Day 47 of 90: Kyera Gets Her Visa

Tuesday afternoon, Manila time, from Kyera's Twitter post:

My visa has been released! It's for delivery today! Happiness!

Thank you, God!!! Words cannot describe the gratitude, relief and joy I feel!!!

To celebrate, we had strawberry shortcake with dark chocolate at the Turner household.



Can't wait to see my baby!!!!

Image taken from her Despedida (Farewell Party) / Advanced 18th Birthday Party at Casa Santos. My heartfelt thanks to Len, Phoebe, Faye, Nikki, Miguel, Red, Nanay and Tatay, and everyone else who was part of it. She was very happy. Thank you for making her feel loved.

Step Two: The Funny Thing About Serendipity

Woke at 5AM and headed to the US Embassy to submit a document that says K is ready with her papers. Something that I actually could have done last week. Or ten days ago when the Visa application arrived.

It would have saved me my acidic stomach and the stress-relieving trip to the stylist to chop off my hair.

But it was my fault.

R and J paid me a surprise visit at my office yesterday! Since I haven't been able to drag my but to their side of Makati, they came unannounced and we got to do our long overdue, albeit brief, catching up, while they killed time before heading to a recording.

Of course, the topic of where I am in the process of getting K's papers in order came up.

They recalled their timelines of official documents arriving, and interview dates being secured, and it was revealed to me, and reminded to them, that one of the papers can be submitted as soon as possible even while still completing requirements. And no fees are needed yet.

Yay!

So off I went this morning. I arrived at ten to seven and was told to wait until eight for a certain window to open. Said window opened and I was then told I was at the wrong window. The window where I was supposed to go had no lines and all I had to do was hand over a piece of paper.

guard made me wait at the wrong window for more than an hour only to be told to go to a different one where i spent FIVE seconds. about 2 hours ago from web

Funny how I have been worrying about the $ 400 when I don't actually need it yet. All I had to do was fill out two forms and submit it at the embassy.

Who would have thought that out of the blue, two of my best friends in the world would come to see me on a whim, bearing information I didn't know I would need, in order for me to do something I had been agonizing over when to do?

I truly am not in control.

Thank you, God, for knowing all the tiny details that I don't, and for orchestrating long overdue visits with friends in the nick of time.

Now the wait for K's visa interview begins.

Someone's Birthday This Way Comes

Looks like I found yet another new toy. Shouldn't Kyera be the one doing these things? You may be asking yourself. She would be if only our crappy internet at home would work...

SmartBRO sucks eggs. Eggs!!!

That's one thing I want for my birthday - a decent connection at home.

And of course, a plane ticket, a place to stay, Kyera's Visa approved, and lots of cake and ice cream.

And maybe a pretty bouquet of flowers.

And a trip to the beach.

And an iPhone.