whoot

i think i may have got it. then again, i had it fixed this morning, and by this afternoon, all the changes were gone.

hmm... wish me luck?

:o)

*anger*

getting my haloscan comments onto blogspot should be easy, right? well it's not. my anger is strong.

figure it out

here's the scoop in the world of immigration and emmigration.*

giving credit where it's due, danielle thought it'd be worth trying to do a three-way call between me and the immigration office in Mississauga.

well, it worked. i got answers. our application has once again been sent away, this time to canada, and i've faxed the receipt from the medical gerry had to do, so that it can be included in our application.

what kind of time are we talking about here? well, not to get my or anyone else's hopes up, but it looks like 37 days for the canada bit, and then everything gets sent to london (isn't that where it just was?) where gerry's medical will be waiting for us, and probably an interview of some sort. the london leg will probably take 3 months.

so, my job search will still happen. my last day is june 1st at my current job, and i have to say that my manager has been super wicked about the whole thing. i probably shouldn't go into detail, so yeah: really great.

that's the news.

* special thanks to kenji for giving the 888 number a call for me... and then trying again because it was busy. again.

confirmation

•garlic officially makes me farty. just in case there was any question regarding that.

•i should never be left alone in a house, especially one in the country. it's messing with my nerves. big time.

•table quizzes rock. we were ahead for a good part of the game, but the nerd team beat us on the cartoon round, and took the final by 1/2 point. i had a great time, and i think we're going to make a habit of it. besides since we were winning at 1/2 time, we got a free round of drinks. whoot to dat bizness.

up up

sometimes i think life is like a pro-con list. it can be a really hard choice in deciding if things are going well, badly, or if's just kind of even. you know, sometimes i feel like i truly am a lucky person, but on the other hand, there are these huge periods of pure pain and suffering.

yesterday the application for gerry to become a permanent resident was sent back. there was no real information with it, just one number that only works from canada, and three others that are no longer in service. not that helpful when trying to call from any where not within canada... i mean, like what did they think, only people living in canada want to be there? the london office was closed, so i had to wait to get even less information from the automated answering service. then i called the embassy in dublin...they don't do visas, etc. there, but the woman (who i *finally got after playing the 'guess what button to press to actually speak to a person' game) told me that despite everything online saying to send everything to london, that somewhere there is one comment that says except if you're applying for common-law sponsorship; then you have to send it to mississauga. and no, she can't give me a number to call, but she can give me an email address, and someone will probably get back to me within 48 hours.

let me tell you this. if i hear another person in canada talk about immigrants, and blah blah blah i will freak out at them worse than ever before. if you can manage to get into canada... work away.

so, as it takes at least 1 month to get your application even looked at, our return home has become very much delayed.

after some (lots) of discussion, gerry and i have decided that if we can't be in canada by october, we will be waiting until after christmas (*breathe*) to go. am i upset? very. in fact, very very very. i'm heartbroken. is it the best decision for me? who knows. but as a unit, this is the decision. mind you, if all this gets sorted in two months, you'd better believe i will be booking flights to catch the last of the summer rays.

taking all this into account and because my work screwed me on my vacation, i've given my notice and will now be looking for work somewhere else. i have no idea what i will do next, but as of june 1, i will not be working where i do now. i have given a letter to my supervisor, who i can pretty much guarantee will be shocked. once she reads it, probably tomorrow morning, things might change; i may leave sooner, but as far as i know, they like me there so i might not be pushed out the door.

so, a lot of changes, plans and life stuff.

but on the pro side of all this is that this morning, when i came into work and checked www.canucks.com i covered my eyes with my hands, and said: please please please. it worked! canucks are in round 2! whoot! maybe i can try that move on other things!

i miss canada more than hockey

bad news with the moving to canada plan. i came home and saw a big envelope with a canadian high commision stamp on it and despite the risk of peeing my pants, thought: huh! that's a really big receipt...maybe they sent us a copy of our application too! well, instead they sent back our whole application and a cover letter with a bunch of numbers to call that aren't in service.

needless to say, i'm gutted and am not enjoying this at all. my eczema on my eyelids is also upset.

i miss hockey

the canucks are doing so well. i really really really wish we got the cbc here. last year's withdrawals weren't too bad, cause the pain was over quickly. this year? totally sad to have missed trev's game winning goal. boo urns to me.

we could get hockey if we subscribed to senatanta sports, but we'd have to sign up for a year, and as you all know, ideally i will be watching hockey at home next year.

i'll have to make do with my canucks emails and listening to the games after i already know the scores.

until next time.

the irish elk

it is neither irish, nor an elk.

how's that for confusing?

trouble in paradise

small issue. i can't seem to get haloscan to work on my website anymore. if you have any tips, let me know. until then... no comments from the peanut gallery. boo urns.

300

we just saw 300. i liked it. i enjoyed the comicbookness of it; i wasn't sure that i would, but whoot. i did. the fighting was cool.

ta da!!

canada day

today gerry called and wished me a happy canada day. needless to say, i was confused and a little disappointed that the man couldn't remember that Canada Day is july 1. *gosh*

two big canada-related things happened today.

1. gerry's computer finally got here. ian broke it in january and had to bring it back to canada so it could get fixed under the warranty. it's taken this long to get here...mostly because it was sent by boat.

2. (this is the big one for me) we *finally* sent off our application for gerry to become a permanent resident. all of the forms are filled. the boxes are checked. the pictures of me looking extra anemic have been paper clipped. the special cheque, for a very special amount of money was sent (think multiple furlas...dear lord, did i just say that?!). we are hoping that in 3 months the results of our hard efforts will be paid off. well, to be honest, i'm hoping that we hear from them and (if we need one) get an interview even sooner, and have the results of all that bizness in three months.

oh! in other exciting news, i worked out here for the first time in AGES. i decided enough was enough when a pair of jeans were scandalously tight, and when a pair of pants that were falling off me when i moved here fit just right... okay, a bit tight pulling them up over my bum, but once on, the perfect fit. so, despite desperate to quit after 5 mins. on the elliptical machine, i stuck it out for 30 (breaking the gym rule of only 20 mins on machines during peak periods).

i was rewarded with a crazy gym story right away!!! here goes:

i was on the elliptical machine for 10-15 mins, and there was one open machine to my right, and then 5 to my left. a girl decided that there were no obvious space issues and hopped on the one to my right. and then she started doing a weird-o work-out! she was kind of tipping over to each side of the machine. well, she was on level 1 and straight line. and then she was kind of dancing/tipping over to the sides. in fact she hit me a couple of times. not like on the head or anything, but as she was dipping to the side (matilda suggests if you know you need extra space, perhaps you should choose a machine with more space-i hear ya, sistah!) she would kind of brush up against me. in any case: WEIRD-O!!!

zut alors!

for some reason i can't post my pics. i will try to figure it out tomorrow.

picture perfect

so, i entered the queen's photo contest. you know, the one where you can win return flights from toronto and a cruise around ireland and scotland. i'm hoping they wouldn't mind doing just a one-way flight, if i were to win. if not, and we can't just do the cruise... well, maybe i can give it away! i don't want to count my chickens before they hatch... i'm just sayin' is all.

i had to make do with the photos i have here... so not that many. i have some great photos at home that i would have rather used, but what's a girl to do?

i entered 3 of the 4 categories. people, places/buildings, flora/fauna. i'll post the pics now. *please* don't think that i think these are the greatest photos ever. let me just say that sometimes the greatest photos ever don't win, and i'm interested in the prizes. :o)

my idol

as many of you may know, i've taken to watching crap television during my time in ireland. this includes american idol.

i actually think that with some recent celebrity 'coaching' (this includes a performance and some guidance as well as lots of advertising for their new tours/albums/shows) this show is becoming more ... hmmm ... like a singing show, and less of a competition. what i mean is that it appears to be starting to appeal to different people on a different level. not just old people who wish they had been singers or 12 year olds. in any case, it's started to have some younger stars on the show. this week was gwen stefani, which was way more fun than rod stewart. and i think it's opening the show up to people who wouldn't watch it normally. a good marketing move, and thankfully it also lets me have more fun in my indulgence.

whoot.