Today’s relief is that I’m going to get to go to England without any green card issues. I had my appointment with the U.S. Immigration and Citizen Services (USICS) office today to try to get a temporary green card until my new one is issued.
I ended up getting a nice stamp in my passport with very little trouble at all unless you count having to wait in line behind a very angry and belligerent African man who clearly wasn’t happy with what he was being told and a pair of Latino men who did a lot of complaining in Spanish about the African man holding up the line.
I don’t speak much Spanish but I knew enough to pick up on some of the conversation plus the heavy sighs, eye rolling and aggressive pointing at the man sort of gave away the topic of the two men’s conversation.
The African man took a very long time to shout at the lady. She kept telling him the same thing which was pretty much that just because he wanted a green card didn’t mean they could just give him one. He needed documentation which he didn’t have. When, finally, the lady gave him a form to fill out, he went away.
It turned out that the Latino men were there on the wrong day. They had made an appointment for September 1st and mistakenly thought it was for today. From the conversation I overheard, it sounded very much like my situation: They had to travel and needed a temporary green card. Unfortunately for them the USICS is rather strict about appointments; i.e. if you don’t have one for the day and time you’re standing at the window, you will NOT be helped. Dejected, the two men left.
Finally it was my turn. I admit that I was a little nervous. I knew, theoretically, that there should be no reason I couldn’t get a temporary renewal but you never quite know, do you? I’ve found that with governmental offices with strict policies, if you don’t follow everything to a T, you’re out of luck. I tried to make sure I had everything I could need: My passport, my (expiring) green card, extra passport pictures, my social security card, money in case there was a fee and all of the documentation that I’d been told to bring including proof of my online renewal of my green card.
It turned out to be easy. I found the lady to be very helpful. She didn’t even hesitate when I told her what I needed. She actually seemed quite relieved that I wasn’t irate or shouting at her nor did I want something that was impossible for her to grant. Within ten minutes, I had a stamp in my passport for a one-year extension to my current green card. I was relieved. Even better, the lady managed to alleviate another little thing I’d been stressing about: My biometrics appointment.
My biometrics appointment is required for a green card renewal. All it really boils down to is a set of photos that the USCIS has to take and a session of fingerprinting. However, you cannot schedule your own appointment. Instead, you have to wait until the USCIS sends you a letter summoning you to your appointment. There’s no way to go before that.
I’d been worried that this would arrive during the time I was going to be in England. It didn’t help that the lady told me that if I missed my appointment, I had to immediately reschedule it or it would give the USCIS cause to deny my green card.
Fortunately, she was nice. I secretly think it’s because she was so relieved to have someone treat her like a human that she was willing to help. She checked on my appointment and made sure it was scheduled for me prior to my trip. That was another relief off my mind.
All in all, the whole process was far more painless than I expected. I didn’t have to wait long. I could see that there were quite a few people waiting with immigration lawyers for appointments with immigration interviewers. My family went through that when we first got our green cards and that is a LOT of waiting. I think the hardest part of the whole experiences was navigating my car in downtown Cincinnati which, like most cities, is nothing but a tangle of one way streets with traffic signals that are not the easiest to see because they hang horizontally rather than vertically.
By the time I returned to work, I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my chest. I really didn’t have any real doubt that things wouldn’t work out but it still felt like it was hanging over me. It’s one of those things that there’s no way to feel better about until it’s done. I’m just glad I noticed my green card was expiring a month before my trip instead of, say, the night before or, even worse, at the airport when I tried to come back into the U.S. That would NOT have been good.
So, I’m grateful as I often am that things worked out just fine and there was an easy solution that I could take care of myself. All that’s left is for me to go get fingerprinted and photographed and then I just have to wait for my green card to arrive in the mail.
In the meantime, I can rest easier knowing that I can travel internationally again without anticipating any immigration problems on the way back. I’m not a fan of airports at the best of times- there’s a reason why in Emmy Goes to Hell that I set the entry to Hell in an airport. It’s a lifetime of bad flying experiences healthily employed as a cathartic release for me as a writer. I’d hate to have had to added “Refused back into the United States” to that list.
And now I don’t have to- thank you USCIS!
Happy Friday!
Showing posts with label green card. Show all posts
Showing posts with label green card. Show all posts
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
A LIttle Too Early...Pre-Trip Excitement
I’m going to England in a little over a month, provided my green card gets renewed. I have an appointment to get a temporary one on Thursday so wish me luck. Hopefully I’ll be successful. If not, I find places like the USCIS offices a very interesting place to people watch and make up stories in my head about who the people are.
I’m excited about England, I think. I’m a little nervous about leaving the pups for so long but they’ll be with my parents so I’m sure there’ll be fine. It’s just hard with dogs because unlike, say, with kids, you can’t call them on the phone. Granted, I confess, I am one of those insane pet parents who likes my parents to hold the phone to Sookie and Rory’s ear so I can say hi but that generally confuses them and forces them to try to find out why I’m trapped in the weird little box thing and why I’m not there petting them.
Still, the trip should be fine. Even though it’s paid by my office, it’s primarily a reward trip and thus will not be as much work as just having fun. My office has a nice policy that spouses and partners are also allowed to go and have their expenses paid because the theory is that they’re the ones who have to put up with our sometimes insane working hours/habits and thus they too should be rewarded. I like that theory. I think it’s kind and very generous.
For me, I don’t have a spouse nor a partner. Dogs are not permitted. Neither are mothers, sisters or friends. Thus, like a few others in the group, I will be going alone. I actually don’t mind at all. We get an allotted amount of spending money and if you bring someone, you have to share. As I’m a singleton, I get that money all to myself. Stingy…probably? Luxury? Definitely.
Most of the trip will involve lots of free time. The office will give us a list of activities that we can either choose to do or not and if we choose to do them, the company will pay. The beauty of it is we don’t have to do anything. We can simply enjoy London.
I know, I know…I’m very lucky. I know it and I’m already grateful even though the trip hasn’t happened yet. It’s simply nice to be working for a company who has a Top Performers trip. Even if I hadn’t have qualified, I’d still admire the fact that the company has been doing this for 30 years, each time somewhere new. It’s a very generous way to show your employees that they do matter and they make a difference.
I’m even luckier that not only have I qualified for my first possible trip but also that it’s to London. Usually, it’s somewhere like Key West, Las Vegas or Miami. That’s not to say those places wouldn’t be a ton of fun either but London is definitely better- I’m planning on staying a few extra days to visit my friends and family.
The interesting part of the trip for me is watching our branch administrator plan it. For me, a natural born Brit, things of a British nature are, well, second nature to me. Yet, viewing things through my coworkers’ eyes, I get an entirely different perspective. Everything is new and different. For example, normally when she plans the trip in the U.S., she finds a resort hotel or a hotel with a good concierge who will assist with setting up dining, entertainment and amenities. In England, that is not the case. The concierge will assist to some degree by making recommendations. They might even book theatre tickets. However, when it comes to planning group activities, that’s all up to my branch administrator. She’s finding it a lot more work than usual.
I admire her efforts. Setting up a trip that will end up including around 30 people is not easy, particularly an international one. She has to take care of everything from booking things all the way down to researching how our Blackberries will work, how much a second suitcase will cost to check and how to go about getting tube passes. Then there’s the issue of money. For me, I grew up using pounds and pence. She grew up with dollars and cents. Even how to say the amounts of money is new for her. She’s getting the hang of it though and the trip is coming together nicely. It’s actually quite fun- it’s like I’m Harry Potter trying to show Mr. Weasley how to deal with the muggle world.
I think it’s going to end up being a lot of fun. I think my biggest dilemma will be trying to decide if I’d rather go shopping at Harrods with a gift card from the office or using the time to do more interesting things like go to the Tower of London. I’m leaning towards the Tower just because I’ve never been there and due to my “Game of Thrones” obsession of late, it seems like the closest thing England has to that world. Being a little dark and twisty, I find the idea of seeing where they used to put heads on pikes and conduct torture to be rather intriguing. I know that’s a little sick but, well, it’s more interesting to me than seeing something like the crown jewels.
It’ll be nice to get back to England. It’s been a couple of years since I went back and I’d like to see my grandparents again. If timing had worked out better, I’d actually see my mother there too- she’s leaving for a trip to the UK tomorrow but she gets back about three weeks before I leave.
It’s definitely something to look forward to and even on not-so-great days at work, it’s a reminder that there are good days too and those good days can lead to trips to England. I can’t wait.
Happy Wednesday! (And Bon Voyage, Mummy Monkeypants- have a safe trip!)
I’m excited about England, I think. I’m a little nervous about leaving the pups for so long but they’ll be with my parents so I’m sure there’ll be fine. It’s just hard with dogs because unlike, say, with kids, you can’t call them on the phone. Granted, I confess, I am one of those insane pet parents who likes my parents to hold the phone to Sookie and Rory’s ear so I can say hi but that generally confuses them and forces them to try to find out why I’m trapped in the weird little box thing and why I’m not there petting them.
Still, the trip should be fine. Even though it’s paid by my office, it’s primarily a reward trip and thus will not be as much work as just having fun. My office has a nice policy that spouses and partners are also allowed to go and have their expenses paid because the theory is that they’re the ones who have to put up with our sometimes insane working hours/habits and thus they too should be rewarded. I like that theory. I think it’s kind and very generous.
For me, I don’t have a spouse nor a partner. Dogs are not permitted. Neither are mothers, sisters or friends. Thus, like a few others in the group, I will be going alone. I actually don’t mind at all. We get an allotted amount of spending money and if you bring someone, you have to share. As I’m a singleton, I get that money all to myself. Stingy…probably? Luxury? Definitely.
Most of the trip will involve lots of free time. The office will give us a list of activities that we can either choose to do or not and if we choose to do them, the company will pay. The beauty of it is we don’t have to do anything. We can simply enjoy London.
I know, I know…I’m very lucky. I know it and I’m already grateful even though the trip hasn’t happened yet. It’s simply nice to be working for a company who has a Top Performers trip. Even if I hadn’t have qualified, I’d still admire the fact that the company has been doing this for 30 years, each time somewhere new. It’s a very generous way to show your employees that they do matter and they make a difference.
I’m even luckier that not only have I qualified for my first possible trip but also that it’s to London. Usually, it’s somewhere like Key West, Las Vegas or Miami. That’s not to say those places wouldn’t be a ton of fun either but London is definitely better- I’m planning on staying a few extra days to visit my friends and family.
The interesting part of the trip for me is watching our branch administrator plan it. For me, a natural born Brit, things of a British nature are, well, second nature to me. Yet, viewing things through my coworkers’ eyes, I get an entirely different perspective. Everything is new and different. For example, normally when she plans the trip in the U.S., she finds a resort hotel or a hotel with a good concierge who will assist with setting up dining, entertainment and amenities. In England, that is not the case. The concierge will assist to some degree by making recommendations. They might even book theatre tickets. However, when it comes to planning group activities, that’s all up to my branch administrator. She’s finding it a lot more work than usual.
I admire her efforts. Setting up a trip that will end up including around 30 people is not easy, particularly an international one. She has to take care of everything from booking things all the way down to researching how our Blackberries will work, how much a second suitcase will cost to check and how to go about getting tube passes. Then there’s the issue of money. For me, I grew up using pounds and pence. She grew up with dollars and cents. Even how to say the amounts of money is new for her. She’s getting the hang of it though and the trip is coming together nicely. It’s actually quite fun- it’s like I’m Harry Potter trying to show Mr. Weasley how to deal with the muggle world.
I think it’s going to end up being a lot of fun. I think my biggest dilemma will be trying to decide if I’d rather go shopping at Harrods with a gift card from the office or using the time to do more interesting things like go to the Tower of London. I’m leaning towards the Tower just because I’ve never been there and due to my “Game of Thrones” obsession of late, it seems like the closest thing England has to that world. Being a little dark and twisty, I find the idea of seeing where they used to put heads on pikes and conduct torture to be rather intriguing. I know that’s a little sick but, well, it’s more interesting to me than seeing something like the crown jewels.
It’ll be nice to get back to England. It’s been a couple of years since I went back and I’d like to see my grandparents again. If timing had worked out better, I’d actually see my mother there too- she’s leaving for a trip to the UK tomorrow but she gets back about three weeks before I leave.
It’s definitely something to look forward to and even on not-so-great days at work, it’s a reminder that there are good days too and those good days can lead to trips to England. I can’t wait.
Happy Wednesday! (And Bon Voyage, Mummy Monkeypants- have a safe trip!)
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Herbs, Pigs and Green Cards...Oh My
This is yet another weekend gone too fast. After the rough week of work last week, it seems as though the weekend should rightfully have been longer but alas, I write this on the eve before another Monday, really wishing that somehow an extra day could simply be added to every weekend for everyone.
Nevertheless, Sunday evening it is and thus, the weekend is waning.
It's been a nice weekend though. I drove back to my parents. As has become an annual tradition, my mum and I went to the Wabash Herb Festival in Wabash, Indiana. Unlike last year, we had a lovely dry day. It was, as usual, a lot of fun. There's something completely relaxing walking around placed like that. It's fun to just look and see, poke a little fun at the Society of Creative Anachronism and just generally enjoy both the day and time with my mother. We both ended up with some small purchases- I got a new serving platter and a wall hanging and mum got a couple of plants and a few other bits to begin working on a miniature garden.
It was just a nice morning. We ended up exploring a little in Wabash too. They have a great pet store there that has pets for sale as well as pet stuff. I was quite charmed by the cute little potbellied pigs. I've always quite fancied having a little pet pig but when I pictured trying to explain to Sookie and Rory that yes, they might enjoy bacon but that doesn't mean little Wilbur is food, I decided against it. Also, I'm quite sure that my parents wouldn't be as willing to pig-sit as they are to dog-sit when I go away. They were very cute though and I enjoyed petting them. The pet store also had the largest pet rabbit I've ever seen. It was apparently only 8 weeks old and it was seriously already bigger than Sookie. Apparently, it can get up to 25 lbs. Pretty fascinating and slightly disturbing.
All in all, it was just a nice day. I love days where we have a rough plan but we can spend time just meandering around and discover new places.
Sunday has been a little less fun simply because I made a discovery that made me feel quite idiotic. My green card is expiring in less than a week. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem unless I travel. And, since I qualified for my free trip to London...I'm going to be traveling. This discovery led to a souring of my mood which I feel a little guilty about since I'm sure I wasn't fun for my parents to be around. Still, I filed online for a renewal and I'm going to call to see how I can go about getting a temporary renewal which I know is possible. It just makes me feel a little stupid since I was very careful to check my passport but, for some reason, I thought my green card expired next year. Silly me. Hopefully everything will work out for the best...It was just a bit of a shock even if it was my own fault.
Still, in spite of that, I had a fun weekend and I was sad to leave my parents to return to the normalcy of my routine. My mother is actually going to the UK on Wednesday so I won't see/talk to her for a while. I'm hoping my dad will come down to visit which will be nice- it's always fun to have one-on-one time with both parents.
So, even though the weekend is coming to a close, it hasn't been wasted. Then again, it's hard to waste a weekend. Although it's back to the grind tomorrow, it's definitely nice to know that in five days, the weekend will be here again. It's the time in between that can be a little tricky but this is the start of a new week full of new hope. Let's hope it's a little better than last week. Even if it's not, I have a good weekend behind me to keep me going.
I like it when life is good.
Happy Monday!
Nevertheless, Sunday evening it is and thus, the weekend is waning.
It's been a nice weekend though. I drove back to my parents. As has become an annual tradition, my mum and I went to the Wabash Herb Festival in Wabash, Indiana. Unlike last year, we had a lovely dry day. It was, as usual, a lot of fun. There's something completely relaxing walking around placed like that. It's fun to just look and see, poke a little fun at the Society of Creative Anachronism and just generally enjoy both the day and time with my mother. We both ended up with some small purchases- I got a new serving platter and a wall hanging and mum got a couple of plants and a few other bits to begin working on a miniature garden.
It was just a nice morning. We ended up exploring a little in Wabash too. They have a great pet store there that has pets for sale as well as pet stuff. I was quite charmed by the cute little potbellied pigs. I've always quite fancied having a little pet pig but when I pictured trying to explain to Sookie and Rory that yes, they might enjoy bacon but that doesn't mean little Wilbur is food, I decided against it. Also, I'm quite sure that my parents wouldn't be as willing to pig-sit as they are to dog-sit when I go away. They were very cute though and I enjoyed petting them. The pet store also had the largest pet rabbit I've ever seen. It was apparently only 8 weeks old and it was seriously already bigger than Sookie. Apparently, it can get up to 25 lbs. Pretty fascinating and slightly disturbing.
All in all, it was just a nice day. I love days where we have a rough plan but we can spend time just meandering around and discover new places.
Sunday has been a little less fun simply because I made a discovery that made me feel quite idiotic. My green card is expiring in less than a week. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem unless I travel. And, since I qualified for my free trip to London...I'm going to be traveling. This discovery led to a souring of my mood which I feel a little guilty about since I'm sure I wasn't fun for my parents to be around. Still, I filed online for a renewal and I'm going to call to see how I can go about getting a temporary renewal which I know is possible. It just makes me feel a little stupid since I was very careful to check my passport but, for some reason, I thought my green card expired next year. Silly me. Hopefully everything will work out for the best...It was just a bit of a shock even if it was my own fault.
Still, in spite of that, I had a fun weekend and I was sad to leave my parents to return to the normalcy of my routine. My mother is actually going to the UK on Wednesday so I won't see/talk to her for a while. I'm hoping my dad will come down to visit which will be nice- it's always fun to have one-on-one time with both parents.
So, even though the weekend is coming to a close, it hasn't been wasted. Then again, it's hard to waste a weekend. Although it's back to the grind tomorrow, it's definitely nice to know that in five days, the weekend will be here again. It's the time in between that can be a little tricky but this is the start of a new week full of new hope. Let's hope it's a little better than last week. Even if it's not, I have a good weekend behind me to keep me going.
I like it when life is good.
Happy Monday!
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Election Day Rules!*
So it's election day today. I think it's a reason to celebrate. I say, everyone have a party because it's election day.
You might think, wow, Captain Monkeypants is surprisingly patriotic. And then you might scratch your head and say...but isn't Captain Monkeypants...British?
Yes. I am. Rule Brittania!
I wish I could confess to patriotism being the reason that I love election day. But that would be untrue. And since there are enough politicians out there being untrue today, I feel I should endorse honesty and truth as part of this good day.
And so the reason I love Election Day is not because of the amazing amount of traffic gathered in unpredictable clusters around voting locations, not because it means we'll have a new president soon and not because it means House isn't on tonight because of election coverage.
It's because of the ads. Tomorrow, they will stop. Tomorrow, I will be able to turn on my TV and see advertisements for Mastercard (Priceless!), Verizon (Can you hear me now?), Olive Garden (When you're here, you're family!) and all the other mindless materialism that usually invades our culture. But there won't be any more political ads.
I don't have TiVo. I'm an old fashioned Monkeypants. I like to use my dvd recorder or, gasp, that ancient invention: The VCR. So, generally, I watch TV live if I can. Which means there are lots of political advertisements. No, not lots, thousands upon thousands. There are ads telling me to vote for a proposition to build a big casino resort in Ohio. And then, right after that ad, there's one telling me why I shouldn't vote for the casino. There's an ad for a politician citing all of the reasons he should be elected, a shiny audio resume in a 30 second spot. This is immediately followed by an ad for his oponent that is the anti-resume for the oponent who just had me convinced he was a good guy. I'm so confused!
I get it. Politics are a dirty business. Mudslinging is a necessary part of it. Nowadays, the mud slinging happens on the radio, on TV, on the Internet...even in the newspaper. Being nice doesn't work. Eventually, even the nice politicians have to play dirty. It's not right to let another politician look better than you. It makes sense. Who cares what the issues at stake are when a political opponent can easily drudge up past faults and mistakes, even if they were years ago?
I just don't want to see Obama being a good little boy scout, seeing his baby pictures and seeing what a good family man he is. Just as I don't want to hear one more word about John McCain and how experienced he is. We KNOW he's been around a long time. I mean, no offense but he's really old for a president. I mean, I'd like to think he's got hidden Mick-Jagger/Steven Tyler energy, still able to do a somersault across the stage as he ends a debate. Yet he's not. He's so old that I'm a little afraid he might not make it through his first term of office. Then we'd have President Palin which is a little scary, mostly because she sounds frighteningly like Marge in Fargo. I wonder if she has wood chipper in her backyard...
Uh, I'm digressing. This isn't a blog in which I'm going to spew my opinion on who I think should be president. I don't get to vote and thus, it's not fair of me to have an opinion. If I don't like it, I should become a U.S. Citizen and take a stand. But I think it's ok for me to make fun of the politicians I see in the ads. McCain is old. Obama has big ears. Palin sounds like she should be holding an ice-fishing pole all the time and Biden...well, I don't know much about Biden. I probably should have paid more attention to the ads.
But, darn it all, the ads will be done tonight! I'll be able to drive through town and not be assaulted by political signs everywhere. A local bar had a big McCain banner above the sign. The font looked like the logo for McCain French Fries. McCain make good frozen potatoes. I particularly like the Smiles- happy faced potato treats that are crispy on the outside and mashed on the inside. McCain Smile potatoes are excellent. When I saw the banner, I thought, cool! I didn't know bars endorsed frozen potatoes. And then I realized this it was a political sign.
There is a reason I don't vote. I know every vote counts and that, by not making myself eligible, I'm part of what's wrong with the U.S. But I pay taxes so I'm not a complete loss. And I do have a green card so I'm not an illegal immigrant. I respect the fact that U.S. allows me to live here and yet stay loyal to Britain. I really appreciate that when I fly to London- customs are a breeze. A UK passport gets me easy access to the UK and my green card lets me come back with the Americans. And since I hate airports, that's endorsement enough for me to give up the right to say who should be president.
If I had my way, it would be Jack Bauer anyway. He'd be too busy saving the world to sling mud. And he seems to be invincible because he's been shot, stabbed and maimed. A lot. And yet he still comes back swinging. Also, he's great with a hacksaw. What more could you want in a president?
Happy Election Day, everyone. Happy Voting.
*Note for the politically minded. This is supposed to be funny. I do not mean to offend. I endorse democracy. Democracy means I can eat McCain Smiles and enjoy brussel sprout sandwiches as much as I like. Also, it means I can choose to give myself the right to vote or not. I admire those who vote for the fact that they're taking a stand and taking the time out to make a change. Be the change you want to see in the world. Thanks for reading!
You might think, wow, Captain Monkeypants is surprisingly patriotic. And then you might scratch your head and say...but isn't Captain Monkeypants...British?
Yes. I am. Rule Brittania!
I wish I could confess to patriotism being the reason that I love election day. But that would be untrue. And since there are enough politicians out there being untrue today, I feel I should endorse honesty and truth as part of this good day.
And so the reason I love Election Day is not because of the amazing amount of traffic gathered in unpredictable clusters around voting locations, not because it means we'll have a new president soon and not because it means House isn't on tonight because of election coverage.
It's because of the ads. Tomorrow, they will stop. Tomorrow, I will be able to turn on my TV and see advertisements for Mastercard (Priceless!), Verizon (Can you hear me now?), Olive Garden (When you're here, you're family!) and all the other mindless materialism that usually invades our culture. But there won't be any more political ads.
I don't have TiVo. I'm an old fashioned Monkeypants. I like to use my dvd recorder or, gasp, that ancient invention: The VCR. So, generally, I watch TV live if I can. Which means there are lots of political advertisements. No, not lots, thousands upon thousands. There are ads telling me to vote for a proposition to build a big casino resort in Ohio. And then, right after that ad, there's one telling me why I shouldn't vote for the casino. There's an ad for a politician citing all of the reasons he should be elected, a shiny audio resume in a 30 second spot. This is immediately followed by an ad for his oponent that is the anti-resume for the oponent who just had me convinced he was a good guy. I'm so confused!
I get it. Politics are a dirty business. Mudslinging is a necessary part of it. Nowadays, the mud slinging happens on the radio, on TV, on the Internet...even in the newspaper. Being nice doesn't work. Eventually, even the nice politicians have to play dirty. It's not right to let another politician look better than you. It makes sense. Who cares what the issues at stake are when a political opponent can easily drudge up past faults and mistakes, even if they were years ago?
I just don't want to see Obama being a good little boy scout, seeing his baby pictures and seeing what a good family man he is. Just as I don't want to hear one more word about John McCain and how experienced he is. We KNOW he's been around a long time. I mean, no offense but he's really old for a president. I mean, I'd like to think he's got hidden Mick-Jagger/Steven Tyler energy, still able to do a somersault across the stage as he ends a debate. Yet he's not. He's so old that I'm a little afraid he might not make it through his first term of office. Then we'd have President Palin which is a little scary, mostly because she sounds frighteningly like Marge in Fargo. I wonder if she has wood chipper in her backyard...
Uh, I'm digressing. This isn't a blog in which I'm going to spew my opinion on who I think should be president. I don't get to vote and thus, it's not fair of me to have an opinion. If I don't like it, I should become a U.S. Citizen and take a stand. But I think it's ok for me to make fun of the politicians I see in the ads. McCain is old. Obama has big ears. Palin sounds like she should be holding an ice-fishing pole all the time and Biden...well, I don't know much about Biden. I probably should have paid more attention to the ads.
But, darn it all, the ads will be done tonight! I'll be able to drive through town and not be assaulted by political signs everywhere. A local bar had a big McCain banner above the sign. The font looked like the logo for McCain French Fries. McCain make good frozen potatoes. I particularly like the Smiles- happy faced potato treats that are crispy on the outside and mashed on the inside. McCain Smile potatoes are excellent. When I saw the banner, I thought, cool! I didn't know bars endorsed frozen potatoes. And then I realized this it was a political sign.
There is a reason I don't vote. I know every vote counts and that, by not making myself eligible, I'm part of what's wrong with the U.S. But I pay taxes so I'm not a complete loss. And I do have a green card so I'm not an illegal immigrant. I respect the fact that U.S. allows me to live here and yet stay loyal to Britain. I really appreciate that when I fly to London- customs are a breeze. A UK passport gets me easy access to the UK and my green card lets me come back with the Americans. And since I hate airports, that's endorsement enough for me to give up the right to say who should be president.
If I had my way, it would be Jack Bauer anyway. He'd be too busy saving the world to sling mud. And he seems to be invincible because he's been shot, stabbed and maimed. A lot. And yet he still comes back swinging. Also, he's great with a hacksaw. What more could you want in a president?
Happy Election Day, everyone. Happy Voting.
*Note for the politically minded. This is supposed to be funny. I do not mean to offend. I endorse democracy. Democracy means I can eat McCain Smiles and enjoy brussel sprout sandwiches as much as I like. Also, it means I can choose to give myself the right to vote or not. I admire those who vote for the fact that they're taking a stand and taking the time out to make a change. Be the change you want to see in the world. Thanks for reading!
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