Well, with the possibility of Obama being elected, we are feeling more hopeful, and thinking of staying put. This makes me sad, as I have always wanted to live abroad, but if he wins, I won't feel such an impulse to flee as I do now.
If he loses, we have already agreed, the application process goes back into full swing.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Spinning our Wheels
Darwin Falls, Death Valley, USA, in honor of the only Australian city to be bombed during WWII, Darwin.
Well, we have had setbacks and advances. We have been working on the CV, but I have done my editing, and J has to flesh it out more before I do more editing. I do not know what I have to do, other than keep my current mania somewhat under control. I spent to much in a manic spree last month, just when we were going to try to save for our trip to do a "recce" as the Brits who are considering going to Australia call it.
It looks as if we have enough AMEX points saved to buy a companion ticket on Quantas for under $500, which will probably save us 3 times that amount.
We had a vacation in Death Valley (hence, the picture above) that was more stressful than it was relaxing. A lot of mishaps. We came home to reckon with enormous bills, but also to realize we were a lot close to pulling ourselves out of it than we had feared.
For this reason, we decided to finally pay an assessment fee to MigrationExpert.com to get a basic assessment of where we stand, how far we are from doing what we want to do, what kind of money we must save, etc.
I'm getting excited again!
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Curriculum Vitae
We have been working on J's Curriculum Vitae. This has caused a lot of sturm und drang for him, as he has recounted to me again and again all the regrets of his life. This must be a mid-30s thing (oooh, I am such a bitch). I am happy, and that is all I can ask of life at this point. I know I am lucky to have that much.
J's enthusiasm for the move has grown as our government and economy has shown greater and greater signs of weakness. We were at Costco today, discussing DVD players (ours is so old it no longer will play the new DVDs with their stupid DMCA protections), and agreed we wanted to spend less than $100, as we did not plan to be using it for long. I am so thrilled hie wants to do this.
I am trying to choose an emigration service. So far Migrationexpert.com is in the lead. I think we have a straight-forward application from a skills standpoint, but not from a health standpoint. I wish my interests were considered a skill. I feel like I have found my calling in Doggie Daycare, it is kind of pathetic.
I have to send the letter to my old shrink asking him to help me discharge my law school debts. I did end up contacting a few of my employees, neither of whom had records of employment back to my time there. Heavy sigh. I think that I will try to forgo any further attempt to establish a record unless I have to.
The picture above is a photo of the oil painting J got me of Violet for my birthday.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Off my chest
Things I worry about:
That we won't have enough money
That we will piss off our family
That we will be rejected for health reasons
That we are misinterpreting how points are counted, and are not really eligible for a visa
That Violet will die in transit
That I will have a depressive or mixed episode right after we move
That there will be some kind of catastrophe where we lose touch with our families because of the distance
That we won't have enough money
That we will piss off our family
That we will be rejected for health reasons
That we are misinterpreting how points are counted, and are not really eligible for a visa
That Violet will die in transit
That I will have a depressive or mixed episode right after we move
That there will be some kind of catastrophe where we lose touch with our families because of the distance
Increments of progress
J is starting to pull his CV together. I am happily surprised, because I was beginning to wonder if he was actually going to go through with this. I printed out the information on the Australian Computing Society, which has to evaluate his qualifications. I also printed out a hard copy of the application, just to see where I was going to have questions. We cannot lodge the application until J receives his evaluation from the ACS, and therefore have a little time to research some of the answers.
Oh, and in really good news, both for his career and emigration, he coded an algorithym that is going to get patented, he will be listed as a co-inventor! That ought to punch up his application for skills recognition from the ACS.
One part of the application says to list every country in which you lived a total of 12 months or more in the last 10 years, but then also says you must go back to age 16. On the one hand, this is not a problem for either of us, as neither of us has lived outside of the country; it on the face of it appears that we just put the dates of our presence in this country, and our current (i.e. most recent) address. But, perhaps we are supposed to list every address from the age of 16? That actually is not a problem, not nearly as difficult as getting evidence of employment, but I just am unclear as to which way I am supposed to do it, and I don't want to delay the application over something stupid like that.
I think we are definitely going to get some help lodging this application. We will wait until J is certified. From the health requirements statute, it appears we are going to be subject to review, as we both have "serious" conditions, but are not automatically excluded (I know I keep saying that, I am just trying to reassure myself, I guess).
Oh, and this is cute. For the first time, J said he didn't think we should get a piece of electronics because we didn't know where we would be in a year. Ha. The first time he has actually indicated to me in his words and actions that he truly believes we might live in a foreign country soon. That made me so happy.
We decided to buy it anyway, just a cheap DVD player. Our old one is perfectly good, but the stupid encryption on the newer DVDs means they won't play in our old player. How is that for a total ripoff? And we don't want to have to play any of our DVDs or CDs in copyright protected equipment unless we really have to, as we don't want to lose "fair" use on any of our computers or players. Stupid DMCA. These are just Netflix DVDs, and we don't even plan to play them more than once, but now we have to buy a new player.
In my rather desultory research on the petcare industry in Australia, I am finding that it looks rather like the Bay Area did in 2001; I think we would be moving there are a really good time to market my skills, even though they are not traditionally sought by the Australian goverment, or listed on their Shortage lists. It is of course an urban job, but we would pretty much have to live in an urban area area.
I spent a nerve wracking afternoon on Monday going over the immigration and computer accreditation sites AGAIN, because there was a change in the laws yesterday; one of the skilled trade streams was made ineligible. At first, I wasn't sure if we were in an affected stream, and it took me some parsing and going through some annoying PDFs to remind myself that J's field is considered a "profession," and not a "trade." I wonder if they consider law a trade or a profession.
Anyway, J also became convinced that he had to have an IT degree to meet the minimum qualifications, and I was almost certain he did not. But he showed me the language he thought said he had to, and I could understand why he thought that; it was ambiguous. I found further language both on the ACS site itself, and on the Government immigration site that makes us pretty certain that however they decide to credit his undergraduate degree, he will still score the requisite points through work experience.
I know how to parse statutes, of course. But part of me worries that there is some magical Australian twist of which I am unaware.
Of course, this unexpected change in the law is just another kick in the ass for us to get moving. It could change in anyway at anytime, and only once we have an application lodged do changes no longer affect us.
This is going to be expensive. Ugh.
Tomorrow, I am also going to call Emma Willard before I leave for my appointment, so that I can ask for proof of employment. I guess I also need to ask Shady Side, but I am not sure as to how that would work, since I was a substitute teacher (both short and long term, but mostly short term). After that, I need to figure out what to do about Waldenbooks. I tried two different Borders company emails, and both bounced back. Sigh.
Eep. I just realized I have totally been repressing that I have to contact the Mattress Factory. Oh well, it is just for proof I worked there, it isn't like they can say anything negative about me without breaking the law. Frankly, they never said anything negative to me at the time they fired me, other than "Well, it isn't working out." That is probably a very good way of firing someone, you can fire someone for any reason, as long as it isn't illegal (i.e., discriminatory), and that is a pretty general statement. They don't have to say *what* isn't working out, although I suspect they thought I was insubordinate. Which I definitely was, I was under the impression that I was a department head, and allowed to argue my side. The reason I was under this impression was because my title was "Director of Education." Apparently, that meant "secretary" in Mattress Factory speak.
Oh, and in really good news, both for his career and emigration, he coded an algorithym that is going to get patented, he will be listed as a co-inventor! That ought to punch up his application for skills recognition from the ACS.
One part of the application says to list every country in which you lived a total of 12 months or more in the last 10 years, but then also says you must go back to age 16. On the one hand, this is not a problem for either of us, as neither of us has lived outside of the country; it on the face of it appears that we just put the dates of our presence in this country, and our current (i.e. most recent) address. But, perhaps we are supposed to list every address from the age of 16? That actually is not a problem, not nearly as difficult as getting evidence of employment, but I just am unclear as to which way I am supposed to do it, and I don't want to delay the application over something stupid like that.
I think we are definitely going to get some help lodging this application. We will wait until J is certified. From the health requirements statute, it appears we are going to be subject to review, as we both have "serious" conditions, but are not automatically excluded (I know I keep saying that, I am just trying to reassure myself, I guess).
Oh, and this is cute. For the first time, J said he didn't think we should get a piece of electronics because we didn't know where we would be in a year. Ha. The first time he has actually indicated to me in his words and actions that he truly believes we might live in a foreign country soon. That made me so happy.
We decided to buy it anyway, just a cheap DVD player. Our old one is perfectly good, but the stupid encryption on the newer DVDs means they won't play in our old player. How is that for a total ripoff? And we don't want to have to play any of our DVDs or CDs in copyright protected equipment unless we really have to, as we don't want to lose "fair" use on any of our computers or players. Stupid DMCA. These are just Netflix DVDs, and we don't even plan to play them more than once, but now we have to buy a new player.
In my rather desultory research on the petcare industry in Australia, I am finding that it looks rather like the Bay Area did in 2001; I think we would be moving there are a really good time to market my skills, even though they are not traditionally sought by the Australian goverment, or listed on their Shortage lists. It is of course an urban job, but we would pretty much have to live in an urban area area.
I spent a nerve wracking afternoon on Monday going over the immigration and computer accreditation sites AGAIN, because there was a change in the laws yesterday; one of the skilled trade streams was made ineligible. At first, I wasn't sure if we were in an affected stream, and it took me some parsing and going through some annoying PDFs to remind myself that J's field is considered a "profession," and not a "trade." I wonder if they consider law a trade or a profession.
Anyway, J also became convinced that he had to have an IT degree to meet the minimum qualifications, and I was almost certain he did not. But he showed me the language he thought said he had to, and I could understand why he thought that; it was ambiguous. I found further language both on the ACS site itself, and on the Government immigration site that makes us pretty certain that however they decide to credit his undergraduate degree, he will still score the requisite points through work experience.
I know how to parse statutes, of course. But part of me worries that there is some magical Australian twist of which I am unaware.
Of course, this unexpected change in the law is just another kick in the ass for us to get moving. It could change in anyway at anytime, and only once we have an application lodged do changes no longer affect us.
This is going to be expensive. Ugh.
Tomorrow, I am also going to call Emma Willard before I leave for my appointment, so that I can ask for proof of employment. I guess I also need to ask Shady Side, but I am not sure as to how that would work, since I was a substitute teacher (both short and long term, but mostly short term). After that, I need to figure out what to do about Waldenbooks. I tried two different Borders company emails, and both bounced back. Sigh.
Eep. I just realized I have totally been repressing that I have to contact the Mattress Factory. Oh well, it is just for proof I worked there, it isn't like they can say anything negative about me without breaking the law. Frankly, they never said anything negative to me at the time they fired me, other than "Well, it isn't working out." That is probably a very good way of firing someone, you can fire someone for any reason, as long as it isn't illegal (i.e., discriminatory), and that is a pretty general statement. They don't have to say *what* isn't working out, although I suspect they thought I was insubordinate. Which I definitely was, I was under the impression that I was a department head, and allowed to argue my side. The reason I was under this impression was because my title was "Director of Education." Apparently, that meant "secretary" in Mattress Factory speak.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
And we're off...
Well, the new point system came out for Australia over the weekend. The changes *definitely* benefited us. The catch is, I turn 44 on Tuesday, and we have to lodge the completed application before I turn 45.
J needs to have his computer skills assessed by the Australian Computing Society, but their website doesn't load. How typical is that? Maybe I just need to try it in Safari or IE instead of Firefox, but you would think they would be prepared for a widely used browser.
I am beginning to think that it would be worth it to hire a migration agent; we both have complications with our health, which I do not think will ultimately be barriers, but which will add paperwork to our application. It looks like it would cost us between 3-5k to hire someone, and that seems totally worth it to me. That may even be in Australian dollars, which would be cheaper than US dollars.
I also priced a plane ticket using the American Express travel site, and it looks like we can get us both to several cities (Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, and possibly even Wellington) for a total of around $2,500, because I have enough points for a cheap companion ticket.
The big obstacle now is that J has to do some real work: He has to pull his CV together, and contact his computer related employers. The Australia application is actually less detailed than the Canadian one, and we only have to account for our whereabouts for the last 10 years.
I am going to try to figure out a few questions to ask, and call the Australian Consulate in San Francisco this week. I just am not sure where to start. I know J has to do his CV, and contact the ACS for evaluation before we can fill out the application, but I am not sure what else we will need.
This is going to be a tough obstacle; if I can get J through this, we will be in high gear, but this CV is going to be a struggle for him, I think. I wish I could help him more with it, but I don't understand anything he does.
J needs to have his computer skills assessed by the Australian Computing Society, but their website doesn't load. How typical is that? Maybe I just need to try it in Safari or IE instead of Firefox, but you would think they would be prepared for a widely used browser.
I am beginning to think that it would be worth it to hire a migration agent; we both have complications with our health, which I do not think will ultimately be barriers, but which will add paperwork to our application. It looks like it would cost us between 3-5k to hire someone, and that seems totally worth it to me. That may even be in Australian dollars, which would be cheaper than US dollars.
I also priced a plane ticket using the American Express travel site, and it looks like we can get us both to several cities (Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, and possibly even Wellington) for a total of around $2,500, because I have enough points for a cheap companion ticket.
The big obstacle now is that J has to do some real work: He has to pull his CV together, and contact his computer related employers. The Australia application is actually less detailed than the Canadian one, and we only have to account for our whereabouts for the last 10 years.
I am going to try to figure out a few questions to ask, and call the Australian Consulate in San Francisco this week. I just am not sure where to start. I know J has to do his CV, and contact the ACS for evaluation before we can fill out the application, but I am not sure what else we will need.
This is going to be a tough obstacle; if I can get J through this, we will be in high gear, but this CV is going to be a struggle for him, I think. I wish I could help him more with it, but I don't understand anything he does.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Back in the Saddle
Well, the weekend was kind of an emotional wipeout. I ended up chatting with D about Australia and NZ quite a bit, and she is really pushing NZ, and kind of insisting we visit there while we are out there in the Spring.
I keep forgetting to call Harvard before 5pm EST, hopefully I will remember tomorrow.
Now I need to help J with his list of locations since the age of 18. I actually am not sure whether he was 17 or 18 when he started college.
I also need to start contacting employers for proof of employment. That should be fun. First the American Museum of Natural History, then Emma Willard, and then we will move on from there.
It is okay to take a bit of a pause right now, but we need to be back at full steam by the end of the month, if we are going to be realistic about visiting Australia next year.
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