Site of the happy couple
Today was the day for our interview and we arrived to the USCIS just on time. Although I knew I had all the paperwork (and all the copies) I was still slightly nervous. That was unwarranted, since we had a very nice ex-navy man doing the interview. He was just formal enough, and I was a tad surprised that he swore us in before we started. But he wanted the the whole truth and nothing but the truth, and that was what he got.
Now I have to wait for that plastic card…
As an annual tradition (this is the second time) Denice and I go out with the US Navy when they are here for Seattle Seafair. This year we went with the frigate USS Rentz. It was a much smaller ship than USS Chung-Hoon, which we sailed on last year, but the weather was unbelievable. I was in shorts and t-shirt from early morning until afternoon. OK, it was a bit chilly as we were hading north into the wind, but going the other way… Man, it was like a vacation.
In the end they did cook us a big barbecue on deck, and although it was good it was not like last year. But I’m up for going boating again next year.
Originally uploaded by Henrik
Some days are made for sailing. Tuesday was one of those days. Denice and I had business in Everett, and what a luck that our boat is moored there as well. The day was f-a-n-t-a-s-t-i-c. Warm, sun, clear blue skies and wind!
Although it’s only our third or fourth sailing trip together I cannot get over how Denice seems to be born to sail. She steers great, catching the wind just right, learns new things very fast and seems to have no fear of things most people fear when they are new to sailing. That is “tipping over” among other things.
Pretty soon I’ll be able to just sit back and have her do all the sailing.
After waiting for over a month I finally have my interview booked for the US Customs and Immigration Services (www.uscis.gov). That means that I am on my way for the next step in getting that coveted green card. And so far all is good.
But some things surprise me. After having sent in all that paperwork, taking massive amounts of photocopies and all that they request that we bring the originals and copies to the appointment, just in case they want yet another copy of any of the documents. I think that is such waste of time and resources, and think that USCIS should just have a scanner there and scan any documents they want to keep aspare copy of. That way it could easily be attached to my file and used by anybody who needs to work on my case. But I know that is pie-in-the sky thinking, so I’m just going to start getting all those copies now. I have about 2 months to do it.
As happens every year a couple days into July, Kula becomes more clingy than ever. She doesn’t like most loud noises, pops, the dryer buzzer, or typical bangs and she hates firecrackers. So she’s always underfoot and needy for the first week of July. Fireworks are exploding right now and she’s in the bedroom in her usual place (under the bed) with Henrik. He’s watching Independence Day and I’m making homemade chocolate butterscotch ice cream. We had the usual 4th of July bbq and went for a nice walk at the beach. Pawka is sleeping through the whole affair. If you got to blow up any signs with your M80s, hope you had fun.
Henrik and his tennis partner Melena won the 2007 Slamorama held in Mazama in May. My partner and I lost both of our games. Here’s a picture of that celebratory moment. We’ve been playing more since we got back home and are playing much better than in May. So we have higher hopes for May 2008. By the way, they need more female players. Ability isn’t the most important thing, it’s a great way to have some fun and exercise. And there is a trophy! So if you want to go next year let us know.
