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Last night, I was shocked and surprised as the following email appeared in my inbox:

Subject: Case Status Information

The last processing action taken on your case

Application Type: I765 , APPLICATION FOR EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION

Current Status: We mailed you a decision.

On September 26, 2007, we mailed you a decision on your I765, APPLICATION FOR EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION. Please follow the instructions on the notice. If you move before you receive the notice, please contact customer service.

If you have questions or concerns about your application or the case status results listed above, or if you have not received a decision from USCIS within the current processing time listed*, please contact USCIS Customer Service at (800) 375-5283.

*Current processing times can be found on the USCIS website at www.uscis.gov under Case Status and Processing Dates.
*** Please do not respond to this e-mail message.

Sincerely,

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

It's all very - and completely unnecessarily - cryptic and vague... why can't they just tell me what the decision is in the email, instead of making me wait impatiently for the postman each day? Sigh. At least the end of this process is very close now!

And no celebrations yet, please. The decision could still be "go back to your own country and stop stealing our jobs, you convict Aussie". Unlikely, but it could happen.

Posted in: chaosboy, immigration, united states on September 27, 2007 at at 9:35:00 AM 0 comments    

Hey there.

I know its been some time since I've done this crazy blog. It's not like we have been super busy, but maybe just getting more and more super comfortable. And with winter coming in, we'd better get used to it.

But I was thinking tonight of all the things that Cam has done since he's arrived to this wacky country. Like tonight in particular. We went to our favorite rock climbing gym, The Portland Gym, and Cam was fabulous. He had just exchanged his new shoes the other day and he was flying up walls. Whereas a month ago, I was practically hauling him up on my end of the rope. He has adapted and is getting better all the time. Since I have a year head start on him, I must be the patient one, but I'll make him catch up with me sooner or later. There is so much trust in rock climbing. And the more confident he gets, the more he trusts me that I won't let him plummet to the floor just for a laugh. It's good. We really need to take pictures, but it's always weird taking pictures in a gym where other people are sweaty... and wary of lenses.

Also, Cam has taken over my projects. I'm not fussed whatsoever, as it keeps him quite the entertained while I slave away the day at work. Colin's new website looks amazing - www.colinlake.com - and also he is not quite satisfied with the Wellington Road Moores site which he is taking into his own hands soon. I keep feeding him missions so he can keep his mind busy. Whether it's laundry or design, it seems rare when he is bored.

Not to mention that we have been suckered into technology more and more. Cam has made our house a network mecca. Everything connects to something else wirelessly. And now with our new iPhones we can connect to the outside world even easier (Cam had the cheapest T-mobile phone and I had the oldest, both of which met their demise) and makes our lives more integrated with the pizza joints nearby in our neighborhood. You know, wherever we are, that will be useful for the winter ;)

Posted in: apple, chaosgurl, general musings, sport on September 24, 2007 at at 10:34:00 PM 0 comments    

Yes, I know it's just a fancy-pants word for "taking your fingerprints", I just wanted a funny title for this entry...

I finally have an appointment to get my biometrics "captured" by the USCIS in relation to my I-485 (residency) application. It's on October 17th, so almost a month away still. At least things are happening with this application, unlike my I-765 (employment authorization document). The way things are going, I'll get my Green Card before my EAD, even though I put that application in two months earlier!

Posted in: chaosboy, immigration, united states on September 23, 2007 at at 2:46:00 PM 0 comments    

At last, a glimmer of progress on my I-485. The check (or cheque for those from the Commonwealth) that I sent in with my application on the 27th of July has finally been cashed by the US Department of Homeland Security! That's 53 (yes, count them - fifty-three!) days to basically open my envelope and cash a check. I'm looking forward to my residency being approved – in 2012!

Still, it's nice to know that the application actually got there and is being processed, however slowly. I was starting to think it had got lost in the mail!

Posted in: chaosboy, immigration, united states on September 17, 2007 at at 11:43:00 AM 0 comments    

So, football season is upon us here in America, and it's very interesting to observe things at close quarters. As an Australian, it's always been very easy to dismiss American football as slow, tedious and boring compared to our fast flowing, hard hitting football codes (rugby union included when the referee puts his whistle away!), but then again, I've only ever really watched half of about three different Super Bowls, which isn't exactly indicative of the game as a whole.

So last Monday, I sat down with Kevin to watch the season opening-game for his beloved Cincinnati Bengals as they took on the evil Baltimore Ravens. The game was very even and closely fought, with Cincinnati repelling a lot of last ditch attack from the Ravens to prevail 27-20, so I think I probably saw a good game, and at moments it was genuinely thrilling and exciting. But overall, it still leaves me a little cold. The stop/start nature of the game erodes any sense of continuity: once a play is completed, everyone stops, dusts themselves off and trots off to the middle of the field to set up the scrimmage line all over again. There's no advantage to be gained from a play apart from the yardage up the field. The defence always has time to reset itself for the next stanza of play, which always starts from the centre of the field. Compare this to the fluid defence required in the rugby codes or AFL, where you have to rush to be in the right place at the right time throughout the game.

And adding to the stop/start feeling is the ever-present TV advertising. At one point in the game, a Bengals player fielded a kick off in his own in-goal and touched the ball to the ground, signalling a restart from the 20 yard line. The network immediately cut to a three-minute ad break: when they came back, the players were still milling around the goal line, obviously waiting for a signal to resume play. Talk about a game made for TV!

Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate the skill and power of the players involved, and if anyone thinks they're wusses for wearing all that padding, you should definitely think again. Kevin Everett, a player with the Buffalo Bills team received severe spinal injuries from a tackle gone wrong in a game last weekend, and may never walk again. Like in many rugby tackles, he simply got his head on the wrong side of the tackle, but the forces involved with two 300 pound men hitting each other are much more than the (comparatively) smaller guys in our codes.

On a lighter note, one last thing that amused me was when a contentious refereeing decision is made, a coach can challenge it. When this happens, the head referee disappears into a little viewing booth on the sidelines to review the video. The booth even has little curtains to hide the referee and screen from view! So cute!

So, my verdict: The jury's still out on this one, I think. We'll see how I go as the season unfolds!

Posted in: chaosboy, sport, united states on September 14, 2007 at at 10:10:00 AM 0 comments    

Last Saturday evening was Widmer Brother's big Oktoberfest party and Christine and I - along with around 3,000 other Portlanders - went along for fun, food and music. We turned up a little late to see our good friend Colin Lake (Widmer's own!) strut his stuff, but the other bands were a lot of fun. We had lots of free food and beer coupons thanks to Kim and Kevin (who both work at Widmer's), so it was a very inexpensive night out for us impoverished types. In the photo above, Christine is holding our commemorative glasses (only 500mL, half the size of a German Maßkrug) as Curtis Salgado gets the crowd dancing. And yes, the band is performing on the brewery delivery dock!

Posted in: chaosboy, party time, portland on at at 9:51:00 AM 0 comments