I don't want to work, so...
I know, I know. It's sad that it takes a bored, tired Tuesday morning where I simply don't want to start running around after people before I take the time to update my livejournal with genuine life stuff. Oh geez, it even looks like I didn't post a proper summation of my last holiday! Well stand by for information, coz here goes!
OK, so my holiday in May was fantastic - for obvious reasons. Thanks to all who sent congratulations in various forms. :) The day after I proposed (coz I cleverly asked quite late in the evening!) Lisa spent practically the whole day on the phone - the poor girl had pretty much lost her voice the next day! But we had a nice celebratory meal out with Lisa's sister and her friend, and I had a chat with Lisa's Dad and he was very kind and supportive. A quick summary of other things that I did on holiday - I found the Champions League final on ESPN2 ("The Dos"?) and was very happy when United won - Lisa and I even had a little celebration. Um... we went and had engagement photos taken in a really lovely botannical garden in Austin, and Lisa's friend Cynthia did an expert job with the photos - so expert the garden security staff had her sign a bunch of forms and "stickered" her coz they thought she was a professional! We watched the new Indiana Jones film - which was ok, but... aliens? Really? And we just chilled and chatted a lot, which was very nice. Oh, and we went out twice with Lisa's coworkers - once to the office summer party in a park, and once to a barbecue restaurant in Lockhart, Tx - very tasty. I think that's everything...
And since then, life has become full of decisions and complications! :P Not in a bad way - well not really. Everything I do now is filled with hope and promise for the future that I want. And I am absolutely 100% confident that it'll work out brilliantly. It's just gonna take a bit of work to get there, and maybe make some quite difficult decisions along the way. I'll explain a little, because to go in depth would literally take me the rest of the day!
As those who have ever tried will know, there are tons of different ways to get into the United States. Sadly not many of them actually work! At the moment there are three options open to myself and my fiance (which, by the way, I love saying!):
1. Spousal visa - we get married somewhere, then fill in forms to get me to move to the US as Lisa's husband. Upside - no timing pressure on the wedding. Downside - we'd spend a while as husband and wife living in different countries.
2. Fiance visa - we fill in forms so I can move to the US as Lisa's fiance, then we have 3 months to get married, then we apply for changing status. Upside - we will be able to live together as husband and wife from the get-go. Downside - it takes a while, and the wedding would have to be organised in a bit of a rush.
3. Work visa - I get a job in the US. Now that one's a bit tricky, coz work visa's are impossible to get. Literally impossible. There is a tiny quota for the year and they all disappear on the first day they are released. And then you wait another 12 months! But there are ways to do it if you're clever. You join a US company in the UK, work for them in the UK for a year, then do a company transfer (which is governed by some different rules) and move to the US office. This I've looked at, and at present I have a couple of companies that I'm interviewing with, with this in mind. One I had an interview with last Friday (which I stuffed up pretty bad!) and one which is proceeding very well, and I will be having a second interview with *in America* at the end of this month. Upside - company pay for the move, no time pressure on the wedding, no gap in my income!. Downside - probably the longest of the options before I get to move to the US. Still have to apply for spousal visa when I get to the US (I think).
So we're considering all of the above, whilst also doing some thinking about the wedding we'd like (and battling to get the wedding we'd like, rather than the wedding Lisa's mother and/or sister would like!). The most talked about plan at present (everything subject to change) is a getting married in a botannical garden in Chicago, followed by a small reception and then a meal out in the evening. Much talk of dresses and cakes and invitations has been had - and I'm surprised at how right it all feels. I thought talking about my own wedding would be weird, but I like it - I actually surprised Lisa by how much I want to be involved. Check me out - new age man extraordinaire! :P
To sum up - whilst life isn't straight forward, I am *very* pleased at how it's shaping up. :D I'd finish off this entry by promising to update more often but... eh, you wouldn't believe me even if I did! So I'll just say hope all is well with you'se peoples and I'll write more... eventually. ;)
OK, so my holiday in May was fantastic - for obvious reasons. Thanks to all who sent congratulations in various forms. :) The day after I proposed (coz I cleverly asked quite late in the evening!) Lisa spent practically the whole day on the phone - the poor girl had pretty much lost her voice the next day! But we had a nice celebratory meal out with Lisa's sister and her friend, and I had a chat with Lisa's Dad and he was very kind and supportive. A quick summary of other things that I did on holiday - I found the Champions League final on ESPN2 ("The Dos"?) and was very happy when United won - Lisa and I even had a little celebration. Um... we went and had engagement photos taken in a really lovely botannical garden in Austin, and Lisa's friend Cynthia did an expert job with the photos - so expert the garden security staff had her sign a bunch of forms and "stickered" her coz they thought she was a professional! We watched the new Indiana Jones film - which was ok, but... aliens? Really? And we just chilled and chatted a lot, which was very nice. Oh, and we went out twice with Lisa's coworkers - once to the office summer party in a park, and once to a barbecue restaurant in Lockhart, Tx - very tasty. I think that's everything...
And since then, life has become full of decisions and complications! :P Not in a bad way - well not really. Everything I do now is filled with hope and promise for the future that I want. And I am absolutely 100% confident that it'll work out brilliantly. It's just gonna take a bit of work to get there, and maybe make some quite difficult decisions along the way. I'll explain a little, because to go in depth would literally take me the rest of the day!
As those who have ever tried will know, there are tons of different ways to get into the United States. Sadly not many of them actually work! At the moment there are three options open to myself and my fiance (which, by the way, I love saying!):
1. Spousal visa - we get married somewhere, then fill in forms to get me to move to the US as Lisa's husband. Upside - no timing pressure on the wedding. Downside - we'd spend a while as husband and wife living in different countries.
2. Fiance visa - we fill in forms so I can move to the US as Lisa's fiance, then we have 3 months to get married, then we apply for changing status. Upside - we will be able to live together as husband and wife from the get-go. Downside - it takes a while, and the wedding would have to be organised in a bit of a rush.
3. Work visa - I get a job in the US. Now that one's a bit tricky, coz work visa's are impossible to get. Literally impossible. There is a tiny quota for the year and they all disappear on the first day they are released. And then you wait another 12 months! But there are ways to do it if you're clever. You join a US company in the UK, work for them in the UK for a year, then do a company transfer (which is governed by some different rules) and move to the US office. This I've looked at, and at present I have a couple of companies that I'm interviewing with, with this in mind. One I had an interview with last Friday (which I stuffed up pretty bad!) and one which is proceeding very well, and I will be having a second interview with *in America* at the end of this month. Upside - company pay for the move, no time pressure on the wedding, no gap in my income!. Downside - probably the longest of the options before I get to move to the US. Still have to apply for spousal visa when I get to the US (I think).
So we're considering all of the above, whilst also doing some thinking about the wedding we'd like (and battling to get the wedding we'd like, rather than the wedding Lisa's mother and/or sister would like!). The most talked about plan at present (everything subject to change) is a getting married in a botannical garden in Chicago, followed by a small reception and then a meal out in the evening. Much talk of dresses and cakes and invitations has been had - and I'm surprised at how right it all feels. I thought talking about my own wedding would be weird, but I like it - I actually surprised Lisa by how much I want to be involved. Check me out - new age man extraordinaire! :P
To sum up - whilst life isn't straight forward, I am *very* pleased at how it's shaping up. :D I'd finish off this entry by promising to update more often but... eh, you wouldn't believe me even if I did! So I'll just say hope all is well with you'se peoples and I'll write more... eventually. ;)