Archives for September 2005

my suitcases, but I just thought I would squeeze in one last post before I leave in the morning. First of all, don’t book at www.besttix.net. I am sorry for getting everybody totally excited about the good deals, but it seems like the website is more like a scam… :( I tried to use my credit card with them, but received a message that the transaction didn’t go through and that I should do a bank wire transfer to a bank branch in Bulgaria :( that kind of rang my alarm bells. It all sounds really weird to me, so I decided to book a flight through another website.

Anyways, the last two days were really busy. Yesterday morning, I started to organize my stuff and then I went over to my aunt’s, because I was going to accompany her to her first counseling session for her depressions. I was positively surprised about the atmosphere at the practice and I really hope that it’ll help her to deal with her emotional problems.
In the afternoon, I was trying to find more flights online and then Thomas called and asked if I was available in the evening. It was kind of short notice, but we decided to go out for dinner. It was great to see him again and we had a really good time :) believe it or not, I do believe that friendship following a relationship is totally possible!

In the morning, I was looking for more flights (since besttix.net didn’t seem to be legitimate) and finally decided for a flight with KLM on www.travelocity.com. I’ll return to Köln on November, 4th.
I also had to go and visit my great-aunt and granddad today and tell them that I am going to fly back to California tomorrow… you can imagine, they didn’t really like the idea, but if they were anything like this: they definitely tried to hide it – which was good because I hate it when they make me feel guilty.

I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening at my sister’s place, because she had agreed to host another tupperware party. I only went for the free gift :) but for my sister it was really worth it… there were quite a few ladies and they all ordered some tupperware products, so that Nina basically got 135 Euros worth of stuff for free!
It was also nice to spend some more time with her before I will leave tomorrow… Nina always takes it to heart when I am gone :(

Well, I could keep rambling about how excited I am that I am finally going to see my honey again tomorrow and that I am also going to see Cathy tomorrow (!)… ahhhh! Did I just say tomorrow :) This seems so unreal, but it’s going to be just awesome! I can’t wait!

I’ll definitely get in touch as soon as I get to Cali… I am going to miss you all, girls! It was so awesome to finally meet you all (only a few more to come :))… and I’ll be back soon :)

I am packing my suitcases, ladies. It’s pretty much final that I’ll be on the plane Friday and I am FLIPPING OUT :) I talked to a lady at the U.S. embassy in Frankfurt today and she basically said that it’s totally ok for me to fly on a tourist waiver as long as my petition is pending. Since I am going to get a return ticket before I go, there shouldn’t be any problem when I go through customs. I also got a reply from a girl on TAUSA who went to the US on a tourist waiver while her K1 petition was in progress and she said that she wasn’t asked any questions at all. So this makes me optimistic…

The best thing about all this: I am going to see and hug Cathy on Friday :) OMG! I had almost given up hope, but now it seems like it’s going to happen… we’ll meet each other in person after knowing each other for 13 years! This is so awesome! :) I don’t know quite yet when and where we’re going to meet, but I am sure we’ll figure something out!

After doing some chores around the house this morning, I went shopping for my great-aunt with my sister and then we had coffee and Apfelstrudel at her apartment [yes, you can say I am having a lot of coffee and pie lately :)] It was nice to spend the afternoon with her and I know that she always likes to have me and my sister around. When I came home I called the embassy and checked out some flights… if you’re looking for good flight deals, I can highly recommend the following website www.besttix.net I found round trips to SFO for under $500!!! This is an awesome deal!
I think I am going to make some dinner for myself and have a cup of tea. Have a nice evening everyone.

which I spent with three of my girlfriends in Bremen :) I took the train to Köln Friday night and met Ilka at one of the Autobahn exits. Since we both hadn’t eaten anything, we decided to have some “greasy fast food” from McDonald’s for dinner. The drive to Bremen was ok, although the many construction areas on the A1 just drove us insane ;)

We made it to Kim’s place safely where we were warmly welcomed by Kim and Sanna. It was so great to see Kim again and it was my first time to meet Sanna, who is just like I had imagined – a very sweet girl :) We had a really fun night chatting and talking till almost 3 a.m.

Since Ilka and Sanna both are allergic to cats, they had the privilege to stay in Kim’s bedroom while Kim and I camped out in the living room :) [which was totally fine and I could have slept on the ground for TWO nights, Kim  ;)]

We had a very nice, yummy breakfast the next morning and afterwards hung out watching “friends” and then Kim and I got a haircut and dyeing from Ilka [thanks so much sweets ] before we took the tram to downtown Bremen. It was our first time to Bremen and we all liked it very much. Kim showed us around and we saw the Bremen City Hall, Roland, the Market Place, the Bremen Cathedral, the Schnoor  and the highlight was the beautiful statue of the Bremer Stadtmusikanten (Bremen town musicians).

After walking around for quite a while, we had to take a break and had coffee, Apfelstrudel and Dampfnudeln at the Café Engel. Afterwards we took the tram home, did some grocery shopping for the evening and relaxed and chatted until some of Kim’s friends came over. Originally we had planned to drink a little bit at home and then go out later, but it was so cozy on the couch and we kept talking until there was no point in going out anymore… we had a great time anyways :)

The next morning, Kim made a yummy breakfast with boiled eggs [a typical German Sunday Breakfast :)] and then we took turns in taking showers and watching more “friends” episodes. It was quite relaxing :) and Ilka one more time opened her “magic suitcase” to give Sanna’s hair a little makeover :)

Well, then we had to realize that the weekend was coming to an end and we were all kind of sad that time had flown by so quickly. Ilka and I took off at around 4:30 p.m. and Sanna took the tram to the train station. Ilka dropped me off at the subway station in Köln again at 8 p.m. [thanks again, hun] and I got home around 9: 15 p.m.
It was truly an absolutely awesome weekend! Thanks girls :)

from left: Kim, me, Ilka and Sanna

Oh yeah, and then I have one more good news to tell you:
I came home to an email from Gerald and guess what? He said he got the approval to write the letter on my behalf to the USCIS! This is great news!!!!
I talked to him today and he said that the application might (hopefully) go out this week and that most likely the USGS management will write this letter itself and not Gerald – which is even better.
I’ll definitely let you know as soon as I get any more information.
It’s clear though that I obviously won’t get the visa by Friday and I am seriously thinking about flying back to California on Friday, stay there for a few weeks and then come back again to pick up the visa. It might sound insane, but a) I do have to take the flight by the end of October anyways or otherwise I’ll lose it and that would be $450 worth of money and b) I would be able to see Cathy before she leaves and I want to be back in Sacramento with Jon for his birthday (which is on the 18th) and since I am not expecting to get the visa in the next four weeks and therefore would have to book a new flight anyways, it seems reasonable to use up the flight that I already have… what do you think?
I just want to make sure that it wouldn’t cause any trouble if I went back there on a tourist waiver while the visa process is in progress. That’s why I am going to call the embassy tomorrow and ask about that.

Ok… more to come tomorrow. Hugs and kisses!

well, well, after a really bad feeling on Wednesday, I feel a little bit more optimistic now after the last few days.
Thursday night, my sister and I met with Ilka T. [no, not the Ilka you all know :) there is another girl with this rare name] and Yvonne, two of my sister’s friends. Apparently, Ilka T. is about our age and she has lived in Sacramento for about a year and is scheduled to go back there in January. She works for a European business in Sacramento and she told me that she had also applied for an H-1B visa this summer and got it approved through an “emergeny order” that was filed directly with the Immigration Services to emphasize that she was very much needed for the business and that nobody but her could do the job. She explained to me that I should definitely try to convince my boss and sponsor to file again and to explain that I have to return to the US and that my work is crucial to the USGS research and that there is nobody in the US who could replace me.
I would think that the letter that the USGS composed for my waiver application should be sufficient to explain to the USCIS that I am very important for the government.
Ilka’s sponsor was a private company, so a supporting letter from the USGS in my case should be even more convincing to the Immigration Office.

It was really good to talk to Ilka T. since she made me feel a lot more comfortable that there might still be a chance to obtain the visa and it was also very cool to talk to someone who knows Sacramento and the surrounding area :) it’s too bad I didn’t know her last year – we could have met for a coffee or something ;) – but who knows, maybe we’ll be able to do that soon.

Friday was my Dad’s birthday. In the morning and afternoon, I helped my Mom prepare some stuff for the party in the evening. We had a nice get-together with family and friends and my Mom had planned out a very nice buffet with a pot roast, rosemary potatoes and salad, tiramisu and semolina pudding as well as a yummy cheese platter:) yes, we do eat well in Germany :)
It was a fun night and people stayed until late.

Saturday morning, I went shopping with my Mom, had a cappuccino with her at the local coffee shop and in the afternoon Ilka came over and we went to Düsseldorf to meet with Kim. Kim spent the weekend at her friend Pia’s place in Düsseldorf and we had decided to meet for some coffee in the afternoon. We went to the “Mangold“, a nice café bar/lounge/restaurant-type of place in Düsseldorf-Derendorf, and had a really nice time together :)
Ilka and I spent the evening on the couch watching almost all “Dancing with the Stars”-episodes drooling over Joe ;) that was fun! :)
We slept in this morning, had some breakfast with my parents and sister and spent another few hours talking on the couch… what a lazy, but fun weekend!
Later in the afternoon, after Ilka left, my parents and I went to the electoral office to cast our ballots, because today was election day and our chancellor Schröder had called for the vote of confidence.
As we know by now, the election was really tight and not satisfying for any of the parties. The CDU didn’t get the absolute majority with the help of the FDP and the SPD and Green Party didn’t make it either… We actually don’t know yet who’s going to be the governing party since different coalitions are still under consideration…. I guess, we’ll see what happens ;)

I haven’t heard any visa news, if you were going to ask. Sure… I want them to do something for me, so maybe I should call them every day and get on their nerves, but on the other hand, they asked me to keep working for them, so why do I have to take the initiative over and over again?? :(Why can’t they keep me in the loop of what’s going on (even if nothing’s going on)? This is just so unfair.

Monday afternoon, my Mom and I went over the border to buy coffee and tea (yes, it’s still less expensive in Holland than in Germany :)) and stopped on the way back at my aunt’s tavern (she lives close to the border). We had to pick up the stuff that my sister and my Mom ordered at this tupperware party and we spent some time with my aunt and my cousin.

Later that night I had a nice long talk with Kim [thanks sweets for listening to all my crap!] and we talked about getting together in Düsselorf this weekend and possibly a visit in Bremen next week :) That would be awesome!

Yesterday, I visited my former piano teacher, Mrs. Schmidt. I hadn’t seen her in over 3 years and it was just wonderful to get together with her again. She is 92 years old and still “fit as a fiddle” :) and a very lovely old lady. We had coffee and cake and talked for 2,5 hours. She showed me some old photo albums and repeatedly said how much she loves to remember the times when I came for my piano lessons ;) It was very special for both of us to see each other again.

I had a pretty relaxed weekend, given the fact that I am very tense inside… Jon thinks it’s totally unnecessary for me to worry, but of course I do. He’s says that either way we’ll figure something out. In fact, he’s really angry and doesn’t really want me to work for the USGS anymore after all this shit, but on the other hand, I want to get back to California at the end of the month… what other options do I have?
Tonight I have to get in touch with Gerald again and with Katie (from VOLT). I don’t know if this will be the moment of truth … I am definitely not willing to give up yet, but I feel so let down right now :(

Friday night my Mom and I went to my Mom’s friends, because they had asked if I could help them book tickets online for some shows in New York (since they are going on a New York trip in October). I was contemplating what they needed my help for, but when we were there, I realized that some people are not as computer literate as I thought :)

On Saturday, I spent the afternoon with my sister. We had a great time talking and looking at some fashion catalogs ;) I think I want to order some stuff, but I shouldn’t…
in the evening, my aunt came over and she, my Mom and I sat together and talked. My aunt has a really hard time since she’s working at a hospice right now and even though she likes the work, it’s hard to deal with people dying every other day :( I can only imagine what an emotional impact that must have.

Yesterday I didn’t do anything at all… well, which means I stayed at home in my pj’s all day, spent a whole lot of time on the computer and with my parents, talked on the phone and read for a while. I am reading this really good book (see below) and I highly recommend it.