Finally handed my notice in at work so can actually start to get excited! The majority of people know now, a select few knew before and it was starting to get hard to keep a lid on it. It's been a hard 6 months but can see the light at the end of the tunnel now.. about time!
I don't know whether to be excited or absolutely terrified, one minute I'm on top of the world, the next I don't know what the hell I am doing. I'm going with no expectations of the trip and treating it as the unknown.. which, lets face it, it is.
Leaving Yorkshire on the 17th December and flying from Heathrow on the 19th December.. New York for Christmas!
As I'm writing this it's 22 days to go and the thought of that scares the hell out of me!! I should probably take this moment to apologise to the friends that have been around me for the last few months, I can't think about/have no chat about anything else. There is a couple of you, who will know who you are when you read this, who have taken full force of my complaining and for that I'm sorry. Presents from America will follow shortly. (Needless to say I couldn't have even attempted this without Mummy and Daddy Robinson)
But it has to be said that in this preparation has proved a lot to me about the friends I have and I couldn't have gone through this last 6 months without them. That said there are exceptions.
I'm not sure how I'm going to cope a world where 'Have you got a membership card?' and 'Can I get you anything else at all?' mean absolutely bugger all.. but I've heard that after a few 'lemonades' I'll be a natural.
So on the premise that there is 17days of laughing at the same joke day in day out and being pitied because I work in crappy customer service jobs..
Time for work..
Tuesday, 27 November 2012
Wednesday, 14 November 2012
Visa
Ive been refraining from writing another post as it became suddenly uncertain as to whether or not I would actually be able to go on this trip due to visa problems. The visa process should essentially be fairly straight forward, however after a drunken incident at Uni, I ended up with a written warning from the police for giving someone my driving license. Trivial yes but it has caused considerable problems!
While I was thinking about the trip, I approached the police in regard to the warning affecting my trip to which I got the reply that it wouldn't and that I wouldn't have to declare it. So I then went on to phone the Embassy to book an appointment for getting my visa. We are unable to use the standard ESTA visa as that only lasts for 90 days to this forced us to apply for the B2 visa, hence having to go to London to visit the Embassy for an interview. One of the first questions asked before I booked my appointment was "have you ever had any arrests, convictions or cautions?" to which I replied no and paid the money ($160 non refundable) and thought nothing more of it.
After thinking about it all, the guilt mounted up so much that I phoned back to declare the warning that was given and I was so relieved that I did as It was then announced that my appointment would have to be cancelled and I would have to send off for a Police certificate (costing another £89) which would then be considered by the embassy as to whether or not I could have an appointment. The time it took to turn this over was probably about a week, possibly the longest week of my life!! The embassy took a day to consider it and offered me an appointment thankfully, the wait can be up to 5 working days.
The day before setting off to London for my appointment, I filled out the rest of the forms for the visa, all which consisted of where will I stay, how can I fund it and am I a terrorist, etc. Luckily my travelling partner had already been for their appointment and was able to fill me in on what the process was like. My advice to anyone would be to take a book, expect about a four hour wait and do not take any electrical goods with you at all, this includes key fobs and headphones!! If you do you will be sent up to a pharmacy called Gould's Pharmacy about a 2 minute walk from the Embassy which charges a fortune to store your stuff!
Once I got in through the security, which I was pleasantly surprised by as the security guards were happy to have a joke and a laugh at me on my way through which helped the nerves slightly. I was then given a number and asked to take a seat in what can only be likened to an airport lounge and after about 40 minutes I was called to get my fingerprints taken and documents checked. After a few questions, I discovered to my horror that I hadn't declared my little incident with the police in the second forms and started to panic! The lady however was extremely nice and gave me the opportunity to go to the nearest Internet cafe and amend the form. She gave me a map and directions to Gould's Pharmacy, who charged me or should I say robbed me of £6 for half an hour of Internet. I managed to get the forms changed and on my return to the Embassy was let straight back in and continued with my first appointment where my fingerprints were re-taken and I was then instructed to sit down and wait for my next interview.
I felt like I was going to be sick at this point with nerves as I didn't want to appear like I was hiding something by not declaring the warning on the second forms. Luckily, after about 20 minutes I got chatting to someone next to me who was able to take my mind off things and after another 3hour wait I was then called up for my next appointment.
I approached the window, the interviewer asked if I was Fiona, Princess Fiona like Shrek.. I was unsure how to respond so settled with a nervous laugh. I was only asked a few questions, where was I going, How long for, and How can I fund such a long time. After a few minutes of discussion, I was then told my visa was approved. (If he hadn't approved it, the whole Shrek comment would have been extremely offensive...)
After the whole stressful few weeks it took to get this sorted, the only advice I have is: do not make drunken mistakes and if this is too hard to follow, make sure you declare everything in the first place.
Everything comes back to bite you in the end.
While I was thinking about the trip, I approached the police in regard to the warning affecting my trip to which I got the reply that it wouldn't and that I wouldn't have to declare it. So I then went on to phone the Embassy to book an appointment for getting my visa. We are unable to use the standard ESTA visa as that only lasts for 90 days to this forced us to apply for the B2 visa, hence having to go to London to visit the Embassy for an interview. One of the first questions asked before I booked my appointment was "have you ever had any arrests, convictions or cautions?" to which I replied no and paid the money ($160 non refundable) and thought nothing more of it.
After thinking about it all, the guilt mounted up so much that I phoned back to declare the warning that was given and I was so relieved that I did as It was then announced that my appointment would have to be cancelled and I would have to send off for a Police certificate (costing another £89) which would then be considered by the embassy as to whether or not I could have an appointment. The time it took to turn this over was probably about a week, possibly the longest week of my life!! The embassy took a day to consider it and offered me an appointment thankfully, the wait can be up to 5 working days.
The day before setting off to London for my appointment, I filled out the rest of the forms for the visa, all which consisted of where will I stay, how can I fund it and am I a terrorist, etc. Luckily my travelling partner had already been for their appointment and was able to fill me in on what the process was like. My advice to anyone would be to take a book, expect about a four hour wait and do not take any electrical goods with you at all, this includes key fobs and headphones!! If you do you will be sent up to a pharmacy called Gould's Pharmacy about a 2 minute walk from the Embassy which charges a fortune to store your stuff!
Once I got in through the security, which I was pleasantly surprised by as the security guards were happy to have a joke and a laugh at me on my way through which helped the nerves slightly. I was then given a number and asked to take a seat in what can only be likened to an airport lounge and after about 40 minutes I was called to get my fingerprints taken and documents checked. After a few questions, I discovered to my horror that I hadn't declared my little incident with the police in the second forms and started to panic! The lady however was extremely nice and gave me the opportunity to go to the nearest Internet cafe and amend the form. She gave me a map and directions to Gould's Pharmacy, who charged me or should I say robbed me of £6 for half an hour of Internet. I managed to get the forms changed and on my return to the Embassy was let straight back in and continued with my first appointment where my fingerprints were re-taken and I was then instructed to sit down and wait for my next interview.
I felt like I was going to be sick at this point with nerves as I didn't want to appear like I was hiding something by not declaring the warning on the second forms. Luckily, after about 20 minutes I got chatting to someone next to me who was able to take my mind off things and after another 3hour wait I was then called up for my next appointment.
I approached the window, the interviewer asked if I was Fiona, Princess Fiona like Shrek.. I was unsure how to respond so settled with a nervous laugh. I was only asked a few questions, where was I going, How long for, and How can I fund such a long time. After a few minutes of discussion, I was then told my visa was approved. (If he hadn't approved it, the whole Shrek comment would have been extremely offensive...)
After the whole stressful few weeks it took to get this sorted, the only advice I have is: do not make drunken mistakes and if this is too hard to follow, make sure you declare everything in the first place.
Everything comes back to bite you in the end.
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