Bits and pieces

I am relieved to discover that J has so many points for Canada, that receiving PR is just a long wait, and otherwise we should have no trouble. Well, that is, if we get his seizures under control. On the other hand, it takes the pressure off of us a bit about the fact we aren't sure what Australia will have to say about *my* health, as well as his.

I *really* want to go overseas, this is purely irrational desire on my part, it is just something I have always wanted to do ever since I was a little girl. Canada is definitely another country, and we definitely feel like it a saner place to live, but I feel like it isn't as much of an adventure.

If we went to Oz, there are a only few small pieces of furniture I would take: the antique bible stand (do you know how hard it is to find a bible stand that doesn't cost $400). Also, the little set of Art Deco shelves I refinished. Possibly our wine racks, since they are bulky but quite light. We might move just the head and foot of our bed, even though it is heavy. It is a very cool Eames era cast iron one we got from eBay and made our own frame for. We can just make another frame when we get to whatever place. But that is it.

Oh, damn, and I need to work on that little Mission night stand I bought like two years ago to refinish. But that is actually the smallest piece of furniture I have mentioned so far, so not that much more.

Well, as you know, I would much prefer Australia to Canada. The good news is J still wants to go ahead with that trip, so hurray for that. Now we have to figure out how many days he has of vacation, and if we need to cancel the desert trip or not.

Of course, my wildest fantasy is to live in England, in a small village or town near a rail link to London. Bliss. But I do realize that the economy is shaky, and there is all sorts of tension between the Muslim and Anglican communities. I was surprised at how many women I saw wearing both hijabs and abayas in London. Although most of the teenagers we saw were just in hijabs, and jeans. And the surveillance overkill is part of the reason we want to get out of the US, so the UK isn't an answer to that.

D pointed out to me that going to the Red Center in February or early March might be a hellacious experience, and of course, I forgot, it is summer there. So we may just do the Great Ocean Rd. (along the southern coast, approximately between Adelaide and Melbourne) as the "vacation" part of the trip. We could fly into Adelaide, take the G.O. Road to Melbourne, and by then, J wouldn't be so jet-lagged and could interview.

So, Thursday night I spent two hours printing out the Canadian Immigration forms, and we definitely need toner.

I have read through all the handbooks once, but I think I am going to do it a few times more to really get more of a feel for the way things work. The law school rule of thumb was to read something enough to know it, you need to read it three times. Unless you were really confused, then more.

The biggest bitch is going to be going back over every month since we were 18. We have to account for our where abouts, what we were doing (studying, working, unemployed). And if we were studying or working, we need written proof from the places that we attended/worked at. Theoretically, I need my supervisor for any and all jobs to write on letterhead that I worked for them, and one of their business cards. Um, I have no idea how I am going to find some of these people. They do say if you can't provide the info, to explain in detail why not; I suspect I will have to use that a few times.

That list will take some time to work on, so that is the next thing we will probably be doing. J also has to send to Rutgers for a sealed transcript.

We have to apply through Buffalo since we are trying for permanent residency. That is a little annoying, as there are offices in LA and Seattle. But we can do the interview in LA or Seattle. I think maybe we should choose Seattle, because I've never been, and J has been there one day on behalf of Silicon Genetics: his flight was at 7am, his business meeting was at 12pm, his flight home was at 6pm. He didn't get to see much.