Ladies and Gentlemen. Boys and Girls. Let me begin by apologizing for keeping everyone in the dark for so long. I know that many of you have been checking this blog on a non stop thirty minute basis waiting for this post...waiting for any post that will bring happiness and joy to the cold restless days. Before I get ahead of myself let me express my excitement in telling all of you that Pat and I are "officially" headed to London in less than two weeks! (And we are proud to say that our trip will be legal and we will be traveling in the plane and not under it in UPS boxes). I obviously have to premise what it is that I am talking about. Let's just say that a lot has occurred since my lat post on December 2nd. Since that time, exams have been completed, rooms have been packed and visas have been denied. Oh yes, that right. Visas have been denied. Well maybe I should restate that in the singular since. MY VISA WAS DENIED. Let me break it down for you. I'm not a very long winded writer so I will give you the short version. Having been accepted to the abroad program Pat and I began to look into flights and what not. We figured the earlier you book the better, so we did. After booking flights we were informed that it would be necessary to obtain a Student Visa. No problem, or so we thought. We began the process of applying for the visa but little did we know, there was an invisible clock that went along with it. For example when you finish part X of the application you have Y weeks to complete part Z and when you finished that you had Y weeks to turn it in. Anxious to get all of our material in, Pat and I began at once. By the time we had all of the material together, there was still one document that had not been delivered from London. With the invisible clock ticking we had to turn in the material without the "official" document but with the supporting documents instead. We figured all would be well, but no. No no no no no... this was not the case. The consulate had to have the "official" document and that was the end of it. So I was denied my first visa. So now whenever I apply for a visa, I have to mark "yes" the "have you ever been denied a visa". So for the rest of my life, I have to explain why I could not get a visa and it was all due to slow postage. What is the world coming to. But on second thought, when will i be applying for a visa again? So after pulling teeth and a few very tense moments in the study abroad office, I decided to re-apply with the needed document. In the meantime, Pat was able to get his visa the first time since we caught this problem while his was being processed and the abroad office mailed his "official" document up in time. Having re-applied, I sat tight and prepared to go on a trip that I was not even sure I was going to go on. But I am pleased to tell you that I did receive confirmation on my visa this evening and it is coming in the mail soon. Pat and I are in the packing stage of the trip itinerary. We have been communicating via telly and have had several discussions on how big our travel luggage should be. All i know at this point is that this is going to be an interesting semester. I look forward to posting again soon with further updates. Oh and I did receive a video camera for Christmas and look forward to incorporating it into this blog. Stay Classy US of A. (which includes me and Pat for the time being).
