~Off Topic Thread~

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

You know, we sent off our checklist before we had the police report - we assumed we would have it any day when we sent it because the 40 days were already up but it wound up taking longer than that and we didn't have it until 10 days before the interview. OMG WE LIED!

Still in Tokyo - I'm returning tomorrow. Probably won't be much company Wed or Thu - maybe early next week?

[elmcitymaven 9,711]

Robin you are a lying liar! Why, you committed a FRAUD on the US Gubbermint when you said you had it. My god, how can you live with yourself knowing you and H cheated your way in??? Fie on you.

Edited to add: next week is good for me too. I get back from Delaware late Thursday. Pointy, dev?

Edited December 8, 2008 by elmcitymaven

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

The guilt is the cross that I must bear.

Will Christmas be dinner or just drinks? Although I LOVE the food here, I am looking forwarded to going out for a Western when I get back.

Oh I forgot to say - I found an alarm clock here with a target for a face that comes with a pistol. When the alarm goes off you turn it off by shooting it with your pistol. I have a feeling I will be purchasing this before I leave.

[Jeraly 4]

For fear of sounding presumptuous, if it could be a Saturday or Sunday night then there is a slim possibility that Jeremy and I could make it down for the evening... although we will either have to leave that night or early the next morning as the cats will be on their own and I will freak out because I am a saddo like that

[ginger1981 0]

The guilt is the cross that I must bear.

Will Christmas be dinner or just drinks? Although I LOVE the food here, I am looking forwarded to going out for a Western when I get back.

Oh I forgot to say - I found an alarm clock here with a target for a face that comes with a pistol. When the alarm goes off you turn it off by shooting it with your pistol. I have a feeling I will be purchasing this before I leave.

What a brilliant alarm clock! It's safer than using a real gun to shoot it haha!

[no name 1]

Robin you are a lying liar! Why, you committed a FRAUD on the US Gubbermint when you said you had it. My god, how can you live with yourself knowing you and H cheated your way in??? Fie on you.

Edited to add: next week is good for me too. I get back from Delaware late Thursday. Pointy, dev?

Oh noes. Last time I had words with 'him' I 'forced' Yodrak to leave, remember? So many assumptions in there (and name calling) - by every party, I might add - it's crazy. VJ Sheesh.

I'm down for whenever for drinks/food.

[elmcitymaven 9,711]

It's so nuts. I just don't understand why some people can't just back down even the teensiest bit on certain very specific issues. No one here is an expert on ALL the consulates and that's why there is a VJ in the first place. Fine, some of his generalities may be true of all consulates to a greater or lesser extent, but as we all know every consulate is its own dominion. Scaring the bejeebus out of someone going through the UK even with a Pakistani background does very little to help the OP sort this out. I think we all have an idea of how the OP's day will go -- he'll probably get approved pending the certificate, then a shortish period of AP, unlikely to be longer than a month or two.

The real danger here is that some UK person without the OP's background might freak out because they sent in the checklist and are still waiting on a birth certificate or deed poll or something. I keep seeing all these UK K1s worrying that they don't have enough "proof" to show at the interview when time after time after time almost everyone (personally I can think of only one, maybe two) says the CO didn't want to see squat. Fine, bring a pic or two, but save your arms and back the pain of carrying in two scrapbooks, 2000 emails, pages of IM chats. What is advisable or even necessary in a high-fraud consulate is definitely not the protocol in London. Again, YMMV, but seriously folks. When someone, especially someone with first hand experience, chimes in and says this is the way it's done here and I know it because I've been there at least some deference might be paid. I know with the bloviator in question I have had one or two tangles, minor ones, about London DCF. Hel-lo! I might know an eensy smidgen more about how many pages of the G-325a need to be submitted for DCF. And then there was a personal crusade against my experience of London requiring affidavits from friends (mostly for CR1s), which seemed to offend him deeply. It was all so... odd.

Sorry, sorry. Sigh. Just a pet peeve of mine. Let us return to our normal programming. Aly, of course you're welcome to join the UK VJ LA Office Xmas Spectacular. Wear a Clay Aiken pin for a free drink!

[Laura+Tom 2]

Well said Maven. I've seen some other threads where people say 'Oh I wish xxx was here, then he'll def know the answer'. And in some I bet some people are too scared to offer an answer for fear of being shot down.

I know my first experience of him when I posted my first question wasn't a pleasant one.

[StillThePrettiest 3]

actually, I'm an expert on ALL the consulates, a fact that will be noted in my pending Signature of Death

however, I just hide that so I'm not inundated with questions... plus, I'm so supremely modest

[ginger1981 0]

It's been funeral day around here. I somehow still have a job (for now) but many many friends were let go today. It's going to be a very sad Christmas for a lot of my collegues.

I've heard my grandpa and others speak of how they had a certain amount of guilt that they survived while their buddies didn't. I know this sounds cheesy, but in a much less significant way I feel like they do. I don't have kids, or a house or anything of value really and I somehow made it. I know that I was probably smarter than some that I took the opportunity to learn how to do various things and to be counted on by the executives and even help out the (former) CEO. But I was still really really lucky.

Anyways, is it just me or does it not feel much like Christmas this year?

[VisaJourneyLady 33]

Oh Ginger! I'm so sorry things are going like that for you. It's such a sad thing when people have these kind of sudden hardships thrust upon them, and it must be difficult to see it happen, but you can't feel guilty, you had nothing to do with it. Probably the people that were let go even had little to do with their fate. The current economy is forcing businesses everywhere to let go of perfectly good staff. We can only hope that when the recession finally lifts, the businesses left will be leaner and work better, and we can all have another boom off the back of it.

Maven - I have nothing to say but hear! hear! I read some of the thread when you posted about it first, and just couldn't bring myself to post because there were people in there saying exactly what I would have said, and there were some hard heads in there that just wouldn't read it or take any heed. What's the point? I guess in situations like that you can only PM the person, give your own advice, and invite them over to the UK forum where they would be given the correct advice. It's funny that RJ is such a strong opponent of the 'cliquey' regional sub-forums, because I think that her knowledge of the UK process was so good becuase we do have a stong community here. It would be harder to filter out the specific info about the UK if we didn't have this subforum. sigh.

[ginger1981 0]

Oh Ginger! I'm so sorry things are going like that for you. It's such a sad thing when people have these kind of sudden hardships thrust upon them, and it must be difficult to see it happen, but you can't feel guilty, you had nothing to do with it. Probably the people that were let go even had little to do with their fate. The current economy is forcing businesses everywhere to let go of perfectly good staff. We can only hope that when the recession finally lifts, the businesses left will be leaner and work better, and we can all have another boom off the back of it.

Maven - I have nothing to say but hear! hear! I read some of the thread when you posted about it first, and just couldn't bring myself to post because there were people in there saying exactly what I would have said, and there were some hard heads in there that just wouldn't read it or take any heed. What's the point? I guess in situations like that you can only PM the person, give your own advice, and invite them over to the UK forum where they would be given the correct advice. It's funny that RJ is such a strong opponent of the 'cliquey' regional sub-forums, because I think that her knowledge of the UK process was so good becuase we do have a stong community here. It would be harder to filter out the specific info about the UK if we didn't have this subforum. sigh.

Thanks pointy. I feel like the Debbie Downer of this thread LOL. Most people who were let go were expecting it to some degree, but I think the shock still gets a hold of you. It's really quite an awful downward spiral and I hope our government will do something. I feel like the $700 billion bailout just dissapeared...like how does money just dissapear? It has to go somewhere!

[Jeraly 4]

Ginger - it sounds horrible... I don't have a job but at least it is one less to lose... saying that, it would also mean that should Jeremy lose his job, we would really be up sh!t creek without a paddle so here's hoping that doesn't happen... as he manages the place I am pretty certain that it wouldn't happen but in the current climate, who knows?

Maven - you just know that if I make it I will have Clay Aiken pins for *everyone* It's just a pity I couldn't Blingee them up for that extra special Christmas touch Let me know the details and I'll speak to Mr about it when we know what is going on and how much money will be involved

Also finding it hard to get into the Christmas spirit this year. I love Christmas and all my family do but Jeremy just isn't that bothered by it. He's not totally "Bah, humbug" about it, he just doesn't really care one way or another and says that it's for kids. I'd like to point out that in my family, the current youngest member is 17 and pretty much everyone gets excited about it... I get all happy and festive about simple things like presents and decs and he's like "meh"

[elmcitymaven 9,711]

ginger -- sorry to hear about your woes. This holiday season is a little sucky for me too, what with my poor financial planning, expensive tooth repair, etc etc. 2008 is one that I'll remember for sure as the Christmas everyone got something from Sears, as that's where I have the most amount of credit at the moment! I've never been in the situation where I was a survivor, but I have lost my job just before Christmas and boy, did that suck. I vaguely recall drinking a hell of a lot for two months and facing up to the fact that I had to get a job I wasn't going to get fired from. Mostly I remember feeling resentful. Good times.

Where's my friggin' Adversity Flower pin?

[Jeraly 4]

As you wish