bear with me, this is going to read like an oscar acceptance speech.
i want to thank the pantheon of deities, the prayers, the sacrificial offerings, the support, the kind words. whatever you offered during the last two years to keep me/us focussed.
thank you all. my friends and family who put up with my whining and panic attacks, those of you who provided monetary contributions, shelter and transportation. a thousand thank yous.
i`m a little overwhelmed right now. so all i can say is thanks to everyone who helped.
i`m heading back to jamaica tomorrow and i`ll update you on the intended schedule.
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immigration
you know under other circumstances i might just enjoy this kind of treatment. at least i get to find out how unwell i am.
i`ve started typing this at home, well what i`m call home for the duration of the visit. i`ll probably update while i sit and wait at the dr`s office.
if i remember correctly, there are blood and urine samples to be given, xrays and then a general medical. maybe i can ask about the back pain, i`m paying out the nostrils for this, might as well make it worth the while. actually the back pain has been reduced to dull ache, i have full range of movement once again but the surprise nature and intensity of the pain requires investigation.
so here i sit at the clinic and i`m hearing murmurs that have me vaguely uneasy. the clinic doesn`t do their own blood work and there are at least two people who were here yesterday that have to return tomorrow for their lab results, this does not fill me with great joy, i really can`t afford another day away from my job, especially in light of the bomb i`m about to drop. added to which the lease on my apartment is up on saturday, meaning i have to be packed up, laundered and completely ready to move by friday. i can`t do that if i`m still here. besides i don`t have the wardrobe or the finances and this sitting around staring at the four wall is driving me crazy.
the number of people here to do their medical today is considerably less than when i was here the last time, so i`m hoping that`s in my favour in terms of getting them back on time, there are only four of us, thus far. as i type this, i`ve already peed in the cup and given some of my blood, i still have the xray and the physical. they dr that does the physical just walked in, boding well for an exit before midday.
this is an interesting concept for a journal entry, a live capsule report, well it wont be live by the time you`ve read it but the ability to sit here and type this. there are no starbucks for me to just sit and suck up bandwidth, so i have to rely on the kindness of strangers [said in my best scarlett o`hara, but they`re not really strangers either] to get internet access. the nice thing however is that i have a network setting on the laptop called `whore` which basically lets me plug into any ethernet connection and share in that network connect. the joys of os x and dhcp, ain`t technology grand.
all this time on my hands, has given me an opportunity to do some admin work on the laptop, delete some apps that i haven`t been using, repair my permissions and try to clean up the dupes in my mp3 collection. it`s a work in progress. with close to 25Gb of audio files it`s easy to get side-tracked. and on another tangent, i need to find an app that allows me to write and save journal entries offline. i`m typing this in ijournal, which supports js through the lj protocols, but it doesn`t save my offline entries, so i have to copy them into text edit, just ensure that i have a copy. i`d rather a more finessed solution.
the xrays have started and the first person is in having theirs done, it`s the same doc that does the physical, hmmmm, does this mean i`m going to have to wait for all the xrays to be done first, then the physicals?
nope. different person doing the physical. very nice bedside manner. my blood pressure is high, i`m overweight but two pounds lighter than i was a week ago. i`m not sure how much of the blood pressure is related to this whole exercise but for someone from a hypertensive family, it`s something for me to worry about.
i got jabbed with four needles for my troubles [MMR, Polio, etc vaccination updates] and had to pee with a guy watching me. thank god for PC muscle control.
so, i`m done and a lot poorer for it. i had to pay extra for a vaccination update and a drug test. do the math, $155, $85, $60, all prices quoted in US$.
but it`s over, i go back in the morning to pick up my results and deliver them onto the embassy. i foresee another long morning but that`s it, it`s over and done.
i managed to find and internet cafe where i can use my laptop, which is cool. now i can post this epic, check my mail, do damage control with the office.
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immigration, medical
so the day is done and i`m still in barbados sans visa.
it`s approved, but if accepted it today, i would have to be on us soil by midnight tomorrow when my medical expires.
so i`m off in the morning to do my medical. again. meaning i`m going to be here for another three day.
medical in the morning, return to the embassy the following day, fly back to jamaica the day after that.
at which point, i need to hand in my resignation, clean out my current apartment and get the fuck out of dodge.
thank you for all the good wishes, support and prayers. hopefully vic and i will be together march 16, latest.
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immigration
and it being me, i could not have arrive here [barbados for those of you who came in late] without some drama. i left home early got to the airport on time but getting out of the car, as i turned from taking my bag out, i experienced a pain heretofore unheard of. it`s a lancing pain at the base of my spine and if i sit still for too long i have trouble rising again.
i manage to teeter to the check-in desk like some prematurely old man, relying on all the exercises i developed to deal with the pain of getting inked, they worked, just barely. i struggled aboard the plane, sat through most of the flight, pulling myself up when needs be. i`ve figured out the posture that causes me the least pain by now, it`s mostly just hunched over.
but aside from the paroxysms of pain, it`s been quite uneventful, i didn`t get much shit at either the immigration or customs desk and divagirl was outside to meet me, i`m staying at her apt, in the company of her two cats who are sitting next to me as i type this. there`s no phone line, but i have a bed, a shower and a kitchen, i am content.
there have been noises about a soiree tonight, but unless something spectacular happens with my back, i`m not sure how up to that i am.
making great use of the technology at hand, i have a couple books i can get through over the next two days, both text and audio and i have my trust firewire drive ensuring i have a diverse range of music at my fingertips.
sunday afternoon update
i did go out eventually last night, had a blast, got home at some ungodly hour and slept most of the day away, my back still hurts but not as much as yesterday allowing my pain management techniques to actually be more effective.
tomorrow morning i`m off to the embassy, should be fun right?
it`s 6am, still dark outside. i can look up and see the full moon. today i`m not so worried about being up at this hour, i have to do some cleaning up this morning and in about six and a half hours i`ll be boarding a flight to barbados.
i have everything that was requested, so in theory, all i have to do is show up in the embassy on monday morning and that should be the final step, baring getting on a flight to vic, on this epic three year journey.
i`m excited and anxious, but there is a degree of trepidation, i don`t know how we`d deal with one more thing. we have had a lot of support and we feel blessed for and by it.
i know what i want to say but i`m a bundle of emotions and nervous energy, so i can`t seem to get it out in any coherent form.
i don`t know if i`ll get a chance to do update while i`m in barbados, i`ll try, otherwise i`ll just type them up anyway and post when i return.
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immigration
i`m an associate creative director at a mid size advertising agency.
what that means is attend meetings, come up with ideas, work on them and in some cases pass the job on for completion [actually if i can get rid of my controlling and anal retentive nature i can do my job properly and pass it on to be executed].
it`s an interesting job, i get to do some writing, some layout, supervise photgraphy and i was hoping to do some television production but that`s not likely to happen here. the part of my job that`s the most difficult is client relations. i don`t deal well with them, i tend to say very little in meetings.
i`ve come to realise that ad agency/client meetings are just opportunities for the sort of people who like to have meetings to blow hot air up each other`s ass and apparently my sitting quietly and only making salient comments is considered near genius is these circles. i don`t like meetings for two simple reasons, i`m not particularly sociable; glad handing and not speaking my mind are not my strong suits; the other reason is could be doing something productive. meetings very rarely are productive.
ideally, i work best with clear, concise instructions and limited interruptions and stupid questions. i believe if a client has gone to the trouble of hiring an ad agency, they should basically tell them what they want and get to fuck out of the way. don`t contribute. we do know what`s best for you. that`s why you hired us.
the shit that happened yesterday was annoying for one specific reason, primarily, the client knew what we were doing, he`d been kept in the loop, so don`t wait until 6 hours before deadline to make changes.
i like working under pressure, if you don`t give me a deadline, i`m just going to sitting around and dance around the job, i will work on it, but i won`t give it my full attention until i have a defined timeline. and at that point, i`m going to putting my all into it. my other problem is the tiny changes at the end of the job. there will come a point where i`m just irritated by the project, where the very presence of it on my desk is anathema, which is why i need to work on delegating more. that way i can start, pass it on, may suggestions and clean up at the end if i need to.
this is my third creative director gig, the first one was the most challenging, i was completely out of my element, i had no back up or support, i wrote my first scripts there. i edited my first tv commercial. my baptism by fire. i like a challenge.
this business, particularly, the creative side is driven by ego and force of will, i like to think i`ve not been a complete asshole but i doubt that will stand in a court of law. the only place i tend to exhibit alpha male behaviour is where my designs are involved. i`m not averse to constructive criticism, but `i don`t like it` or making changes to prove your power just sends me into a tizzy. that and the dreaded `just`
there a more nuances to my job, like reading account execs and helping them develop a spine so they can sell your ideas to the client but i need to get ready to head in, i may come back to this at some point
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advertising
i want to scream. how many weeks after the client saw the original layouts, hours before finished artwork goes down to the paper, he decides that he doesn`t like one of the pictures.
it`s not like it`s the first time he saw the image. he saw the layouts and the photography is faithful to the original layout.
what the fuck is that about?
we`re in the middle of trying to pull together a re-shoot this evening. i am not a happy camper. i have a huge fucking headache. i am so pissed.
we need to find models, the photographer isn`t available until 6:30 this evening and when the shoot is over i have to come back and rebuild the ad. i`m not going to be home before midnight at least.
fuck.
i know it`s been said the older you get, the less sleep you need but fucking hell.
i`ve working thirteen hours a day since sunday, coming home tired going to sleep and getting up at some ridiculous hour. it`s not the falling asleep that is the problem. i go to bed, my head hits the pillow and i`m out like a fucking light, but low and behold at some ridiculous hour prior to my usual waking time of 6:30, i`m wide awake. completely, not a chance of rolling over and going back to sleep.
i`m getting at least 5 hours sleep a night, but i`m sensing my body doesn`t want to put up with this shit much longer, i`m more tired everyday. at least today, i`ve pretty much wrapped up with the project, i sent an email before i left last night for all concerned parties to give the once over.
oh fuck, i just remembered i was supposed to email something to the tv guy. this is why i worry about this lack of sleep when i get this tired, i miss the little detail, how could i forget something as important as elements for the tv commercial.
i`m giving this until next tuesday and then i need to find a doctor.
ok, it was uncovered, pierced, brown nipple and if you or your children missed it the first couple of nano-seconds it was on screen, the furore that`s been created around is all but guaranteed that people are going to seek it out now. and based on the bandwidth exceeded messages on servers hosting pictures and clips, people are seeking it out in droves.
why is it such a big deal? because it was the superbowl? give me a fucking chance. the superbowl is nothing more that sanctioned, modern day gladiatorial combat. oh right, violence is ok for the children but sexuality isn`t. my bad. and the droves of scantily clad cheerleaders are obviously on a higher moral plane, please excuse me. this letter just about sums up exactly how hypocritical the stance of the nfl, in particular, is.
i can`t believe how quickly and willing mislead people are. what am i saying? the only reason i was watching the superbowl is because it`s the holy grail of the advertising industry. the year`s best and brightest are supposed to be showcased. it was sadly lacking. but besides the point, it`s an opportunity to sell to gullible masses. it`s just another batch of products.
from the makers of britney, pixelated nipples and down shirt camera shots comes a new take on an old product… hypocrisy and morality. get yours in today in two sizes, sound bite and media overkill.
here`s an idea, maybe one of the myriad male enhancement companies that advertised during the superbowl should actually buy the rights to the clip because it seems to have gotten a rise of out of doddering old men and isn`t that what they`re all about?
the whole furore over this is completely ridiculous, i have children and i can say honestly that they`ve probably caught longer glimpses of their mother`s breasts on the way in or out of the bathroom. granted they aren`t pierced. i`m sure as hell they`re familiar with what they are. the questions are that i`m sure that are being asked now by many a child and will remain unanswered is, why is everyone making such a big fuss?
oh right. pay no attention to the man behind the curtain, there is nothing going on over here. absolutely nothing else going on.
i`m up far too early. it`s begun again. i`ve been getting up at 5am unable to go back to sleep. i lay in the bed, do breathing exercises, think calm thoughts, zip. i just end up laying there and eventually i get up and end up on the computer.
i need all the sleep i can get at this stage, i`m staring down the barrel of another 12 or 13 hour day today and it`s intricate work. i`m tried, perpetually, i haven`t had a full, restive night`s sleep since last wednesday. i wonder why?
i know my body, it`s going to start catching up with me, it already has. coupled with this extremely long week that`s already in progress, my landlady wants to start showing the apartment, which means i need to clean up to some extent. but who wants to sweep after 12 hours in the office. i think i`ve found a nice old lady to clean my apartment this week, get that out of the way, it doesn`t need pre-cleaning, it just needs to be swept and mopped. i keep a fairly clean apartment, i just haven`t felt like doing much of anything lately, hence the need to have someone come in and clean.
i`m tired and my thoughts are jumbled and at this point i need to be able to focus on my adventures today.
