Feb. 19 I will finally be an official citizen. Now comes the paperwork...

새해 복 많이 받으세요.

Happy lunar new year! ^_^

Update: ring found. Must have come off my finger when I was packing the diaper bag. Hooray!

Update: no appointment to take the oath yet. The USCIS automated system cannot give me any information about my application status. Further evidence of the government's inefficiency.

Update: my life is relatively boring. :)

I lost my class ring today. I am very sad.

In the movie "Barnyard," why does the bull have udders?

The below letter, dated 12/1/2008, was in our mailbox this morning:

After a complete review of your file and Application for Naturalization (Form N-400), this office has found additional documentation may be needed. Unless previously submitted, please bring the below requested documents to your naturalization interview.

Further proof of our government's inefficiency. My interview was December 9, and they couldn't mail the letter in a more timely manner to ensure I would receive it before my interview date? Naturally, I had all required documents on my person, but had I forgotten, the fault would have lain entirely on me. Me.

Anyway, I am home from work today because I have a case of the runs. Bad. Oof. At least it's given me time to clean the kitchen and do laundry.

I am officially a US citizen.

Well, at least on paper. I am waiting to find out when I take the oath.

And, if it wasn't clear already, the US government is inefficiently run. Or, at least, they hire rather incompetent people to fill fairly important roles. The woman (girl? she seemed younger than I was) who conducted my interview was not well-versed in immigration laws. It might help to be familiar with them if you wield that kind of power.

Anyway, welcome to America! ^_^

Thanksgiving was.

Now I am looking forward to winter break because... I will stop pumping! (I mean, I love my Baby and all, but pumping is stressful, time-consuming, and tedious.) I fear the weight will come right back, so I will have to be careful with what I eat now. My hunger should subside at that point since I'm not pumping. Yay.

Interview next week!

Another step closer to naturalization. Interview is scheduled for December 9. Yay for missing another day of work! This application process has gone by faster than anticipated--last check of the USCIS website, July 2007 applications were being processed. Hmm. Perhaps they need a better way of updating their website? Or I am just super awesome. Once it is official, Husband will be able to apply for clearance with (relative) ease.

My dad's scheduled for his fingerprints this week. Strange considering his application was incomplete (he forgot to include his pictures). Hopefully the fingerprinting office will accept the pictures, or at least inform him of how to proceed.

Gale Harold has been working on "Desperate Housewives." Not being particularly interested in the show, this information was news to me. (My lovely friend Carena shared this information with me.) I am still not inclined to watch the show, although I may, should I find some extra time, queue the episodes on torrent and fast forward to his scenes. I'm not sure how believable Gale is as a straight man. I much prefer him as ever-fascinating Brian Kinney. Apparently he was also on two episodes of Grey's Anatomy. Add to the queue?

Going to New York next week for Thanksgiving. Am not looking forward to the car ride with the Baby. It will be fun to see the family, although I will miss Thanksgiving here. As my cousin put it, who could pass up mashed potatoes and japchae? Mmm.

Sarah Palin believed Africa was a country, not a continent.

DO WE NEED ANY MORE REASONS??

I cannot believe that 46% of Americans felt she was more qualified than Joe Biden to be Vice President. Wake the fuck up! This is the woman that you would want leading our country in the event Joe McCain dies?

While we should be proud for electing Obama, we should be mortified for considering Palin.

Fucking shit.

It's scary how the simple act of joining the military can change your whole world view. I just saw a friend(?)'s status read, 'Socialism in America...scary.' What's scary to me is how quickly conservatives jump to such unfounded conclusions without knowing the facts. People need to realize that socialism is an economic policy. It is not a form of government. Can we do a little light reading on Wikipedia or something, please?

Getting back to my original point, our country's extreme conservatives scare me. To return to my previous post, we are a backwards country that has made itself believe we are 'free' to think, to act, to believe. Puh.

[So apparently some people are seriously considering relocation to Canada or Europe. That's not exactly going to solve any of the problems at hand. But Europe doesn't sound half bad.]

So Obama has won. I think they could have called the election at 9:30pm. Wasn't anyone else watching when John King, using his fancy political map, made all of the remaining states (minus the west coast) all red, and McCain still wouldn't have reached 270?

So what did the Republican party learn from this election? One, the people are unhappy with the current state of affairs. Two, the GOP needs to reach out to the populations that felt ignored by them. And three, make wiser choices in running mates. Sarah Palin was the downfall of McCain's campaign. (Has anyone started selling 'Palin in 2012' shirts yet?)

We proclaim to be the most forward-thinking, progressive nation in the world, yet it took this long for a black man to be elected to the highest office. (Even consider that Paterson is the first black governor of New York. New York, of all states.) The world has breathed a heavy sigh of relief. We have taken the first step in catching up to the rest of the Western world.

My new favorite site: My Mom is a Fob

My other new favorite site: My Dad is a Fob

Husband: "I don't see you in clothes that often."

I am the only woman in the world who complains about losing weight. I have lost about 40lbs. Baby was born. I realize the weight loss is a result of breastfeeding and working, so I worry about it coming back when I stop pumping. That means I have to be more conscientious of what I eat. Dammit. It has been nice to just eat when I'm hungry, which happens to be pretty much all the time. I should probably drink more liquids, as I've noticed a sharp decrease in the volume I pump.

In less exciting news, we have Showtime free for a year. I haven't yet decided if that is a good thing or not. It's been available since last night, but there was nothing good on, nor is there anything good tonight. I'm a network girl during the week. Tonight, I watch 'Pushing Daisies.' Who doesn't like pie?

I was reminded today that our anniversary is next Wednesday. What does a couple do for their second anniversary? I am not a gift giver; I have never really been very good at it. I'm also not into the traditional anniversary gifts. I would be content with just a quiet night out by ourselves... a date, you could say. We haven't had a real date in a long time. Where? Dunno. Will have to consider some options.

I am dreading the week ahead, as Baby and I will have to navigate our morning routine on our own. Husband is in New York to help his Dad. (He broke his leg.) I've done the Husband-out-of-town thing before, but now I've got Baby to care for by myself. This weekend was uneventful and rather easy, but I'm not sure what to expect tomorrow and after.

I bought a stroller today, to replace the one we currently have. (It's Victoria's; her parents let us borrow it. Now that they are having another one, they will need it back.) However, I am considering returning it, but not because I dislike it. See, the cashier handed me a coupon valid starting next Sunday for 20% of a single item. Today I had a coupon for 10% off, but who doesn't want to save a little more money? Yes, it will definitely be worth more than the gas to drive there.

Now I'm off to bed to get as much sleep as I can. Sigh.

So finally, after ten years--that's right, TEN--I am on my way to being naturalized. I don't have to classify myself as an immigrant anymore, hehe. I got my application in just ahead of the change in test format, so I will be tested with the 'old' questions, which are factual. (The 'new' questions require a deeper understanding of US history and government rather than an ability to recall information.)

The sheer length of time it took for me to complete and mail the application should indicate how high it sat on my priority list. (This is where Husband would groan and indicate that it should have been a very high priority; my naturalization would ease his clearance process.) It cost me $675 (application) plus $8 (photos) plus $18 (priority shipping). Ten years ago, it would have cost me $300 total... Oh.

I am scheduled for fingerprinting next Friday at 10am. I need to take the whole day off work because it doesn't make sense for me to go to work--I have a first period that ends at 9am--then drive to the police station (at least, that's where I think I need to go), and finally drive back to work. Who knows how long it will take. That means I will have a four-day weekend, with Monday off for Columbus Day.

I don't know why anyone would choose to vote for McCain.

Let me rephrase.

I don't know why anyone would choose to vote for McCain after he selected Palin. We really don't need another person in the Executive Branch who speaks faster than her brain processes information.

Do you imagine this is what the Founding Fathers had in mind?

Yesterday I did lunch and a movie with Susanna. It felt like an 'adult outing,' despite being mundane. Perhaps it was the company that made the difference. We had some delicious Thai--the food helped erased the memory of a previous horrible experience--and watched the new Batman--intense and dark but a tad weak at the end. Susanna and I discussed school, naturally, and I can see we (and Dawn) will be good buddies. The dynamic of the workroom at lunch will change, perhaps for the better (or raunchier), since another teacher has left. She put quite a damper on the topics of conversation; uberconservative religious types tend to do that.

Today I did some organizing and cleaning in Baby's room. I rearranged some furniture, put away some clothes, and vacuumed (to the ear-piercing screeches of a terrified Baby). I vacuumed the living room as well. I also got some groceries for dinner and the rest of the week. I was in a domestic mood.

Also, Kettle Bakes potato chips are superb. They don't look like the weird, amorphic baked Lays chips, and they certainly taste like super fatty potato chips.