I have been doing a rediculous amount of stuff lately, but it's all pretty much geared around keeping my mind off the visa situation.
It really hasn't worked.
The only thing keeping me sane at the mo is that there are many, many other people in the same situation as I am. This website has been a real lifesaver. I Know I'm Not Alone!
So since this is about the only thing I can think about these days, I thought I'd add the timeline here, and I'll edit to keep it current as I go along.
Ps - the UKBA service standard says that they complete 75% of applications in 4 weeks... bollox to that! As of 16/05 I've been waiting for 43 days and I'm not even half way through the process!
So Here Tis:
Current vignette: Tier 1 (General)
Date of expiry of current leave (Visa) : 02 May 2012
1. Application posted: 03 Apr 2012 (Royal Mail Special Delivery)
2. Application received at UKBA: 04 Apr 2012
3. Payment debited: 03 May 2012 - day 30
4. Acknowledgement letter received: 09 May 2012 (dated 02 May 2012) - day 36
5. Biometric letter received: 28 May 2012 (dated 23 May 2012) - day 55
6. Biometrics enrolment completed: 28 May 2012 - day 55
7. Passport, Documents and letter of approval received: 20 June 2012 (dated 18 June 2012) - day 78
8. Biometric Residence Permit received: 21 June 2012 - day 79
Date (new) leave to remain valid to: June 2014
DONE AND DUSTED!!!
Wednesday 16 May 2012
Monday 19 March 2012
Living on a knife's edge.
Time for my visa renewal, and as always, drama and panic ensues.
I can't help it, I'm hot-wired for panic. Oh, not when physical danger attacks - then I act. No, I only panic and go to pieces when something attacks me emotionally. No matter how much time I spend trying to understand my triggers, deal with my issues, learn about why I react the way I do, the minute I'm confronted with something that is an emotional sore point, I suffer almost physical paralysis, while the mice in my head run around frantically in increasingly tighter circles.
Gah.
I may not qualify this time around. For the visa I mean. I may, but I may not. I have no idea - yet again - where I'm going to be living in 2 months time. The ground has been whipped out from under my feet and I'm free falling. I read the application notes two months ago and came to the conclusion I qualified. I read them today and discovered I did not. I'm sure they're the same notes. Lots of phone calls to lots of people later and I may have a chance. But I may not.
Shit.
I am slightly prouder of myself this time around though - I'm still reeling, and my heart is still doing intermittent cartwheels, but I'm thinking now. And taking action too. I only spent an hour in blind panic instead of days of it. And I made a decision; all within 12 hours of discovering I had no hope.
Bah.
You know you're alive when you can't breath.
A poem, for perspective, suggested by my adored mother.
ITHACA
When you set out on your journey to Ithaca,
pray that the road is long,
full of adventure, full of knowledge.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the angry Poseidon -- do not fear them:
You will never find such as these on your path,
if your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine
emotion touches your spirit and your body.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the fierce Poseidon you will never encounter,
if you do not carry them within your soul,
if your soul does not set them up before you.
Pray that the road is long.
That the summer mornings are many, when,
with such pleasure, with such joy
you will enter ports seen for the first time;
stop at Phoenician markets,
and purchase fine merchandise,
mother-of-pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
and sensual perfumes of all kinds,
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
visit many Egyptian cities,
to learn and learn from scholars.
Always keep Ithaca in your mind.
To arrive there is your ultimate goal.
But do not hurry the voyage at all.
It is better to let it last for many years;
and to anchor at the island when you are old,
rich with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.
Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage.
Without her you would have never set out on the road.
She has nothing more to give you.
And if you find her poor, Ithaca has not deceived you.
Wise as you have become, with so much experience,
you must already have understood what Ithacas mean.
C.P. Cavafy
I can't help it, I'm hot-wired for panic. Oh, not when physical danger attacks - then I act. No, I only panic and go to pieces when something attacks me emotionally. No matter how much time I spend trying to understand my triggers, deal with my issues, learn about why I react the way I do, the minute I'm confronted with something that is an emotional sore point, I suffer almost physical paralysis, while the mice in my head run around frantically in increasingly tighter circles.
Gah.
I may not qualify this time around. For the visa I mean. I may, but I may not. I have no idea - yet again - where I'm going to be living in 2 months time. The ground has been whipped out from under my feet and I'm free falling. I read the application notes two months ago and came to the conclusion I qualified. I read them today and discovered I did not. I'm sure they're the same notes. Lots of phone calls to lots of people later and I may have a chance. But I may not.
Shit.
I am slightly prouder of myself this time around though - I'm still reeling, and my heart is still doing intermittent cartwheels, but I'm thinking now. And taking action too. I only spent an hour in blind panic instead of days of it. And I made a decision; all within 12 hours of discovering I had no hope.
Bah.
You know you're alive when you can't breath.
A poem, for perspective, suggested by my adored mother.
ITHACA
When you set out on your journey to Ithaca,
pray that the road is long,
full of adventure, full of knowledge.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the angry Poseidon -- do not fear them:
You will never find such as these on your path,
if your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine
emotion touches your spirit and your body.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the fierce Poseidon you will never encounter,
if you do not carry them within your soul,
if your soul does not set them up before you.
Pray that the road is long.
That the summer mornings are many, when,
with such pleasure, with such joy
you will enter ports seen for the first time;
stop at Phoenician markets,
and purchase fine merchandise,
mother-of-pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
and sensual perfumes of all kinds,
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
visit many Egyptian cities,
to learn and learn from scholars.
Always keep Ithaca in your mind.
To arrive there is your ultimate goal.
But do not hurry the voyage at all.
It is better to let it last for many years;
and to anchor at the island when you are old,
rich with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.
Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage.
Without her you would have never set out on the road.
She has nothing more to give you.
And if you find her poor, Ithaca has not deceived you.
Wise as you have become, with so much experience,
you must already have understood what Ithacas mean.
C.P. Cavafy
Wednesday 4 January 2012
The science of nature.
Interesting.
I just finished reading (yesterday) a book on weight loss that advocates food combining and natural hygiene. One of my new years resolutions is to look after my body much better, which has been complaining to me of abuse for over a decade now, and which I have been abysmally ignoring, so weight loss and healthy eating are very much on the agenda.
But what is food combining and natural hygiene, you say? Both are rather controversial, and not at all supported by a lot of the scientific community, but I thougth it was worth a look anyway. If it didn't make sense, there was no way my logical brain would accept it.
Food combining advocates the separation of foods into groups which are easy for your body to digest together. So fruits should not be eaten with anything but other fruit, meat and carbohydrates should not be mixed together in a meal, but meat and veg or carbs and veg are fine.
Natural Hygiene advocates eating the types of foods we are biologically designed to eat, as well as a lot of other stuff. Ie, vegetables and fruits, like the Apes do now. They advocate becoming vegans in other words.
Well, I'm not sure I agree with a lot of what they say. The whole combination thing is complete hooy to my mind and as for Natural Hygiene we've been eating meat since we lived in caves and if we haven't adapted to digest it by now I'd say natural selection would have insured we'd have died out rather than thrive as we have. But they have something in the 'eat as natural as possible and eat as much veg and fruit as possible'. All diets say that.
The thing is, since reading it I now feel completely and very happily justified in chucking milk and dairy. Well, I've been allergic to milk all my life, so that really wasn't a hardship. I've trialled a couple of milk-substitutes recently, and found one based on rice that I quite like, more than I like milk actually, so that determination was rather easy.
And on ordering a salad for lunch today I avoided the meat section of the salad bar. That too was no real hardship; I've always had to make an effort to eat red meat. For a few years I refused to eat it at all, and only really started to 'enjoy' it when I could afford the very top quality cuts, and then only by always slathering them in a large helping of wholegrain mustard. But in the UK you can pay over £30 a kilo ($45 Aus at today's exchange rate, but it used to be a lot higher!) for fillet steak, so I've really cut back. Chicken, yes I eat it regularly, and I do enjoy a good roasted chicken, so I'm not going to give that up any time soon. But fish... well, I eat that only once a year at the most. Doesn't help that I'm allergic to shell fish and bad experiences in that arena have lead to a general distaste for the whole variety.
The whole food combination thing I'm also very suspicious of, but the one thing the book says you really should do, above everything else, is eat fruit for breakfast. I've heard that before too. So I'm going to try it.
Anyway, my problem seems not to be quality, but quantity. My diet is not horrible, but I eat far too much of everything. I eat far too fast and so never recognise when my body is full. I've read in more than one book that the way to lose weight is actually to be come conscious of what you are eating and how much.
So, here is my new eating regime (gleamed from various books, not just the one I finished yesterday!):
1. Eat only fruit for breakfast.
2. Cut out milk and reduce the rest of the dairy section (Very easy and really good for me in terms of my allergies).
3. Avoid processed meat and reduce other meats (Not hard, already done!).
4. Look after my wonderful machine; listen to my body, eat only when I'm hungry, eat slowly, chew each mouthful to liquefaction, stop eating when full, try to exercise daily.
Let's see how long it lasts... :s
I just finished reading (yesterday) a book on weight loss that advocates food combining and natural hygiene. One of my new years resolutions is to look after my body much better, which has been complaining to me of abuse for over a decade now, and which I have been abysmally ignoring, so weight loss and healthy eating are very much on the agenda.
But what is food combining and natural hygiene, you say? Both are rather controversial, and not at all supported by a lot of the scientific community, but I thougth it was worth a look anyway. If it didn't make sense, there was no way my logical brain would accept it.
Food combining advocates the separation of foods into groups which are easy for your body to digest together. So fruits should not be eaten with anything but other fruit, meat and carbohydrates should not be mixed together in a meal, but meat and veg or carbs and veg are fine.
Natural Hygiene advocates eating the types of foods we are biologically designed to eat, as well as a lot of other stuff. Ie, vegetables and fruits, like the Apes do now. They advocate becoming vegans in other words.
Well, I'm not sure I agree with a lot of what they say. The whole combination thing is complete hooy to my mind and as for Natural Hygiene we've been eating meat since we lived in caves and if we haven't adapted to digest it by now I'd say natural selection would have insured we'd have died out rather than thrive as we have. But they have something in the 'eat as natural as possible and eat as much veg and fruit as possible'. All diets say that.
The thing is, since reading it I now feel completely and very happily justified in chucking milk and dairy. Well, I've been allergic to milk all my life, so that really wasn't a hardship. I've trialled a couple of milk-substitutes recently, and found one based on rice that I quite like, more than I like milk actually, so that determination was rather easy.
And on ordering a salad for lunch today I avoided the meat section of the salad bar. That too was no real hardship; I've always had to make an effort to eat red meat. For a few years I refused to eat it at all, and only really started to 'enjoy' it when I could afford the very top quality cuts, and then only by always slathering them in a large helping of wholegrain mustard. But in the UK you can pay over £30 a kilo ($45 Aus at today's exchange rate, but it used to be a lot higher!) for fillet steak, so I've really cut back. Chicken, yes I eat it regularly, and I do enjoy a good roasted chicken, so I'm not going to give that up any time soon. But fish... well, I eat that only once a year at the most. Doesn't help that I'm allergic to shell fish and bad experiences in that arena have lead to a general distaste for the whole variety.
The whole food combination thing I'm also very suspicious of, but the one thing the book says you really should do, above everything else, is eat fruit for breakfast. I've heard that before too. So I'm going to try it.
Anyway, my problem seems not to be quality, but quantity. My diet is not horrible, but I eat far too much of everything. I eat far too fast and so never recognise when my body is full. I've read in more than one book that the way to lose weight is actually to be come conscious of what you are eating and how much.
So, here is my new eating regime (gleamed from various books, not just the one I finished yesterday!):
1. Eat only fruit for breakfast.
2. Cut out milk and reduce the rest of the dairy section (Very easy and really good for me in terms of my allergies).
3. Avoid processed meat and reduce other meats (Not hard, already done!).
4. Look after my wonderful machine; listen to my body, eat only when I'm hungry, eat slowly, chew each mouthful to liquefaction, stop eating when full, try to exercise daily.
Let's see how long it lasts... :s
Tuesday 3 January 2012
New Year, New Rules.
This year may herald very big changes for me. It might be the last year I live in England. It might not. The Visa Gods have yet to decide. But regardless of my location, I am determined to make a few changes in my life. I have in the past overcome a couple of good obstacles, but I still have a couple of large ones to be encompassed.
So, my goals for this year are quite all-encompassing:
1. To live within my means, and pay back all I owe.
2. To look after this wonderful machine, my body, and let it become the weight it should be.
3. To experience as much as I can and say yes to new experiences, especially to those things that scare me.
4. To blog about all of my experiences and to finish writing a book. Ie, Write, Re-Write and Submit!
5. To open myself up to finding new friends and love and to learn to enjoy socialising.
Some old, some new. We'll see how we go.
Happy New Year All!
So, my goals for this year are quite all-encompassing:
1. To live within my means, and pay back all I owe.
2. To look after this wonderful machine, my body, and let it become the weight it should be.
3. To experience as much as I can and say yes to new experiences, especially to those things that scare me.
4. To blog about all of my experiences and to finish writing a book. Ie, Write, Re-Write and Submit!
5. To open myself up to finding new friends and love and to learn to enjoy socialising.
Some old, some new. We'll see how we go.
Happy New Year All!
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