Protocol417

Hey, even the Austrialians formed a functioning country.

Nah, we used Australia for that.

Hi all,
I had my interview the same day as Dan on Wednesday and reading his review I was the number right after him. I have posted my review on my timeline for anyone that is interested.
I have to agree with what Dan & Nich-Nick have been already said, I wasn't asked for any further evidence of support or letter of intent to marry. I also wish I'd taken a book to ready, it was a very long wait from first being called to take my necessary documents to the actual interview.
Nich-Nick, I also had the Chinese woman at window 1, I don't recall hearing any N numbers being called to her window either just the I's
The only question that threw me during the interview was the last one which was what was one of the proudest things I have done in the United Kingdom?? I'm not really sure why he asked this, I was totally thrown I said supporting my local football team St Mirren! In hindsight I would of said graduating from University but it was the first thing that came into my head

Write your story in a more public forum and spread the word. The reason why congresspeople exist is to help their constituents, and if they flat-out refuse to do that, and even go to the length of calling people liars (which I find funny... why would people on VJ lie about when they got their approval?), then I'm sure other people would like to know about it come election time. Even if they are technically correct in their response (figuring it's under the standard turnaround times) the dismissal of your concern and grief is most telling about their character.

I disagree with this. Our case is a January petition and Sarah Beaulieu at Congressman Joe Wilson's office has responded to us numerous times, been extremely helpful and friendly and is doing everything she can to help. We got another response last night she got from the TSC saying to call back in 45 days if we have no response, then she added at the bottom that she's sorry it's a generic reply but she promises she's doing everything she can. It simply depends on who you have.
Edit: Oh and she has never discredited VJ information, and she in fact is dealing with another consituent who has been transferred to TSC.

Go to his facebook page and leave a complaint for everybody to see. They don't like bad publicity.

A delay in all cases is understandable in that situation. But to put, for example, September filers on a shelf so that these other cases can be worked on, but January filers still get processed like normal with no delay? That shouldn't happen.

A delay in all cases is understandable in that situation. But to put, for example, September filers on a shelf so that these other cases can be worked on, but January filers still get processed like normal with no delay? That shouldn't happen.

Sorry... I'm kind of new here, so I don't know if this is the right place for this sort of thing, but I'm trying to dive into this community and all that. It's a personal story, but it's political, as well.
Also sorry for the length. I never met a word that couldn't be made better by pairing it with about seven more
I recently returned from a trip to the UK to visit my fiance, during which we spent a few days in London visiting friends of mine. While there, an odd thing happened: I had a panic attack on the Tube. I'd always been a nervous flyer, but hadn't ever had issues on normal public transportation, and never in my life had a full-on panic attack. It just came out of nowhere, and I had no idea how to deal with it.

Despite every instinct in my body telling me otherwise, we went to the hospital.

I sat in the waiting room at A&E (emergency room) thinking of all the horrible things I'd heard about the NHS... wait times, rudeness, and so forth. But I have to say, it was the best experience I have ever had in a hospital. I was checked out within 10 minutes (keep in mind, this is in the middle of London, walking distance from the Houses of Parliament), and the nurse took great care to help me and keep me calm (I was still panicky and having difficulty controlling my breathing). I was transferred to Urgent Care (as I expected) and yes, I had to wait an hour there, but this was no issue to me as I was more than happy to let the people with broken limbs and in pain go ahead of me. The doctor was the most patient, caring doctor I've ever seen. I am so used to being rushed by doctors back in the US, who are just interested in the physical symptoms without any care to hear the details leading up to the issue at hand, but this doctor stopped me, made me go back, and asked me very detailed, very good questions. Knowing I was new to the NHS system, she took the time to explain it to me and tell me where I could go if I had another attack during my trip, or just had questions or felt the need to talk to someone. Doctors in the US I've seen, by contrast, will barely give you the time of day because it would cost them five seconds. (As a result I've developed a deep opposition to going to the clinic or hospital, even when I probably really should.)

The doctor at St. Thomas assured me that I wouldn't have to pay for my visit, and then apologetically informed me that the prescription she was writing for me would cost £7.85, as if she expected me to blow up over such a small cost! She then apologized for the "long wait" (as I looked at her incredulously). I got the same apology at the pharmacy. While in the waiting room at Urgent Care, so many people were complaining to the receptionist and passing doctors about the wait, but to be honest with you, I've experience similar waits at the emergency room at home (and I had blood gushing out of my nose), with nowhere near the level of service and care I got at St. Thomas (and of course at much greater cost... and yes, I do have insurance). I'm still a bit blown away by the whole thing.


I've heard lots of people say "well, they have such high taxes, that's how they pay for it!" but when my fiance and I actually sat down and compared our tax burden (hey, we've been Skyping for over two years, you run out of stuff to talk about eventually), we found out that it was about the same. The real difference in is sales tax/VAT: My sales tax is 10%, his VAT is 20%. But I have to pay for insurance, which costs me about $160 per month (and my employer much more than that). So I would have to spend about $1,600 on taxable items (twice the amount of my disposable income) for the difference between my sales tax and his VAT to be more than what I pay in insurance each month. In other words, if you add my health insurance in... I pay more than he does. And I get less. Unlike what most Brits seem to think, insurance does not pay for everything. Just walking in the door costs me $50. I get a little chuckle every time I tell a Brit friend of mine about how a colonoscopy cost me $500 (they either assume I don't have insurance or just sit there looking shocked). The real problem is back then, I could afford that... now, I couldn't. As a result, I pay $160 per month for something I can't afford to use but can't afford to be without. This isn't something the British have to worry about.


While it wasn't much fun spending a couple hours of my vacation in hospital, I walked away kind of glad for the experience. I really wish we could have something like the NHS in the States. When my fiance and I got engaged, we decided that we were going to live in the US. He loves Chicago, and work and my community came into the decision as well. But I'm starting to wonder if I should've considered living in England a bit more. In all likelihood, we will probably end up moving there eventually, once he's had his fill of living here. Healthcare is definitely one reason we'd go back.

Sorry... I'm kind of new here, so I don't know if this is the right place for this sort of thing, but I'm trying to dive into this community and all that. It's a personal story, but it's political, as well.
Also sorry for the length. I never met a word that couldn't be made better by pairing it with about seven more
I recently returned from a trip to the UK to visit my fiance, during which we spent a few days in London visiting friends of mine. While there, an odd thing happened: I had a panic attack on the Tube. I'd always been a nervous flyer, but hadn't ever had issues on normal public transportation, and never in my life had a full-on panic attack. It just came out of nowhere, and I had no idea how to deal with it.

Despite every instinct in my body telling me otherwise, we went to the hospital.

I sat in the waiting room at A&E (emergency room) thinking of all the horrible things I'd heard about the NHS... wait times, rudeness, and so forth. But I have to say, it was the best experience I have ever had in a hospital. I was checked out within 10 minutes (keep in mind, this is in the middle of London, walking distance from the Houses of Parliament), and the nurse took great care to help me and keep me calm (I was still panicky and having difficulty controlling my breathing). I was transferred to Urgent Care (as I expected) and yes, I had to wait an hour there, but this was no issue to me as I was more than happy to let the people with broken limbs and in pain go ahead of me. The doctor was the most patient, caring doctor I've ever seen. I am so used to being rushed by doctors back in the US, who are just interested in the physical symptoms without any care to hear the details leading up to the issue at hand, but this doctor stopped me, made me go back, and asked me very detailed, very good questions. Knowing I was new to the NHS system, she took the time to explain it to me and tell me where I could go if I had another attack during my trip, or just had questions or felt the need to talk to someone. Doctors in the US I've seen, by contrast, will barely give you the time of day because it would cost them five seconds. (As a result I've developed a deep opposition to going to the clinic or hospital, even when I probably really should.)

The doctor at St. Thomas assured me that I wouldn't have to pay for my visit, and then apologetically informed me that the prescription she was writing for me would cost £7.85, as if she expected me to blow up over such a small cost! She then apologized for the "long wait" (as I looked at her incredulously). I got the same apology at the pharmacy. While in the waiting room at Urgent Care, so many people were complaining to the receptionist and passing doctors about the wait, but to be honest with you, I've experience similar waits at the emergency room at home (and I had blood gushing out of my nose), with nowhere near the level of service and care I got at St. Thomas (and of course at much greater cost... and yes, I do have insurance). I'm still a bit blown away by the whole thing.


I've heard lots of people say "well, they have such high taxes, that's how they pay for it!" but when my fiance and I actually sat down and compared our tax burden (hey, we've been Skyping for over two years, you run out of stuff to talk about eventually), we found out that it was about the same. The real difference in is sales tax/VAT: My sales tax is 10%, his VAT is 20%. But I have to pay for insurance, which costs me about $160 per month (and my employer much more than that). So I would have to spend about $1,600 on taxable items (twice the amount of my disposable income) for the difference between my sales tax and his VAT to be more than what I pay in insurance each month. In other words, if you add my health insurance in... I pay more than he does. And I get less. Unlike what most Brits seem to think, insurance does not pay for everything. Just walking in the door costs me $50. I get a little chuckle every time I tell a Brit friend of mine about how a colonoscopy cost me $500 (they either assume I don't have insurance or just sit there looking shocked). The real problem is back then, I could afford that... now, I couldn't. As a result, I pay $160 per month for something I can't afford to use but can't afford to be without. This isn't something the British have to worry about.


While it wasn't much fun spending a couple hours of my vacation in hospital, I walked away kind of glad for the experience. I really wish we could have something like the NHS in the States. When my fiance and I got engaged, we decided that we were going to live in the US. He loves Chicago, and work and my community came into the decision as well. But I'm starting to wonder if I should've considered living in England a bit more. In all likelihood, we will probably end up moving there eventually, once he's had his fill of living here. Healthcare is definitely one reason we'd go back.

Sorry... I'm kind of new here, so I don't know if this is the right place for this sort of thing, but I'm trying to dive into this community and all that. It's a personal story, but it's political, as well.
Also sorry for the length. I never met a word that couldn't be made better by pairing it with about seven more
I recently returned from a trip to the UK to visit my fiance, during which we spent a few days in London visiting friends of mine. While there, an odd thing happened: I had a panic attack on the Tube. I'd always been a nervous flyer, but hadn't ever had issues on normal public transportation, and never in my life had a full-on panic attack. It just came out of nowhere, and I had no idea how to deal with it.

Despite every instinct in my body telling me otherwise, we went to the hospital.

I sat in the waiting room at A&E (emergency room) thinking of all the horrible things I'd heard about the NHS... wait times, rudeness, and so forth. But I have to say, it was the best experience I have ever had in a hospital. I was checked out within 10 minutes (keep in mind, this is in the middle of London, walking distance from the Houses of Parliament), and the nurse took great care to help me and keep me calm (I was still panicky and having difficulty controlling my breathing). I was transferred to Urgent Care (as I expected) and yes, I had to wait an hour there, but this was no issue to me as I was more than happy to let the people with broken limbs and in pain go ahead of me. The doctor was the most patient, caring doctor I've ever seen. I am so used to being rushed by doctors back in the US, who are just interested in the physical symptoms without any care to hear the details leading up to the issue at hand, but this doctor stopped me, made me go back, and asked me very detailed, very good questions. Knowing I was new to the NHS system, she took the time to explain it to me and tell me where I could go if I had another attack during my trip, or just had questions or felt the need to talk to someone. Doctors in the US I've seen, by contrast, will barely give you the time of day because it would cost them five seconds. (As a result I've developed a deep opposition to going to the clinic or hospital, even when I probably really should.)

The doctor at St. Thomas assured me that I wouldn't have to pay for my visit, and then apologetically informed me that the prescription she was writing for me would cost £7.85, as if she expected me to blow up over such a small cost! She then apologized for the "long wait" (as I looked at her incredulously). I got the same apology at the pharmacy. While in the waiting room at Urgent Care, so many people were complaining to the receptionist and passing doctors about the wait, but to be honest with you, I've experience similar waits at the emergency room at home (and I had blood gushing out of my nose), with nowhere near the level of service and care I got at St. Thomas (and of course at much greater cost... and yes, I do have insurance). I'm still a bit blown away by the whole thing.


I've heard lots of people say "well, they have such high taxes, that's how they pay for it!" but when my fiance and I actually sat down and compared our tax burden (hey, we've been Skyping for over two years, you run out of stuff to talk about eventually), we found out that it was about the same. The real difference in is sales tax/VAT: My sales tax is 10%, his VAT is 20%. But I have to pay for insurance, which costs me about $160 per month (and my employer much more than that). So I would have to spend about $1,600 on taxable items (twice the amount of my disposable income) for the difference between my sales tax and his VAT to be more than what I pay in insurance each month. In other words, if you add my health insurance in... I pay more than he does. And I get less. Unlike what most Brits seem to think, insurance does not pay for everything. Just walking in the door costs me $50. I get a little chuckle every time I tell a Brit friend of mine about how a colonoscopy cost me $500 (they either assume I don't have insurance or just sit there looking shocked). The real problem is back then, I could afford that... now, I couldn't. As a result, I pay $160 per month for something I can't afford to use but can't afford to be without. This isn't something the British have to worry about.


While it wasn't much fun spending a couple hours of my vacation in hospital, I walked away kind of glad for the experience. I really wish we could have something like the NHS in the States. When my fiance and I got engaged, we decided that we were going to live in the US. He loves Chicago, and work and my community came into the decision as well. But I'm starting to wonder if I should've considered living in England a bit more. In all likelihood, we will probably end up moving there eventually, once he's had his fill of living here. Healthcare is definitely one reason we'd go back.

You only need to read the UK newspapers or watch the nightly news to know how bad some of the healthcare is in this country. We've been very lucky...but FIL was not. No one put him back on his heart monitor in Oct 2011 when he left the ward to go get some tests run. When he came back...he had missed his supper because he had waited 4 hours for his tests to be done, someone rushed to find him a sandwich but neglected to put his monitor on. He had a heart attack just days earlier and was waiting for surgery the following day. He had another heart attack during the night but no one knew because his monitor wasn't on...even though he was on the cardiac ward.Blame it on a lack of nurses or staff that just couldn't be bothered, but we lost a dear sweet man that night. That is just ONE example...just google STAFFORD hospital scandal in the UK and you will see what some people have dealt with here.
Like I said, we've been lucky and I FAR prefer knowing that I can go to the doctors and it won't cost a fortune...but its not perfect. I don't think there IS a perfect solution for healthcare. I do know it should NOT be profit driven though...peoples lives are more important than money.

This is one of the most depressing things I've ever read that didn't involve genocide or puppies.

Sorry... I'm kind of new here, so I don't know if this is the right place for this sort of thing, but I'm trying to dive into this community and all that. It's a personal story, but it's political, as well.
Also sorry for the length. I never met a word that couldn't be made better by pairing it with about seven more
I recently returned from a trip to the UK to visit my fiance, during which we spent a few days in London visiting friends of mine. While there, an odd thing happened: I had a panic attack on the Tube. I'd always been a nervous flyer, but hadn't ever had issues on normal public transportation, and never in my life had a full-on panic attack. It just came out of nowhere, and I had no idea how to deal with it.

Despite every instinct in my body telling me otherwise, we went to the hospital.

I sat in the waiting room at A&E (emergency room) thinking of all the horrible things I'd heard about the NHS... wait times, rudeness, and so forth. But I have to say, it was the best experience I have ever had in a hospital. I was checked out within 10 minutes (keep in mind, this is in the middle of London, walking distance from the Houses of Parliament), and the nurse took great care to help me and keep me calm (I was still panicky and having difficulty controlling my breathing). I was transferred to Urgent Care (as I expected) and yes, I had to wait an hour there, but this was no issue to me as I was more than happy to let the people with broken limbs and in pain go ahead of me. The doctor was the most patient, caring doctor I've ever seen. I am so used to being rushed by doctors back in the US, who are just interested in the physical symptoms without any care to hear the details leading up to the issue at hand, but this doctor stopped me, made me go back, and asked me very detailed, very good questions. Knowing I was new to the NHS system, she took the time to explain it to me and tell me where I could go if I had another attack during my trip, or just had questions or felt the need to talk to someone. Doctors in the US I've seen, by contrast, will barely give you the time of day because it would cost them five seconds. (As a result I've developed a deep opposition to going to the clinic or hospital, even when I probably really should.)

The doctor at St. Thomas assured me that I wouldn't have to pay for my visit, and then apologetically informed me that the prescription she was writing for me would cost £7.85, as if she expected me to blow up over such a small cost! She then apologized for the "long wait" (as I looked at her incredulously). I got the same apology at the pharmacy. While in the waiting room at Urgent Care, so many people were complaining to the receptionist and passing doctors about the wait, but to be honest with you, I've experience similar waits at the emergency room at home (and I had blood gushing out of my nose), with nowhere near the level of service and care I got at St. Thomas (and of course at much greater cost... and yes, I do have insurance). I'm still a bit blown away by the whole thing.


I've heard lots of people say "well, they have such high taxes, that's how they pay for it!" but when my fiance and I actually sat down and compared our tax burden (hey, we've been Skyping for over two years, you run out of stuff to talk about eventually), we found out that it was about the same. The real difference in is sales tax/VAT: My sales tax is 10%, his VAT is 20%. But I have to pay for insurance, which costs me about $160 per month (and my employer much more than that). So I would have to spend about $1,600 on taxable items (twice the amount of my disposable income) for the difference between my sales tax and his VAT to be more than what I pay in insurance each month. In other words, if you add my health insurance in... I pay more than he does. And I get less. Unlike what most Brits seem to think, insurance does not pay for everything. Just walking in the door costs me $50. I get a little chuckle every time I tell a Brit friend of mine about how a colonoscopy cost me $500 (they either assume I don't have insurance or just sit there looking shocked). The real problem is back then, I could afford that... now, I couldn't. As a result, I pay $160 per month for something I can't afford to use but can't afford to be without. This isn't something the British have to worry about.


While it wasn't much fun spending a couple hours of my vacation in hospital, I walked away kind of glad for the experience. I really wish we could have something like the NHS in the States. When my fiance and I got engaged, we decided that we were going to live in the US. He loves Chicago, and work and my community came into the decision as well. But I'm starting to wonder if I should've considered living in England a bit more. In all likelihood, we will probably end up moving there eventually, once he's had his fill of living here. Healthcare is definitely one reason we'd go back.

Sorry... I'm kind of new here, so I don't know if this is the right place for this sort of thing, but I'm trying to dive into this community and all that. It's a personal story, but it's political, as well.
Also sorry for the length. I never met a word that couldn't be made better by pairing it with about seven more
I recently returned from a trip to the UK to visit my fiance, during which we spent a few days in London visiting friends of mine. While there, an odd thing happened: I had a panic attack on the Tube. I'd always been a nervous flyer, but hadn't ever had issues on normal public transportation, and never in my life had a full-on panic attack. It just came out of nowhere, and I had no idea how to deal with it.

Despite every instinct in my body telling me otherwise, we went to the hospital.

I sat in the waiting room at A&E (emergency room) thinking of all the horrible things I'd heard about the NHS... wait times, rudeness, and so forth. But I have to say, it was the best experience I have ever had in a hospital. I was checked out within 10 minutes (keep in mind, this is in the middle of London, walking distance from the Houses of Parliament), and the nurse took great care to help me and keep me calm (I was still panicky and having difficulty controlling my breathing). I was transferred to Urgent Care (as I expected) and yes, I had to wait an hour there, but this was no issue to me as I was more than happy to let the people with broken limbs and in pain go ahead of me. The doctor was the most patient, caring doctor I've ever seen. I am so used to being rushed by doctors back in the US, who are just interested in the physical symptoms without any care to hear the details leading up to the issue at hand, but this doctor stopped me, made me go back, and asked me very detailed, very good questions. Knowing I was new to the NHS system, she took the time to explain it to me and tell me where I could go if I had another attack during my trip, or just had questions or felt the need to talk to someone. Doctors in the US I've seen, by contrast, will barely give you the time of day because it would cost them five seconds. (As a result I've developed a deep opposition to going to the clinic or hospital, even when I probably really should.)

The doctor at St. Thomas assured me that I wouldn't have to pay for my visit, and then apologetically informed me that the prescription she was writing for me would cost £7.85, as if she expected me to blow up over such a small cost! She then apologized for the "long wait" (as I looked at her incredulously). I got the same apology at the pharmacy. While in the waiting room at Urgent Care, so many people were complaining to the receptionist and passing doctors about the wait, but to be honest with you, I've experience similar waits at the emergency room at home (and I had blood gushing out of my nose), with nowhere near the level of service and care I got at St. Thomas (and of course at much greater cost... and yes, I do have insurance). I'm still a bit blown away by the whole thing.


I've heard lots of people say "well, they have such high taxes, that's how they pay for it!" but when my fiance and I actually sat down and compared our tax burden (hey, we've been Skyping for over two years, you run out of stuff to talk about eventually), we found out that it was about the same. The real difference in is sales tax/VAT: My sales tax is 10%, his VAT is 20%. But I have to pay for insurance, which costs me about $160 per month (and my employer much more than that). So I would have to spend about $1,600 on taxable items (twice the amount of my disposable income) for the difference between my sales tax and his VAT to be more than what I pay in insurance each month. In other words, if you add my health insurance in... I pay more than he does. And I get less. Unlike what most Brits seem to think, insurance does not pay for everything. Just walking in the door costs me $50. I get a little chuckle every time I tell a Brit friend of mine about how a colonoscopy cost me $500 (they either assume I don't have insurance or just sit there looking shocked). The real problem is back then, I could afford that... now, I couldn't. As a result, I pay $160 per month for something I can't afford to use but can't afford to be without. This isn't something the British have to worry about.


While it wasn't much fun spending a couple hours of my vacation in hospital, I walked away kind of glad for the experience. I really wish we could have something like the NHS in the States. When my fiance and I got engaged, we decided that we were going to live in the US. He loves Chicago, and work and my community came into the decision as well. But I'm starting to wonder if I should've considered living in England a bit more. In all likelihood, we will probably end up moving there eventually, once he's had his fill of living here. Healthcare is definitely one reason we'd go back.

Eh, I'm lazy tonight and getting squiffy on a nice California red while I'm cooking a frittata. Yes, I enjoy cooking for my beloved because if I don't, he will go in search of strange.
You're welcome! Fewer/less is one of my bugbears.

I get what everyone's saying, but telling people in this situation to relax is kind of like telling a depressed person to "just cheer up".
Thanks for trying but please understand, you've made it to the point we all want to be at. It's much easier for you to even contemplate the concept of relaxing. Myself and mine, we just started this, and there are a million things, mostly related to money and timing, that make it nearly impossible to relax. Because of money reasons (and how little vacation time we get in the US), there is a really good chance we won't get to see each other until I'm picking him up from the airport, K-1 in hand, and who on earth knows when that'll be? That sort of changes the equation a little. There's so many little things to add to the stress, like working your Skype time around two schedules that are 6 hours apart, or trying to figure out when his house should be put on the market, or worrying about what he's going to do for a job when his work contract ends in August (unlikely we'll have our NOA2 by then), or reading about how we just got assigned what is apparently the slowest processing center. No housework to do, no garden to tend, and trust me, I'm already memorizing the next step and creating checklists (itself another stressor; you have to admit this stuff is pretty intimidating).
I'm not saying this because I think I'm winning some sort of pity contest here or that your journey wasn't as difficult as ours might be. I'm saying it so that you'll understand what this looks like to others who don't have the hard part in their rearview mirror yet.

I get what everyone's saying, but telling people in this situation to relax is kind of like telling a depressed person to "just cheer up".
Thanks for trying but please understand, you've made it to the point we all want to be at. It's much easier for you to even contemplate the concept of relaxing. Myself and mine, we just started this, and there are a million things, mostly related to money and timing, that make it nearly impossible to relax. Because of money reasons (and how little vacation time we get in the US), there is a really good chance we won't get to see each other until I'm picking him up from the airport, K-1 in hand, and who on earth knows when that'll be? That sort of changes the equation a little. There's so many little things to add to the stress, like working your Skype time around two schedules that are 6 hours apart, or trying to figure out when his house should be put on the market, or worrying about what he's going to do for a job when his work contract ends in August (unlikely we'll have our NOA2 by then), or reading about how we just got assigned what is apparently the slowest processing center. No housework to do, no garden to tend, and trust me, I'm already memorizing the next step and creating checklists (itself another stressor; you have to admit this stuff is pretty intimidating).
I'm not saying this because I think I'm winning some sort of pity contest here or that your journey wasn't as difficult as ours might be. I'm saying it so that you'll understand what this looks like to others who don't have the hard part in their rearview mirror yet.

I get what everyone's saying, but telling people in this situation to relax is kind of like telling a depressed person to "just cheer up".
Thanks for trying but please understand, you've made it to the point we all want to be at. It's much easier for you to even contemplate the concept of relaxing. Myself and mine, we just started this, and there are a million things, mostly related to money and timing, that make it nearly impossible to relax. Because of money reasons (and how little vacation time we get in the US), there is a really good chance we won't get to see each other until I'm picking him up from the airport, K-1 in hand, and who on earth knows when that'll be? That sort of changes the equation a little. There's so many little things to add to the stress, like working your Skype time around two schedules that are 6 hours apart, or trying to figure out when his house should be put on the market, or worrying about what he's going to do for a job when his work contract ends in August (unlikely we'll have our NOA2 by then), or reading about how we just got assigned what is apparently the slowest processing center. No housework to do, no garden to tend, and trust me, I'm already memorizing the next step and creating checklists (itself another stressor; you have to admit this stuff is pretty intimidating).
I'm not saying this because I think I'm winning some sort of pity contest here or that your journey wasn't as difficult as ours might be. I'm saying it so that you'll understand what this looks like to others who don't have the hard part in their rearview mirror yet.

I get what everyone's saying, but telling people in this situation to relax is kind of like telling a depressed person to "just cheer up".
Thanks for trying but please understand, you've made it to the point we all want to be at. It's much easier for you to even contemplate the concept of relaxing. Myself and mine, we just started this, and there are a million things, mostly related to money and timing, that make it nearly impossible to relax. Because of money reasons (and how little vacation time we get in the US), there is a really good chance we won't get to see each other until I'm picking him up from the airport, K-1 in hand, and who on earth knows when that'll be? That sort of changes the equation a little. There's so many little things to add to the stress, like working your Skype time around two schedules that are 6 hours apart, or trying to figure out when his house should be put on the market, or worrying about what he's going to do for a job when his work contract ends in August (unlikely we'll have our NOA2 by then), or reading about how we just got assigned what is apparently the slowest processing center. No housework to do, no garden to tend, and trust me, I'm already memorizing the next step and creating checklists (itself another stressor; you have to admit this stuff is pretty intimidating).
I'm not saying this because I think I'm winning some sort of pity contest here or that your journey wasn't as difficult as ours might be. I'm saying it so that you'll understand what this looks like to others who don't have the hard part in their rearview mirror yet.