Monday 28 November 2011

Present & Settled

There has been a blog-sized hole in my life the past two weeks, but now I have returned to fill it.

My absence has not been for some glamourous beach holiday, or some soul searching meditations.

Instead it was carefully counting up all the facts, figures and hopes of the past two years and slipping them into carefully color-coordinated and labeled plastic sleeves.

 

I bundled them all up and carried them sleepy-eyed across a London sunrise to sit in a grey waiting room as an immigration officer and a computer took the story of my life and stripped it down to ticks off a checklist and a few easy sums. 

An email, phone call and four cuticle-biting hours went by before "Application Number Thirty-Five please come to Window Twenty-Two" crackled over the loudspeaker, as my blue passport slipped through the extra-thick bulletproof safety drawer, complete with a shiny new crown-adorned sticker.


I am finally a permanent resident of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and one more step closer to my dreams.

7 comments:

  1. Danielle, you about gave me a heart attack! I saw that form, and said NO they're not shipping her ass back here. LMFAOOOOOOOOOOOO! Seriously, I'm trying to catch my breath right now. When I move I need a recommendation HAHAHA and you would be NO help over here. LOL No, I was hoping it was good news, but those pics were throwing me.
    CONGRATULATIONS GIRL!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOO!!! You need to celebrate! Oh and hook me up with the answers, when I take that bad boy. They're probably watching this post now. Don't let that sassyuptownchic here! LALALALALALA HAHAHAHAHA
    http://sassyuptownchic.blogspot.com/

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  2. Congrats!!! It is such a relief, isn't it?

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  3. Congratulations! Such a great relief ... until you apply for citizenship ;)

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  4. Congratulations Danielle - what wonderful news! :) I did my 2 year partner's visa at the Croydon branch and was surprised at the lack of dementors, lightning, black cats, crows, gargoyles, black clouds and lightning and assorted other creatures of darkness that were not, in fact, permanent residents - who knew eh? ;) All joking aside, i'm really pleased for you - it feels good to finally be settled, doesn't it? :)

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  5. Thanks everyone! It is a HUGE relief!

    Kim- you crack me up!

    Stephanie- There were, in fact, some black clouds hanging about (it was this past Saturday). And it did seem very scary up until the point I saw that stamp, then *poof* it turned into a normal DMV- type office.

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