Melo

Thanks so much.

Well today I went and applied for the SSN - will get it in 2 weeks I am told. The marriage certificate could take another 5 weeks to get... it almost seems like I ain't legally shackled Can't get the State ID am told till I have a visa that is for more than 1 year...

I plan to get a new passport as the difference between a new passport and getting details on the one I currently have modified is a mere 30 dollars...

However I don't know what to do... should I change the passport before we apply for AOS??? Like I said I feel like I am floundering.

Thanks so much all of you. In case you would like to see all the wedding pics - you can do so here: http://melogypsy.net/gallery/index.php?

Here are some pics of the wedding

The wedding was fabulous - we had a really lovely Justice of the Peace... he was so joyful and had everyone smiling more than they would have normally Anyway, he complimented Paul on his good taste and then advised him that he should say something to the effect of "Yes dear"

I will post pics of the wedding once I have them... Paul looked scrumptious - a mix of John Lennon and Frank Zappa (there are some who say he looks like Geddy Lee)... he was simply divine looking - John in Sgt. Pepper...

We are off to Galveston now - will see ya later darlings

Thanks so much... have to admit to floating around on cloud 9... bye for now darlings - will return here on Monday most likely

In Houston, my advice is to stay away from I-10 (the "Katy Freeway"). They've been doing construction on that thing for years now, and chances are, it'll be at least a decade or more before it's completed.

The one thing I cannot do is drive a car (though it seems I will have to learn if I don't want my home to be my prison)

Today we got our marriage license... next week we get married. My brother is flying in from England on Thursday - I wish my nephew and sis-in-law were coming too - but alas they are not...

We have booked the courthouse for the 17th at 2 PM... well it is all falling into place now...

Thanks Arijit

I got 6 emails myself... but thought that it was probably due to having got here on Sunday and that we had therefore been "touched"... ah well

Thanks all... muchas gracias Daniel. I am surviving on barely 3 hours of sleep if that at all... but I can tell you that it is wonderful to be with my Gypsy once again... I can't wait to be married... that takes place on the 17th November. Till then, we have a very watchful chaperone in the form of Paul's mum. He sleeps in a sleeping bag in the living room; I sleep in his room - and in between these two rooms lies Mum's room and she sleeps with the door wide open... no hanky panky till we are married she says

I like what I have seen of Houston thus far, people are friendly and the place where we live is beautiful. I went grocery shopping yesterday and stood at the crossing for well over 10 minutes before daring to cross... good reason to be apprehensive... the damned lights allowed me to cross half the road before turning red again... I got chewed alive by mosquitoes... in fact had blood dripping from the bites on my face and arms... that was NOT NICE at all... I had bags of stuff that I was carrying and had to fend off the mozzies which were huge... not even in India have I come across such awful mozzies

I am gonna try and get some shut eye... Paul has gone to work and the rest of the household is asleep (mum and I were up chatting till way past 3 am... and I then woke to spend time with Paul before he went to work and he left before 6 am... so all in all feel a wreck). Will see you later...

Am now in Houston - Katy area to be precise... would love to meet up with you and learn where I can buy English goodies

Thanks Luzy and Brothe Dean...

Thanks - am still knackered... probably gonna crawl back into bed after Paul leaves for work.

Well I finally made it here... arrived last night... it is wonderful to see my Gypsy again... shall write more when I feel a little more like a human being and less comatose and inert

Ok - well for those who are interested I leave New Delhi at 4 am on Tuesday... will stay in London for a few weeks before leaving for Houston on the 29th... Paul and I get married on the 17th November... right now am dealing with emotions that are a mix of happiness and sadness...

Congratulations!!!

Such things are reciprocal in nature; if there have been many Brits denied entry into the USA - well the UK would be prone to do the same to US citizens. Not everyone is like our esteemed poodle Tony B Liar.

Nearly all marriages, even happy ones, are mistakes: in the sense that almost certainly (in a more perfect world, or even with a little more care in this very imperfect one) both partners might be found more suitable mates. But the real soul-mate is the one you are actually married to.

That's not wise. That's bunk.

This was written by J.R.R Tolkein.

Children, who play life, discern its true law and relations more clearly than men, who fail to live it worthily, but who think that they are wiser by experience, that is, by failure.

Fischkoepfin: 3

Nearly all marriages, even happy ones, are mistakes: in the sense that almost certainly (in a more perfect world, or even with a little more care in this very imperfect one) both partners might be found more suitable mates. But the real soul-mate is the one you are actually married to.

Melo: 9 + 14 = 23

We learn wisdom from failure much more than from success. We often discover what will do, by finding out what will not do; and probably he who never made a mistake never made a discovery.

2 points here...

Steven = 4 points

p.s. You can look up all the quotes (google, etc.)...it's not about knowing all these quotes off hand, but finding common words among the different quotes.

Don't be discouraged by a failure. It can be a positive experience. Failure is, in a sense, the highway to success, inasmuch as every discovery of what is false leads us to seek earnestly after what is true, and every fresh experience points out some form of error which we shall afterwards carefully avoid.

3 more points - total = 6

Well I should look more carefully - here is the updated versio:

Don't be discouraged by a failure. It can be a positive experience. Failure is, in a sense, the highway to success, inasmuch as every discovery of what is false leads us to seek earnestly after what is true, and every fresh experience points out some form of error which we shall afterwards carefully avoid.

11 more points - total = 14

If you do not wish to be prone to anger, do not feed the habit; give it nothing which may tend to its increase.

Melo = 3 points

Uh...

*is part of MENSA*

*knows plenty of people there with no common sense*

Can't help but smile at that

I have been dealing with sub-normal cretins who have utterly stressed me out!!! I don't suffer fools gladly at the best of times... and right now ain't the best of times. I leave here in less than 2 weeks - have so much to do and then have to deal with blithering idiots.

One lot of idiots is from the shipping company that wanted to carry my books all 600 odd in plastic bags... well I finally told them to get the ** out of here!!! Apparently they plan to return with boxes in the morning... but they could not understand why I thought it not ok for them to take my books out in plastic bags!!!

Then there is this character who had to print out labels with addresses... now all the ones with Indian names were fine... but all the English/European etc ones had the name, street, city and post code on one line followed by the country on the second line... it seems "he thought" well I lost it and told him that he did not have to think... that in fact all he had to do was print without thinking... so now I have some 100+ cards still waiting to be posted coz this idiot "thought"... I guess he feels he should be part of MENSA!!!

Ah well less than 2 weeks and I will be gone...

This is according to my understanding of how diplomatic missions work after having worked in various missions for over 20 odd years.