VISA!!!

So I have finally thankfully gotten my visa code. Now I need to call and schedule an interview for this week and finalize some plans to get down to Atlanta. I do have questions for them about how soon I will have my visa stamp so I can let the school coordinator know. I also received a welcome packet which gave me a slight shock when I read I may be paying rent BEFORE I get a paycheck. I don't believe I will really be able to do that so I need to let my coordinator know and see what can be done about it. As far as everything else goes it is mostly in order. I bought my plane ticket (thank you hunni), bought luggage and a few bathroom items I'm picky about and have really and truly started the process of getting rid of things. I had a slight scare when I got an aim message about a friend of mine being in the hospital after getting hit by a car but I went to see her last night and she is doing okay thank gahd.

It still doesn't quite seem real that in less than 2 weeks I'll be on a flight that will take me across the globe and into a place where English isn't even close to the major language. I'm excited and nervous to all hell but it will be an adventure. I've been in my comfort zone for most of my life. Dating Leon has actually done something that could possibly help though. Getting used to the stares. Leon and I get stared at quite a bit, especially when we go into places that are Vietnamese. Or like this past weekend when we went out and I got two schools of black guys who either a) think Leon is the man or b) ask why can't I find a black man to satusfy my needs and such.

Perhaps there will be stares and gawks and leers but oh well. Nothing worse than I get over here already...

Visa run

So I got an email back from CDI's coordinator about my visa code being sent to me within the next few days. Now that I can see it is going to be cutting it a bit close with getting my visa and flying out I'm wondering how long it will take. The consulate in Atlanta is the closest to me though it is still a good 4-5hr drive one way. I had considered flying out from Atlanta and just staying in a hotel somewhere down there but after more thought I really want to leave from my own city so I can say goodbye to family and friends. Not too mention the fact that Leon's job flies him out of town before then so if I am gone before he gets back then the last time I will see him for 6-7months is the July4th weekend. No good for me. The ticket isn't any cheaper from Atlanta it's just the fact that I would be driving back and forth so much.

So I have a question from you all out there. Did you go to get your visa from the consulate or did you have yours mailed to you? If you had it mailed to you how long did it take? As it stands I might not have my visa code until July1st and I need it to be in my passport by July11th so I can fly out July12th. Now I definitely have no time to plan for a new job. I'm going to be too busy trying to pack and possibly driving a total of 16hrs to get a visa stamp in which case I'm getting there, putting in the paperwork and driving right back home. The consulate opens up at 9am so if I get on the road by 5am my time I can be in there by 10am, do the damn thing and hopefully be back on the road home by 1pm before I hit Atlanta's god awful rush HOURS traffic. I do have a friend living about 45mins from Atlanta that I could possibly stay with if need be. I need to give her a call and figure out what the hell I'm going to do.

Gettin' ready

So with only about 2.5weeks left before I leave i have pretty much given up on finding a temp assignment for extra income and have instead started focusing on visiting family, cleaning my mom's house and buying/packing all my needed items. I've gone onto many forums and other blogs trying to figure out exactly what other people packed when they moved, especially comfort foods. I'm not too picky when it comes to food actually. However I do have a few foods I love to always have on hand for the quick "oops I forgot to eat today" moments I have on occasion when I'm busy. But I have decided on a few food items I'll be packing:

• taco seasoning
• packaged oatmeal
• peanut butter/jelly
• hot cocoa
• soyjoy bars

Other things I'm wondering about are clothes and shoes of course. I'm a big time jeans/t-shirt girl and so going business casual is a bit of a change for me. I've also lost a bit of weight so getting new clothes is a must. I'm also not sure if I'll easily find shoes my size (8.5-9) so I want to make sure I don't have to have my mom send me a million items I didn't think I needed. I also am making sure to stock up on bathroom items such as deodorant and toothpaste. I'm not too particular about shampoo/conditioner, and I rarely wear make-up so perhaps I'll worry about those when the time comes. For now though I need to actually buy luggage and figure out how to fit all this into suitcases and separate what to donate to Goodwill.That doesn't even include my shoes or bathroom items...what a long way to go...

Meh...and such

'Meh' is something I find myself saying many times a day. Especially on days where time has seemed to creep by. I can no longer sleep past 8am so I usually get most of my chores and errands done by noon. Today was no exception. I was awoken by the garbage truck a little after 8am and figured I'd get an early start on my errands. Went by work...well my ex-work since I no longer receive any hours to work and then met my mom at her job for an early lunch of chicken, tomato and green pepper pizza...so yummy. After taking a couple boxes from her work I went to the post office to mail some books i sold online. Stopped by my great grandmother's house and then came home hoping to find my visa confirmation in my email. No dice. So still waiting for that.

In not so happy news my mother is trying to get me to consider pushing my departure date until August for financial reasons. I'm not too sure if that is even possible. I doubt my finances would be any better a month later, especially not with having to pay for gas. And since I am currently out of work I want to get up and out as soon as possible. I may have everything ready (ie. flight, luggage, other needed items) by the end of the weekend, though I'm a bit iffy on accepting that source of financial input. Though since it is just for my pride's sake I should make it shut up and accept the kind gesture. If not I may find myself still sitting here in a month's time...

RIP Jazz Walker November 1994-June2008

Sigh...

So tomorrow is pretty much my last day at work. After almost a year of working my manager(who I have been feeling likes me less and less) gave me absolutely NO hours for work next week. Despite the fact that my official last day was supposed to be July1. Awesome. Then again I have been growing tired of the never ending workplace drama. And I want more time to spend with Leon and my family BUUUUUUUT nothing can be accomplished without money...which I no longer have...for anything. Maybe I should do a few amateur nights in our small red light district.

Another worry for me is my dog's declining health. Tonight out of no where he can barely walk, crazy discharge, listless...it is very distressing to me. My dog is 14yrs old. The reason I haven't thought about taking him(other than him weighing 70lbs) is because I don't want him to get stressed because of his age. I've had my dog, Jazz, since he was a fat little puppy. I know that pets don't live as long as people but i never ever really gave thought to my dog not being around. Even though he is sick now I still can't imagine Jazz not being there. It's amazing how animals become such an important part of your life.

Waiting Game

So I am now entering into the last stages of booking flights, getting my visa, truly realizing I have waaaay too much stuff and agonizing over buying luggage. I'm currently waiting for my visa confirmation so I can go to the Korean Consulate in Atlanta for my mini-interview and visa stamp. The process got off to a bit of a rough start. I had sent all of my paperwork back in late May I believe but the pictures I had sent were too big. I thought by passport sized photos they meant photos the size of my passport. However I found out that they meant the normal passport photos. But thankfully I could just scan and email the coordinator my photos. Then came the news from immigration that my transcript did not have a stamp on the back flap. I guess it is to prove that I haven't opened and tampered with my transcripts. Still it was annoying to have to resend. So now I have all my documents in and I am just waiting for my visa code...

...waiting...

...I hate waiting...

Late night musings...

So after another 2+ hour conversation with my boyfriend I have once again learned the great concept of compromise. Sometimes being in a relationship where you and the other are from completely different cultures can make things very difficult and a tad confusing. Especially if there is a slight language barrier. There are times when what my boyfriend says just throws me for a loop and I sit staring at him or the phone wondering "what in the hell???" And there are other times, like a few days ago, when instead of just telling me something straight out he will talk in circles leaving me at 'Z' when the true meaning of it was somewhere just shy of 'F'.

There are other times when he knows that he has totally confused me and without me saying anything he scrambles with a "wait, don't think, let me say it another way" or when he is unsure altogether and I tell him in his own language to just spit it out.

And then there are times when I can look at him and see when he is mad, upset or flat out bored or when he looks at me he can tell my thoughts are running in circles through my brain. We don't completely understand each other, he is a fairly traditional Vietnamese man and I am a pretty untraditional African-American woman, but that's what makes it fun. Crazy, with a bit of a headache thrown in, but still fun. And even before the end of the day it is definitely worth it.

Now I remember...

So today I went to church for the first time in a loooooong ass time. Now let me just say I have no problem with people going to and enjoying their church experience. Having faith in something is very important and comforting for millions of people, especially in times of stress or sorrow. However, some of the things preached and said in the churches I have visited have caused me to avoid going to church and wishing I hadn't wasted my time as a child.

Looking through diaries from my much younger days(I'm talking about back in like 1996 when I was only 11yrs old) shook up old memories from when i was a child. I can now say for sure that I hated boys for the most part and thought they were only useful on the soccer field. I can also say I was a closet militant southern baptist. Some of the things I wrote, "homosexuals will burn in hell" "those that don't believe in GOD are heathens" etc. just make me tear up. I can barely remember those times so I don't know if those things are what I truly believed in or if they were part of what I had been taught and went with blindly. This militant time was followed by a time of sexual orientation confusion. Suddenly I was wondering if i was the very thing I had preached against. But how could that be if God made me? He made me to go to hell and suffer?

After that time I began to actually read the bible for myself and really listen to what the preachers were saying and thinking about what those sayings meant to me and others. Some of the things that had been preached truly sounded like borderline hate speech. Now I'm not saying that all preachers are bad or having your own opinion is bad. However when things are being stated against peoples who have had so much pain and suffering...case in point today.

Today we had a small celebration for 2008 graduates at church(which is why I went). A deacon stood to say some words to us that completely threw me for a loop. Almost word for word he stated that the tragedies that have occurred in Myanmar(which he stated was in India???), India and China were the consequences of believing in Buddhism and Confucianism rather than the "only" true and living God. He then went on to state that because the USA is a "true" Christian state (aka not Catholic, Mormon, etc.) we young people have not been faced with tragedies such as the earthquake that struck Chengdu and the countless typhoons of Asia that kill hundreds of thousands and misplace millions. It is also why we young americans have the chance to go to college and get a degree. So basically if Asian countries want to stop being devastated then they should believe only in God.

I honestly almost walked out right then. I could not believe that someone would use those tragedies as a platform to prove that Christianity is the true religion of the world. I honestly likened it to saying that because our African ancestors believed in multiple and perhaps no god then they brought slavery and death onto themselves. I wanted to ask him if he believed this once church was over. If he believed that our people deserved to be taken from their homes, killed, sold, beaten, separated from their families, raped, shot and hung because they had previously believed in so-called heathen gods.

I believe everyone is entitled to believe what they like as long as it does not violate someone else's rights. However, views like these are one reason why I have continued to stay away from any church that states that THEIR religion is THE religion.

Faith is too important to too many people to play this my God is better than your God game.

Blah blah blah...

Oh life, how much you frustrate the hell out of me. My sore throat finally went away after almost 3weeks. Waking up with a dry throat and no voice is definitely no fun. Then again, I haven't gotten much sleep in the past few days as it is. Work hours have definitely been seeing a steady increase thank gahd. Still looking to have a temp assignment sometime but I think I have begun to give up slightly. Now I'm just being domestic and doing laundry, dishes and using my insomnia to become Betty f-n Crocker. I made four cakes last night, 2 chocolate and two coconut. My future kids will love when mommy can't sleep. Free goodies.

Yeah I had in my mind what I would write about and now it's just GONE. Though it is fun to sit here and talk politics with my korean friend. He told me he recently bought an Obama magnet for his fridge. I didn't even know you could get them...there goes my brain again. Perhaps the lack of sleep is catching up to me. I remember when I used to be able to survive off of 2hrs of sleep a day for weeks...I think I am getting old...