• /
    • Archives / September 2004

Archives For September 2004

trip from the forebrain

September 7, 2004 — Leave a comment

sometime in the next coupe of months we have to shell out another $500 to the USCIS, to begin my green card application process, this doesn`t include a medical which becomes invalid after one year; bearing in mind that the processing time on this application is two years, i`m going to have to spend this money twice. i also have to apply for advance parole which will theoretically allow me to leave the country; but which they also don`t advise because i may not be able to re-enter the country should i leave anyway.

is anyone sensing a pattern here? good.

in the interim, i`ll probably have to renew my current visa and work authorisation, more money, isn`t this fun, my passport also expires next year, which opens the possibility of having to start a whole new set of applications when i get it renewed.

i`m thrilled to be able to be here with vic. there is no amount of money in the world that can be used to put a value on the joy of being able to share my life with vic, but the bureaucracy just frustrates me so. that and the needless expense. vic and i would like to buy a house in the near future, we have debt to clear up, we don`t need to be throwing money at the government, if we don`t have to.

In personal , , ,
 permalink

which God exactly?

September 3, 2004 — Leave a comment

with careful deliberation i tried to avoid the empty rhetoric of both conventions. in a season of empty promises, political conventions are loudest and emptiest.

however this morning, i happened to catch a bit of a recap from the just concluded RNC on NPR and i heard quite possibly the most idiotic utterance in my entire life. comedian Lewis Black has a sketch about the sort of utterances that cause aneurysms, i think this is one of them:

A vote for Republicans is a vote for God

so my question is which God is this?

no this is a serious question. let`s take into account the diversity of the current US population, the basic possibilities are myriad. Jewish, Moslem; although with this administration that`s almost suicidal; Hindu, Buddhist and last but not least Christian, and even they get sub-divided, because i`m pretty sure the Southern Baptist don`t believe they share the same god with the Catholics. and what about the agnostics and pagans and the atheists that want to vote Republican, doesn`t that raise some sort of philosophical conundrum? or is there something i`m missing? and i`m not even getting into the separation of Church and state argument.

what continues to frighten me, is that people where cheering. no one went, hmmmm, something is wrong with this statement. i mean wrong at a fundamental level. this election campaign becomes more and more divisive with every passing day and idiotic statements like that don`t help.

In opinions ,
 permalink

albuquerque travelogue

September 3, 2004

apropos a title as any.

last night we took the boychick to see weird al. his birthday is on Monday, so this was part of his birthday present. he was thrilled, we didn`t tell him where we were going until we got there and he didn`t find out who it was until we sat down. he was thrilled, i think we earned a boatload of cool parent points last night.

i think this holiday weekend is appropriately titled, there is going to be a lot of labour involved. we`re driving to my mother in law`s this evening after work to start painting the walls of the play room.

an aside about painting; i love house painting, i think it`s one of the most relaxing things in the world, it`s one of those zen things for me.  in relaxation terms, it`s right up there with doing laundry for me. last weekend while we there i painted the ceiling, i`m tall enough and the ceiling was low enough for me to just stand there with the brush and get it done, this weekend we`re doing the walls. i`ve joked if i became independently wealthy, i`d probably paint houses and pump gas to pass my days. the pumping gas is another tale.

on saturday, we`re off to my brother in law`s for his annual lakeside labour day soiree and then back to my mother in law`s to finish painting the room on sunday. on sunday evening or early monday, we`re back home and there are supposed to be a parade of people through the house to celebrate the actual date of the the boychick`s birth.

this weekend is going to be exciting to say the least. i hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable weekend with special thoughts to the people in Fl.

In entertainment, personal , , ,
 permalink

this is the fashion police! step away from the ugly clothes and come out appropriately attired.

September 2, 2004 — Leave a comment

i live in Nashville; which aside from the cowboy chic and the usually bad fashion sense of college students dressing themselves away from home for the first time; seems to have a pretty well defined sense of style.

i haven`t had very many scary moments since i`ve been here and that`s good. i however get a sense once you pass a certain size, clothing manufacturers believe that your sense of style is superseded by an overwhelming desire to hide your; obviously disgusting, quivering; flesh in whatever is closest at hand. that is the only explanation that passes for the hideous, overpriced monstrosities that pass for big and tall clothing.

i have this problem with pants. it`s damn near impossible for me to find a pair of pants that fit. i`ve said this before and i will say it until my dying day, i have a huge ass, i inherited it from my mother and passed it on to my children. all the weight i`ve gained in the last eight years have accumulated on my stomach; front not sides; and proportionally on my ass, although for it`s size and mass, it`s still quite firm.

i have a couple of jeans, some pants and suit that fits well. the pants and the jeans are from old navy, yet strangely when i went back to the store, tried on the same size and style they no long fit. i have eventually settled for some generic pants i picked up in target. they fit, but only if i`m standing or sitting, in motion there is a strange pucker in the crotch that is more embarrassing than obscene. i may just have to resort to getting measured and having my tailor reproduce the best fitting pair of pant i own, which he incidentally made.

In personal , , ,
 permalink