Yay it's Friday, which means no government work today. This morning I
got up late, about 8am, which compared to the usual 5am start, is a
longer time in bed. Last night I made some updates to my media center machine,
refactored my MP3 music collection (can I use the word refactored in
this context?) and downloaded the latest episode of
Alias (season 4). I went to bed about 1am - a treat, my normal shutdown time is 10pm.
This morning I drove to Baltimore, to for fill an INS (or
USCIS as they like to call themselves now) request in obtaining my permanent
green card
status. Prior, I had been conditional status for 2 years. Many
people believe that obtaining a green card is like how they portray it
at the movies, where my wife and I would be interviewed about what
toothpaste we use and the color of the bed sheets - it's nothing like
that. We did have to go through an interview, a year or so back, in
which my wife and I
were asked to demonstrate the paperwork we had filed, as well as to
show
proof that we were married, but no questions about shampoo brands or
sleeping behaviors. Today was a simple trip - show up alone with my
approval letter and some photos for my new permanent status card.
Traffic down to Baltimore was light, managed to find an parking garage
with space right down the street from the USCIS building, I didn't have
to wait in line when I arrived at my appointment time, and the
immigration officer who dealt with my status change was very friendly.
I only paid 30 minutes in the parking garage and then drove back home.
This afternoon I treated myself to a
Burger King
lunch, which I devoured in front of the TV whilst watching Alias. Lisa
and Simon have gone to my Mother-in-law's for the weekend, so I get to
look after the house and put in some work in front of the computer this weekend.