Monotony

August is really no better than July was for depressing events. Alberto was deported this month last year, his birthday was last week, and I have a baby shower to go to. I’m happy for my cousin, this is her first baby after all, but honestly I thought Ashley would have a little brother or sister on the way by now at the very least. My baby-fever is awful and unfortunately there is no cure that I can partake of when I’m 2000 miles away from my husband. It’s probably not as bad for me as it is for others given that I know I am capable of having children, but still my coworkers are waddling and dammit I want to waddle too!

Ashley’s birthday is just around the corner and I haven’t gotten my plans for her party smoothed out. It never occurred to me just how much of a disadvantage it was to have a birthday in August. She isn’t in Preschool anymore so I don’t have an easy way to contact her friends and the ones I have been able to get ahold of so far are going to be on vacation the weekend that Ashley’s party is set to take place on. I’ve decided that a bowling party would be the best option for this year; the price for the party is per child and includes pizza and pop, 1 hour of bowling, bowling shoes, 1 hour in the party room, and I only have to pay for the kids that show up. Pretty sweet deal if I do say so myself. It makes me sad to know that Ashley will be starting Kindergarten and Alberto is going to miss that milestone too.

Operation Unwilling Expat has started rolling. I’ve discovered there is a non-profit organization in Mexico City that is partnered with the company I work for currently; however I am not ready to make contact to ask if they would be interested in a pasty-white employee from Minnesota. I’ve looked for the LinkedIn profiles of the team members listed on the website, and registered to connect with the ones I was able to find. We’ll just have to wait and see if they’re curious about why a USC from the frozen north would want to connect with non-profit employees in Mexico. I’ve also expanded my network on LinkedIn to include individuals in other states that are of the same non-profit organization, or employed at companies that I would be interested in working for. I plan on trying to join the for-profit world at some point in my life, if only because the pay is better or the health benefits more affordable. I would love to work at the corporate office of a company like Target or General Mills, both are big companies with their headquarters in Minnesota.

I’ve decided to get a 500GB portable heard drive for now, and may purchase a second hard drive of the same capacity at a later date. The idea is I’m going to begin scanning and archiving all of my papers. I will recycle the papers via the shred-it bins at work except for the few documents that I need the certified copies of, like our birth certificates and marriage certificate. Once I have the portable hard drive, I’ll start bringing in small stacks of paperwork in with me day. I’ll need to create a document cataloging system so I can find what I need without searching everywhere for it. It’s something I need to think about for a few days before I come up with something workable, chances are I’ll set up an Excel database that names each document with a brief description of the contents if necessary.

Yesterday I emailed Lance and company to see if they had an infopass appointment set, that way I wouldn’t be asking them constantly if they’ve heard anything new.


To: Lance

I had my reminder this morning that today 45th day since I last talked to USOMB. I can hold off from beginning my newest email campaign, but please let me know when your infopass appointment is scheduled.

Thanks,
Deza


To: Deza

Lindsay is working to find a time for when I am near Bloomington. She is wisely trying to avoid scheduling an appointment that relies on me being on time with a commute.

Sincerely,
Lance


To: Lance

Wise indeed. I remember leaving the house by 7:30 am in order to be there by 9:00 am for our hearings. I don't know why I decided that I needed to be there by 9:00 am when we rarely saw the judge before 10:30 am... Oh wait I remember now - I hoped that the judge would see me sitting there before each hearing and feel just a little bit guilty for the hand he had in this mess. I know at the end Judge Whatshisface would have approved us if he'd had the power to override that joke of a decision.

Let me know when you have something scheduled,
Deza


To: Deza

Unfortunately, appointment times are sparse during the summer and there is a trick to getting an appointment scheduled when Lance is nearby, but not missing a hearing in order to attend. He is currently scheduled for August 26. I am hopeful that Lance will be out of his hearing in time, but I intend to keep checking the calendar to see if another slot opens up, just in case.

Sincerely,
Molly



Hopefully Lance is able to get information at the infopass appointment, at this point any news is better than no news at all. I wonder what courses of action are available to us at this point if the USCIS continues to refuse to do anything constructive with our file.



Ciao