week and Gareth goes next Thursday 8/28 for his medical Called DOS this morning and our stuff has not gotten to London yet so we are waiting to hear that before he sends off his "P3" we got from another VJ'r....of course if his real P3 arrives before we here it is in London he will then send that in....but we are pretty certain we have all we need to send in to them...oooh getting so excited and nervous! I just cannot imagine him being with me for the holidays this year! Seems SO surreal!!!!

No, no visa.

Oh well - I may visit my parents this weekend anyway. I mean, I'm not sure they'd deliver on a bank holiday Monday anyway. If I get that text telling me they're going to deliver on Tuesday I'll be so mad! I'm thinking of leaving my birth certificate/other ID (not sure what? Provisional driving license?) with my boss as he said he'd be in the office Tuesday and apparently other people can collect delivery for you if they have your ID.

Jeroen - what a hassle! But hurrah, you have your visa! So they don't send your passport via a secure mail service? Just the ordinary postal system?

Thinking I may book plane tickets this weekend.

Looking up what I need to do once I am in the US and married. There's so much to think about! One of my priorities will be changing the name and photo (outdated style of photo) in my British passport. I figure if that's changed then getting everything else in my married name ought to be easier, right?

HI all I kinda mentioned this in passing the other day but what all do you think about Gareth and I BOTH changing our last names? Currently he is Cobb and he has always disliked it. We also are not agreeing on a lot of baby names (yeah we discuss that a lot heehee) fitting with it properly. My maiden name is Carlson so we were thinking of going with Cobbson......thoughts? Also do you all think this would make the AOS process harder for him changing his name? I would say no since obviously gazillions of women do it daily huh? hahah....

Unfortunately I'd say YES it makes it harder! Check the laws in your state - it can be a huge hassle for the man to change his name, unfortunately. And whereas the woman gets to change her name for free, often the man has to pay a fee.

I do like Cobbson, though. Sounds much better than Cobb!

Also - YAY! SMS just texted me to say that my visa will be delivered tomorrow! Right on time!

EDIT: Alex and I also discuss baby names frequently. Not that it'd be very practical for us to have kids just yet, though.

Thanks Rachel....hmmm guess will have to look it over but yeah we really like Cobbson much better.....names just flow with it much better as well heh heh
I was planning on trying to get preggos this winter but have since changed my mind to next fall/winter I will go off the pill as decided I wanted next summer for us all to do family things without me being preggos haha! And gives my daughter a bit more time to adjust to just having Gareth as her Daddy number 2 before throwing another curveball her way!

Oh I keep forgetting ask if anyone on this thread has facebook or myspace? I don't want us to lose touch once we all start AOS process etc....

I have myspace, yes. Haven't used it in ages though! http://www.myspace.com/racheljanson

Also have facebook. How would I give you a link to facebook? My profile ID is 693865384

I have myspace too (Rachel, I just added you to my friends): here's my profile

Hurrah! I love your photos, Cecile! You have some amazing clothes/outfits.

Ooh, and I am pretty sure my ex-housemate has identical boots to you (the lace-up platforms). They're ace!

I'm not sure about that; I remember reading here that when you get married both the groom and the bride can change their name very easily (and can choose whatever name they want).
I don't know if the next administrative things become harder or not though, but I'd think that as long as everything is written on the marriage certificate, it should not be harder for the man than for the woman.

Oh and I absolutely love your maiden name, Steph. I like Cobbson and Cobb, but I prefer Carlson

I don't have them anymore They were not very good quality (though I couldn't expect a lot more considering how relatively cheap they were) and the heel was not very stable anymore. So I got rid of them before I left France, along with a few other pairs that I never wore. But I loved them.

Aw! Maybe my friend has a more expensive pair, then, as I believe hers are pretty good quality and she paid quite a bit for them.

I'm trying to strike a balance between needing to buy a few more clothes so I can 'stock up' before I leave for the US, and not buying too many new things as then I won't be able to fit everything in my suitcase. Being in the US will be a great opportunity to get a new wardrobe - but only if I can afford it!

sunny - I am trying to google Michigan legislation for you, but not having very much success so far! 'last name' and 'marriage' are common search engine words!

By the way, how are things going for you, Cecile?

Ooh yay will add you all once I get home as facebook and myspace are both blocked here at work haha....my names are ummm....
myspace I think I am pear_fairy
facebook Stephanie Gerencer

I would think if you searched for Stephanie Gerencer on both you would find me

Yeah I have heard it super easy to change last names when getting married too do no idea......guess we will find out aye?

Found you and added you on facebook!

And apparently we're already friends on myspace - huh!

Mine came from Hot Topic, I think I paid them 40 dollars. They were (and still are) my favorite shoes ever!

Things are going fine so far.
Except all the wedding stuff that is soooooo stressful. Every night I dream about the wedding. And it's so annoying because it is only the small courthouse wedding, not even the "big" ceremony wedding. After the courthouse, we will probably go to the park where we had our first date, and then in the evening we are going to a restaurant with some friends and family, so they can celebrate with us. Well, Bryan basically wanted to invite everyone he knows and see who would want to come, while I wanted to select a few people only. So we ended up making a list of people, but that is still more than I thought. there is going to be 10 friends of us, and he just told his mother to contact the immediate family to tell them they were invited (for me, immediate family meant mother, father, grandparents, and his aunt and uncle in St. Louis) well, his mother also called a few other people to tell them that her son was getting married, and his aunt from Connecticut decided that she would join us for the restaurant. So she's going to drive 6 hours to come here (+6 to go back there) for the restaurant.... ok, not so much for the 'select guest list'...
and yesterday Bryan comes back from work and tells me that he called his aunt from Connecticut and that she now wants to come to the courthouse with us! WTF! We had planned that only him and I would go to the courthouse, not even his parents! What is the point in having a ceremony later (which we had decided because it would make it easier for people who live far from here btw) if the whole family comes now? so I don't really know what is going to happen here. I clearly told B that I didn't want her to come with us, but he says that she is stubborn, that once she has something in her mind, you can't change it. So we'll see what happens in the next days.
Oh and my mother decided to make invitations (not exactly invitations... more notifications) to the family in France to tell them that I was getting married next week. She didn't even ask me, basically she bought everything for the invites, printed a picture of us 10 times, and let me know just before she sent them that she was doing it. I feel like everyone else is taking control of our wedding.
We got our wedding bands yesterday it is so exciting!
And we also bought his outfit for the wedding.

Other than wedding stuff, everything's fine

I added you.

Oh, you have my deepest sympathies! I can definitely empathise with how you are feeling. What is it with relatives who just can't seem to let you plan your own wedding? I swear I am NOT going to be interfering with any of my children's plans!

Going to the park where you had your first date is a really sweet idea!

Good luck dealing with the aunt - I agree that it would be very odd to have her there at the ceremony. I'd probably just put my foot down and keep being very insistent but polite - just remember, it is perfectly okay - and NOT rude - to say no!

Good Morning all January Filers!

Love your pictures Cecile - did the dude ever wake up? I'm not part of the facebook or myspace generation (yet) but someday perhaps...... Which is better by the way?

So how are you adapting to St. Louis, are you a Cardinals fan yet? (I heard it was required for entry). I couldn't get into the albums to see what boots are being talked about, so I'll just have to use my imagination.

Sunny, Cobbson is a good name, I just hope having you both change names doesn't confuse the Gov't anymore than they are already confused about seemingly everything.

And it would be very weird to have the aunt here but not the parents. If my son was getting married and I wasn't invited but my sister (who would be the aunt) was going there, I would feel very upset.

Both are pretty terrible, but facebook is the slightly better site, both in terms of design and ease of use. I am not on them very often, and I do not have too much information up; I keep photos private on facebook because my friend insists on tagging me in all these terrible snapshots she takes! It's easy enough to sign up and you can filter the amount of information you allow others to see.

Cecile - I completely agree.

he probably woke up at some point, but we left before that!
yes, all my albums are private, and I believe you have to have a myspace account to see any pictures. Not sure which is better between myspace and facebook. I went on myspace because that is where Bryan and his friends had profiles.
I wish the city was better for pedestrians (in my area it's definitely not, I'm scared everytime I have to cross the road), but other than that I like being here. I'm not a Cardinals fan yet and I doubt I will be (usually sports aren't for me). Although I went to Bryan's softball games the past weekends and we also went to the batting cages (is that how it is called?) a few days ago. It was my first time with a bat in my hands. He said I did well for my first time

I understand your pressures Cecile, I'm going through the same thing now. We're having family in, dinner for friends, etc. and even though it's only around 20 people, trying to get everything organized is driving me nuts. I'd love to have a courthouse wedding but that is not to be. I have great respect for all those people who have had to plan these things.

For my first marriage, all I really had to do was nod my head occasionally and show up on time.


Payback's a ######!!

You're right on the "cages" although many people use the singular. It's good to see Bryan is supportive of your natural clubbing instincts.

Many people feel sorry for the groom, who traditionally has very little input into the wedding, but I'd love to just be able to turn up in a rented tux and nod when appropriate!

I'm going to see if I can squeeze into my dress this weekend, and if I can, perhaps try and decide what jacket to wear with it.

I'm still expected to cater for 60+ people. Having the money will be a start. I am going to be consulting my sister's boyfriend for ideas on a possible menu, and my brother has very kindly offered to help me cook and prepare food.

By the way, when I said Alex's apartment was on the outskirts of the city...

Well, I really meant it! It is here. I'm really going to have to learn to drive as soon as possible. Alex says the only store within walking distance is a 7-11, and even that is quite far away.

Nice location, not too far from the water, but far enough that you should avoid the marine layer every morning. Driving is a must. Olga's never even been behind the wheel of a car - she is both excited and terrified of the concept. But that's the only way to get from store to store here, everything's so spread out and the mass transit is pretty bad. You'll enjoy driving in California - always a high speed adventure.

Oh man on the family taking over..I am happy to report that mine mind their own business for most part! Of course they know I am gonna do what I want in the end Oh I will post what I have so far on our wedding site too heehee...yeah I am such a dork I know I know...

Blake I am not sure what is better for facebook and myspace I used to say face but then they got into adding all these crap applications (but you don't have to add any u can keep real basic..same as myspace or aka spazz as me and Gareth call it).

LMAO Rachel about us already being friends on spazz haha! Funny stuffs guess we had this convo before...gosh my memory is horrid.

Our wedding is gonna be quite the event and have prob between 100 and 200 coming...I just did the courthouse thing first time around so I am making up for it all

Oh here is our Wedsite

tee hee told ya I am a dork...

I was reading about micro-climates in San Jose yesterday, actually, and how it is significantly drier and more temperate than, say, San Francisco. It's not too far from his parents (about 3 miles) and I know that there the weather is very warm and mild in winter.

Ye-ah...California driving...being a passenger was bad enough! I'm terrified! That, even though the roads are straighter, more level and wider than any you'll see in the UK.


My memory's horrid, too. I guess we did have this conversation before!

That's quite the wedding. Is this for October/November? I can't imagine planning something so large so close to the date!

200? Yikes!

Sunny I have new found respect for you and your book

Now, how can a person "need" an R2D2 USB Hub - yes I checked out your registry on your website. Even signed it.

I was about to ask the same thing!

On wedding registries...I realise they're useful to both the guests and the happy couple, and I also realise they're perfectly acceptable and no one minds them...but I still feel bad making one! I keep thinking, what if I ask for too many items? Or what if people think we're asking for knives or plates that are too expensive? What if no one uses the registry? Etc., etc.

Awesome! you have a website for your marriage! I'll definitely look at it. I'm leaving the apartment now, some friends are supposed to pick me up in a few minutes. Have a nice day everybody!

LOL yeah that was Gareth's WANT there obviously haha....but we also have "Poop Log/Diary" on our registry cause well we are just like that...hahaha I mean we are 30 and 31 so it is not like there is lots out there we actually NEED. If you check out our Alternative Registry it explains that and we also put non-material items on there....like hours for daycare to watch Gabby so him and I can go on dates etc....

Don't feel weird about doing a registry as yeah it is just the norm here in Greedy America I wasn't going to do one but then saw the aleternative one and thought that was super cool...there is a nother one I wish I would have done but didn't want to make yet another one and it is called ummmmmmmm......crap it is skipping from my mind at the moment...anyway it is one where u can pick charities and then if people buy stuff through those stores off that registry a certain percentage of the gift price gets donated to the charity! It had stores like Target and such on it...

I know Gareth and I are going to have to register at a local store most likely too if anyone throws us a shower as not all my family is web savvy....

But yeah we threw some fun stuff on our registry as well why the heck not? haha...

We mailed our Packet 3 back on Jul23rd and they received and signed for it. We sent an email on Aug 11th asking about the status on the interview and got no response. Based on what other people have said on VJ it was ok to send emails - so we sent another email yesterday asking if maybe they sent packet 4 or not and if we had an interview date. Based on everyone else it looks like they usually book the interview two months out and send appointment letters one month out. Se we were expecting a letter this month with an interview next month. This is their full response in its entirety:

You are on the waiting list for at least 6 months to book you a date

Mary is freaking out - she is beside herself! I am so totally angry. I'm not sure if this is a stock answer or we really pissed someone off and they put us at the back of the line. I can't imagine waiting another 6 months when people who filed after us are getting their interviews and moving. This is totally insane. We feel so powerless. Have no idea what to do. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks, Carl

OMG i don't even know what to say to that but man oh man yeah I can understand Mary freaking out I would be too...I really dunno what to say since we are going through London embassy...Good luck and hope it is a fluke!!!!

yup, it is the normal postal system with the same mailmen and such, it's through registered mail tho in which I have to show them my ID to actually get the package... but oh well, no mail is fine really if you ask me...

For example, my mom once ordered a laptop from some company, it came through the same kind of registered mail as I had my visa, also the regular one, and it turns out that the mailman signed for it himself and left the package in front of her door in her apartment building. And I actually read about a lot of similar stuff yesterday with the same postal system.

As for secure mail service.. I guess the only way to have it really secure is to bring it themselves lol.. like Fedex for example.. my fiance send me the I134's and such all with them, again with registered stuffies and it said that it contained official documents and such... guess what.. the delivery guy signed for it himself and left it in the mailbox.. he didnt wait until I would open the door (I was at home and I did hear the bell go once), he just left like that... I called Fedex to complain about it and they said they can do that since it is their policy (and they told me UPS and DHL are the same in this)..

Nah, I think you can imagine I have not much trust in any postal service lately

Congrats!!

btw... SMS texted you? Isn't a text also a SMS? hehehe


Other than for costs I don't think it will much of a hassle in the rest of your AOS.. It would be the same as when Michelle changes her last name when we get married I'd think. And with that, yeah, Cobbson sounds better

I do have myspace: http://www.myspace.com/yaojielun but I have to say that am not really active on that kind of websites hehe

I am actually throwing away about 2 suitcases full of clothing.. I have too much lol... people always tease me with it too lol, espec when you see my shoe connection lol, more than the ave girl

Thanks. Personally I'm hoping that its just a stock response and that we are still in the queue in the right spot. It drives me crazy that all these minor government functionaries have our lives in their hands and when they make offhand comments like this they have no idea what the emotional repercussions are.

Which is a good thing

I just saw it to and OMG I NEED IT TOO!!!

Seriously, how can you not need it?



Nah kidding with that of course, but yah, it looks really awesome tho

omg that's some freaky ####..I don't know what to say, I just hope things will be for the best of you guys in the end!!

Have you looked at some of the other Montreal timelines? They do take longer than Vancouver but I didn't think they were that far out. I would take a look at timelines in the Canada forum. I hope its not that long for you two.

Yeah - that's the thing. All of the recent MTL time lines for K1 are about the same : about a 30-40 days after you send in Packet 3, you get Packet 4. The interview is on average 30-40 days after that. We were looking at maybe end of September interview. Which is not great, since we'd have liked Marys son to start in school this Sept - so he would start in October a bit late but at least he'd be able to do his Grade 10 in the US. It was doable. If what these guys are saying is true - we have to wait until the END OF FEB 2009!!. Needless to say we both feel like we've been punched in the stomach! These people - do they understand that they are playing with real peoples lives when they do this stuff????? We sent a very apologietic followup thank you email since we figureed it cant possibly get any worse and are crossing our fingers hoping for the best. Have no idea what else to do.