Ephesia

I have been using my Nokia 2128i for 2 yrs 2 mths now. It's a phone nobody likes because it doesn't do what everybody wants - play mp3s, take pictures, give directions, download e-mail, etc.

I LOVE it because it doesn't do any of these things and has never let me down when I make and receive calls, which I thought is the whole point of owning a cell phone. And Nokia's menu and texting interface is so easy. The battery life is also excellent. I charged my phone only once a week on the previous battery, which was still in great condition after 2 years of use but I decided to get a new one coz I could.

When it was time to renew my contract with Verizon last Oct, I thought I should give other phone brands a shot because I've been a Nokia user for 8 years now. I chose a Samsung flip phone (free of charge) when I renewed the contract. After putting up with it for 2 months, I told my husband I was done. We reactivated the ESN on my Nokia and I am happy once again.

We started out as friends in a Guild from the game DAoC (Dark Age of Camelot) and it grew from there.

LOL, so did we !!!

Hubby caught a bad case of the flu 3 days ago and last night the flu developed into a hacking cough that kept him, me and the dog awake half the night. LOL.

He gave me very little sleep, so this morning I gave him a little back rub to tell him I love him before we left for work.

We sent ours by USPS Express Mail.

You need to bring whatever your appointment letter says you need to bring.

Because I am the foreign SO, I always launch the preemptive strike when my hubby introduces me to a friend or co-worker I've not had the chance to meet yet:

"Pleased to meet you. I am Brandon's mail-order bride, and I moved here 2½ years ago to contribute taxes to the US economy."

If I see the FW, it is deleted right then and there.

Hear, hear! I do exactly the same thing. I don't care who the e-mail is from - mother-in-law, grandmother, aunt, best friend, co-worker, etc. I see the FW in the subject header and it goes straight to the trash can. Do I really care that breaking the chain will guarantee I will never get rich?! Jebus.

I especially hate it when I get FW e-mails at work from one particular co-worker. The company's been told several times by the IT dept to stop sending mass e-mails with our work addresses. So what does this bright spark do? She sends the FW e-mails from her personal address to all our work addresses. And she never bothers to put her recipients in the BCC. It got so bad early last year that I set up a rule in my Outlook to direct all e-mails from her to the Junk Folder. She sends the craziest and most meaningless junk.

Yay, Aubger !!!!!!!! So glad you passed! See? You didn't have anything to worry about!

I have to make a confession - I forgot to think about you yesterday. It's been a challenging week here so it completely slipped my mind.

You should take a picture of your shiny new license. I did and e-mailed it to everyone in Singapore.

Yay! How did it go?

LOL, that's how Brandon and I reacted to when our check cleared. I think we even went out to dinner to celebrate.

Biometrics was a breeze. We showed up 30 mins early but they processed me in 10. And it was the same lady who took my biometrics for AOS 2 years ago. She's a real hoot. Made me laugh with her stories.

And don't worry about your driving test next week, ok? I am very sure you'll ace it.

Oh and before I forget to mention this: I have never parallel parked even once in the last 1½ years after I got my driver's license. I've also never reverse parked. LOL.

how did your biometrics go? I hope it was a smooth ride

yeah the interview wasn't one of the most pleasant experiences of my life. Even approved I got out of there crying because they were so mean. Anyways...I'm here with my hubby and everything will be fine

We showed up 30 mins early and in the elevator going up, I saw a couple next to us. Glanced down and saw the big paper bag with a framed picture, photo album, a stack of cards, etc. I nudged my husband to look and we both broke out in a grin. I asked the USC lady: "Here for your interview?" They let out a nervous laugh and nodded. I told them they'll be fine and the Indianapolis ASC is staffed with very warm people.

When I was done with my biometrics (took only 10 mins, and the lady was so funny and pleasant), I put my coat back on and walked to the couple who were waiting for their names to be called. Wished them good luck and told them again not to worry.

That moment felt really nice and surreal at the same time. Almost a little hard to believe just less than 2 years ago we were waiting for our interview with our paper bags and boxes of evidence in that room.

Hey Aubger, I just went to see your timeline and read your consulate interview story. Wow. What a mean lady you got at the consulate!

I hate snow too. I have skidded on black ice as well. Nothing serious but I couldn't get out for a few mins after that. Had to burn some rubber before I could move out of the patch. lol.

What your hubby is doing is a good thing! Forces you to be independent. My hubby is soft-hearted sometimes. I just need to whine softly and he will go, "Oh, ok. Let me do it." But only sometimes. At other times he doesn't fall for it.

Ya, I have my biometrics at 11 this morning. This is for my I-751 (removing conditions). I hope it will go as fast as my AOS biometrics 2 years ago. Usually the Indianapolis ASC is not too busy. *fingers crossed*

Well that was very nice of him! I guess he's more understanding than my hubby. Mine tries to make me get over it I don't have a choice. He doesn't work anywhere close to where I work and he knows I will have to get there somehow. I really hate snow. If it's not sliding it's spinning. If it's not spinning it's too slow. Grrrrrrrr....

So you have your biometrics tomorrow? That's pretty cool Nothing special but it's painless

:lol:

You are plain adorable !!!

And I will definitely think of you again in 9 days' time!

Speaking of driving, we're expecting heavier snow showers tomorrow. Because my biometrics appt is downtown, and hubby works just 2 blocks away from the ASC, he suggested last night that I leave with him in the morning. He can take me to my appointment and then take me to work. I think he remembered how I hate driving in the snow.

I am really a lump of chicken poop when it comes to driving on the interstate and in anything heavier than moderate rain. LOL.

Actually, after I learned how to do it, I was so crazy about it I refused to stop doing it. I guess it's the pride I felt or something but both, mike and his father shook their head when i kept saying "Let's do it again!!!"

Now I have my test next Wednesday. I hope it wont be so ugly outside. I really hope I will be able to take that test

Thank you for thinking of me Can u do it again in 9 days?

I took my "O" levels in Singapore in 1986 !!!

"A" levels followed in 1988.

o levels if anyone remembers them ! lol)

Awww. I thought about you today and wondered how your test went.

We didn't get hit with a snow storm here in Indy, although the brisk snow shower on my drive home from work made me a bit twitchy.

Did you have fun parallel parking?

No road test today We got a big snow storm so they re-scheduled it. :'(

I DID learn to parallel park though

I was told soon after I moved here to keep my resume to 1 page and to-the-point. I also listed only job history that was directly relevant to the job type I was looking for.

You're quite right about resumes being very different. In Singapore, we pretty much follow the ways of the British (generally speaking), so what is called a resume here is known as a CV there. And more details were appreciated over there.

I think it took me 3 days to change my resume totally.

Just wondered if anyone has any advice regarding CV, Resume advice...i have done a couple of searched online and the advice is often conflicting....it seems odd that the resumes here seem to differ greatly from the ones i used back in UK.

Any helpful tips advice or experiences?

LOL! That's hilarious, Becca!

My husband told me he was passing his greencard around at work the other day.

Most Americans have never seen one.

Yes, he was being the 'performing immigrant'....lol

Helinna posted yesterday that his wife finally got her approval.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=104757

I put on more clothes and wear thicker socks with my boots.

ROFL, Mags!

Oh bloody hell, I want 14 inches of snow. Stupid Indiana.

lol. Your stories about driving lessons are reminding me of how I nearly drove my husband insane while he was teaching me. He never lost his patience with me, but it was extremely difficult for him to figure out how to show and explain to someone who's NEVER had a need to drive. And when you try to teach new tricks to someone in their mid-30s ... well, there's that.

I remember parallel parking lessons as the hardest. Our house is in a court, so we could practice in front of our house. When I finally picked a date for my driving test, I told hubby I wanted to practice parallel parking for 30 mins every evening. During the first lesson, he had to break out sticks and poles and tape them to the front and back of my car so I could see and gauge distance. That worked for about 10 mins, because the duct tape kept falling off. Then our buddy (who was living with us that time) decided to come out and pretend to be an orange cone. He stood where I needed to park. That worked pretty well.

It took MANY attempts before hubby figured out the exact point where I had to start turning. It was something like "middle of back window passing back door of stationary car" or something along those lines. It almost became a science. LOL. We even had neighbors coming out to either cheer or laugh.

You can now see why I almost burst out laughing when the instructor told me when to start turning during my test. When I started reversing and turn the wheel, she looked back and said, "Oops, u turned too soon. Stop, straighten out, go back to the same spot and let's retry this." I was so tempted to kiss her.

On my way back to the BMV branch, the instructor made small talk and then heard me exhale really loudly. I told her I was so freaked out over my test because of parallel parking. She laughed pretty hard.

Hahaha the same thing happened to me. Hubby expected me to get the usual piece of paper telling me I have to wait 90 days for my license to be issued blah blah blah, because he saw me get that letter when I had to wait for my learner's permit.

The very nice lady checked her screen, kept smiling and talked with me about cookies and baking, and then bam! She handed me my shiny new license. My husband started to ask about central verification but I kicked his foot under the counter, so he bit his lip. I think we half ran out of the branch in case she changed her mind.

Now here's the deal - the lady double checked my information and then I made sure she did not put me on the voters' registry as I am not a USC. He asked, oh really? The system shows no indication of that - which is good for you as you will get an unrestricted DL right now (instead of having to wait for the papers to check and getting it in the mail). She said someone made a mistake but it's all good for me, and that I was the second person in two days that this has happened with.

So, now I have a DL good until 2012.

Highly recommend East Chicago BMV

I didn't have to drive on the highway in my test too. I told hubby I wanted to avoid that as much as possible. So we picked a BMV branch that was reasonably far from the closest interstate. And at the time of my test, it was still school hours so I drove at 25 mph for most of the test. LOL. And the parallel parking portion almost made me laugh because the instructor actually told me when to start turning as I reversed. I was so nervous about that part for nothing!

I only ventured out on the interstate after I got my license. Three times in the last 1½ years. And only with hubby next to me. Semis + interstate = utterly terrified Ephesia. I always have mental images of a semi tipping over on to me.