The Drama That Is Jen's Present

Oh dear - Who knew it would be this much work?

Originally I got Jen a nice wallet. I was so pleased with myself. I thought I did good. Of course a week later I found out it wasn't shipped via UPS and suddenly I was a day before the birthday party without a present. I had to either tell her, "Oops your present will be here some time next week," OR "I had something else in mind but it didn't work out, so now this is what I have come up with." I went with the second option.

I went on Bloomingdales.com and got her a "virtual e-card." Gift certificates from Bloomingdale's was something she joked about, and I thought given the amount of time I had this was my best option. I placed my order, went to the temple, ate with Sylvia, then partied with Dave + Jose, etc on Saturday. That night I told Jen that the gift would be sent to her inbox some time this weekend. I thought while not terribly creative nor personal, this e-card certificate was useful at least.

Sunday morning I woke up and found out my order had been canceled! The problem seemed to be that my phone number that was attached to my Visa was disconnected, thus Bloomingdale's did not want to honor or complete the transaction. The truth is that I did close my landline. Still, I never had a problem like this before when I shopped online. So instead of calling my bank on Sunday, I used a different credit card and placed another order on Bloomingdale's. Same exact information, same order, different card. This morning, this order got canceled too!!!

I was dumbfounded. Yes, it was great that Bloomingdale's took great measures to protect its customers. But Jen still had no presents, and now what was I supposed to do? 

I called my bank and updated my phone number to my cell phone that's what. 

After the phone change, I placed my third order. It seemed fine. I waited an hour and still I didn't see the receipt of it being sent. I got worried. I checked my cell phone and saw two missed calls. It was Bloomingdale's representatives. Great. I called the number back and found out because there were more fraudulent charges on virtual e-cards than any other purchases, they had be extra careful. So I went through the verification process and reordered the e-card with the phone representative. I was feeling good at last. Before she hung up, she said, "Thank you for calling Macy's." I thought that was odd, but I didn't stop her or ask her what she meant.

Of course, an hour later I received an invoice for a Macy's e-card. OH MY DEAR FREAKING GAWD! I didn't want a Macy's e-card, I bought a Bloomingdale's e-card! I called the number on that invoice and got to explain myself to one of their representatives. For 10 minutes I was on hold, then I was dropped. ARRGH! So I called back and then spoke to another service representative, after 15 - 20 min of wait, my Macy's purchase was canceled and another Bloomingdale's e-card was reordered. I was about to faint at that point.

Jen at first got the Macy's card and told me. Then I sort of explained to her there was some situation, so disregard that one and wait for the one from Bloomingdale's. I felt so embarrassed.

I do appreciate Bloomingdale's online security and phone service. I just wish I knew it was going to be this complicated, I would've gotten the gift card in store, or wait for that wallet.

By the way, the wallet is still on-route somewhere. Sigh...

Jen's Dinner

Got to Jen's dinner party almost an hour late. Everyone was already eating and I joined in soon after. Steve (and Joseph + Ryan?) got Jen the whole Rockband kit. It was a hit, everyone got to play and kept all entertained. I apologized to Jen, as she had not received the present in the email. I hoped by Monday it would be delivered.

Came back home around 1:30 in the morning. I had not stayed out past 1 o'clock in a while. I was exhausted from all the driving and running around yesterday, so of course I stumbled into the bath and hurried to bed when I was done cleaning up. What a day.

This morning I woke up and found out Jen's present was canceled. Somehow my card and the phone number I provided weren't working. I re-did the whole thing and hoped for the best. She better gets it tomorrow!

Gym was not busy today. I ran and thought I probably left a bucket of sweat there and another ton on my body. Went to Uncle Ong's place and got the watch + pineapple cakes dad asked him to bring. Played with this watch for a while, it's a fancy one. Ate the leftover food from last night. Felt full and sleepy, so I took a short nap. It was a good one :)

Didn't get to go to the costume place in Santa Fe Spring today. PK already got an outfit. I don't think I'm going to this party now.

Exhausted

Yesterday after work I went to the gym. Had dinner with Judy, who just had her facial. Came back home and went to sleep around 12.

I didn't sleep well. Once I woke up thinking there was a spider falling from the ceiling. That was 3:42 in the morning. I went back to sleep, got up before 8:00, and stayed up 'til now. I know, poor me right?

I finalized Jen's present and knew I could've done it more creatively. Sometimes plans just don't work out and I have to figure out an alternative route to get the job done. I hope she'll like it. I met up with Sylvia at Hsi Lai Temple around 10:40 and we spent some quality time there praying and paying our respect. There were lots of tourists today. It was not as crowded as last time I visited, still many were in awe or simply quietly studying the statues, the rituals, and of course us Buddhist folks.

We went to have Thai food at Baimon that Judy and I ate back in January. It was just OK. We had papaya salad, green curry chicken, and prik king tofu with green bean. The salad needed more sugar and there were bits of papaya tasted kind of funky. Curry had good flavor, but there were pieces of chicken that had that weird not-fresh smell. Tofu was fine, the green bean again didn't taste as fresh. This particular dish came very late too. Maybe we just ordered them wrong.

After the lunch and dessert with Sylvia I came home to take a short break. I then left to go to Valerie's goodbye party. This was a more adult and casual gathering. I ate some more, and also got to see the new house they would be moving to in Oregon. It all seemed very exciting.

Now I'm back for a bit and leaving very soon to go to Jen's birthday dinner party. I'm exhausted.

Thursday Night Out

Came home after the gym last night. Was on the phone with Sylvia for more than an hour. She finally found out about the news and was very happy for me as well.

Left around 11:10 to go to Jen's show at Barcade. The traffic was light. I got there on time and she was surprised to see me. Her band, Meho Plaza, performed a roughly 30 min set. Jen keeps evolving each time she's in a new band. From experimental alt rock, to electronic pop, to pop rock, and now, artsy noisy indie rock. I can't say I understood it, but it was fun to listen to in the bar, I don't know if I would play it at home and for a long time. I'm a little too mainstream.

There was this bar next door that we saw a few young Korean guys walked in and out throughout the evening. They were all nicely dressed, and looked stylish. Steve and Jen told me that was a Korean gigolo bar. I thought they were joking. Maybe not. It sure was a curious thought. Who are their clients? Just how much do they charge? Are they all citizens? Hahaha!

I GOT IT!

Yesterday was one of the most important days of my life. I received an email from the US Immigration Service notifying me my application had been approved. I re-read this short paragraph in the letter, where it says my permanent residence status has been registered, about ten times over. My eyes got a little teary. My breathing grew heavier as my heart beat faster. I couldn't believe I finally got it.

I can still remember how excited I was when I got my first job offer after college. I remember that boss promised me the company would assist and sponsor my green card application in our interview. It did not happen. In fact, even applying for H-1 with them was a struggle. One year after writing and arguing with the management, I obtained the H-1 visa through work. Unfortunately I, along with Megan and another co-worker, were laid off just a few months after. That was April 2nd, 2001. That day I also met Eric online. Soon it would develop into a good, long distance, if not always perfect, relationship.

Six weeks later, June 19th 2001, I started working here. I needed to transfer my H-1 visa, but my lawyer informed me that my passport was expiring soon. This little problem immediately escalated into a major setback as the TW embassy refused to renew my passport, because I already finished my studies in the States and needed to fulfill my military obligations back in TW. Without a renewed passport, I would not be able to transfer or extend my H-1 visa, therefore no labor certificate, therefore no green card. For days, in a panic mode, I called and asked different lawyers' opinions. I asked a family friend who was an official at TW culture exchange for advice. Every corner I turned the answer was pretty much the same - Unless I got married or became a student again, I would have to leave.

I decided then I wanted to stay in the US and pursue my goals here, more than ever. I visited Cal State Fullerton and spoke with the Art Dept. adviser there. My work did not impress him. I re-edited my portfolio and put together a submission package, and applied for a MA program at an art school in San Francisco. I remember not hearing back from their adviser for days. I did not know what my next step was. Feeling so worried, seeing the time gone by and my passport approaching its expiration date, I emailed her again. A week later I received the news that I was accepted into their program. I asked her to mail me a copy of the I-20 document right away. Once I received it, I went back to the embassy with my acceptance letter and my new I-20, and renewed my passport just a week or so before its expiration.

I never attended the art school. I continued to work here. My H-1 was transferred and extended. Immediately I started the process for labor certification. I would pay and post job ads in a major newspaper for six months. I also paid for all of the legal fees, except for one year my boss actually helped me with my H-1 extension. The labor certification procedure unexpectedly changed after I submitted mine, and my case was sent to a "backlog" center. With the new process, applicants could get their certificate within months, I on the other hand did not get my approved labor certificate until June 19th, 2005. That was approximately 3 years and 10 months of wait.

Similarly the last two steps did not go as smoothly as I would hope. During the 2nd to last procedure, my case was suspended and sent back as I was requested to provide more "evidence." They asked to see my company's tax returns for 2005. Anytime asking my boss or my manager for any money related record or document was a pain. I always felt extremely embarrassed about seeking their assistance. I always had this image of me begging for their help in my head and I hated it. The wait was always excruciating. However, I trained myself get used to the wait and asking for their help. To their credit, my manager and my boss did come through for me each and every time. No matter how long or short the wait I endured, they had always helped me.

The last step was of course another bump in the road. Why would they want to see my I-20 from college after all these years? I couldn't find it. Thankfully, the combined "evidence" including the school issued verification letter, my optional practical training card, complete transcript, and re-scanned copy of my I-94 seemed to satisfy their final inquiry.

I finally got it. After 8 years of working towards it, I did it.

I went home last night after sharing the evening with Dave, Jose and PK. I sat by my desk, and I read that email again. My eyes started to get watery and I began to cry. I cried hard. I told myself I did it finally. I gave myself a good self-patting. That was the release I needed.

This journey has now concluded.

Ants

It's official: The ants have found and invaded my kitchen. When I woke up yesterday morning I noticed those little ones strolling leisurely on the countertop. I wiped them off with my sponge, moved the dish drainer, cleaned that too, put away the sugary items, took out the trash, and hoped they wouldn't be back. Of course they did. It was infuriating last night trying to kill and stop them. My neighbor actually came to help me with her chalk. It was more effective than my detergent soaked sponge. I checked again later in the evening and of course this morning too, no ants so far. I should get me one of those chalk things.

Stuffed

I'm feeling stuffed today. Actually my tummy's fine, it's my mind that's full with stuff. More specifically, mom stuff.

I talked with mom last night. It was more like she talking, me listening. That was never fun. Among the things she poured into my head was my grandfather, family history, my dad, his flaws (her favorite topic), my godmother's summer visit, and Christianity. I was taking it all in, mindlessly, while watching DWTS. I wish I watched KY's performance with the music, but I was "talking" to mom, so I had the TV muted.

It really bothered me that she promised my godmother that I would take a weekend out to show them around, without talking to me first. It also really bothered me that she asked me to go to church because she believed it would help me. I just felt mad and incredibly frustrated because ... how should I say this, it was like she was telling me that I am not good or capable enough yet, and I should change the way I live my life. Maybe that is true, maybe that's what all parents do or say to their kids, but that doesn't make it any easier or better to digest.

I feel seriously irritated whenever she starts to tell me this or that will improve my life. We don't necessarily have the best histories and when she starts to play the mom role, it just rubs me the wrong way. Right now I hope I have something planned good in the summer and won't be around then to be a driver. I feel bad saying that. And next time she's pouring and pouring, I'm going to tell her to stop. She's just airing out her thoughts and I don't want to be her audience.

I'm just stuffed with my mom's "advice"and ready to explode.