Wednesday, May 31, 2006

If you're looking for me...

These days you're likely to find me playing online poker. I'm not sure how I caught the bug - but I've got it bad! I'm a really inconsistant player (the poker gods are very fickle, don'tcha know) but I'm having a blast.

On June 18th I'm playing in a blogger tourney at PokerStars.net. Scroll to the bottom of this page and check it out! Hopefully I won't go out in the first 3 hands... LOL

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

News From the Home Front!

Politics - new day, same crap. Between Harper and Bush I just have to shake my head and sigh. The only bright spot (and thank you bloggers for insuring we even heard about it) was Stephen Colbert's brilliant and scandalous skewering of the president et al, including the dickless media. If you haven't heard his address, here you go. You need to see this. To read the transcript, go here (with thanks to the Daily Kos.)

But enough of that, because I have huge news on the home front! As you may know (but probably don't,) my family has been in flux for the last several years as I've been sponsoring my wife's permanent immigration to Canada. We are both originally from the States (I escaped in 1989, she in 2000.) Imagine - to want to live in a country in which we feel safe, that sanctions our marriage, and that allows me to sponsor her! What can we be thinking! ::sarcasm off - mini rant for our "friends" in the US who are sad that we "cut and ran"::

A bit of background... We began our relationship in 2000. Had a Joining Ceremony in 2001. (We call that our Emotional Wedding.) Began exploring sponsorship in 2003 when the law changed to allow same sex couples to sponsor under the family class as commonlaw. Decided we would rather get legally married, and planned for that after BC changed provincial law to allow it. Got married in 2004 (our Legal Wedding) and began the application process.

All that time my wife has been a "visitor" in Canada - here legally on a visa but not allowed to work, go to school, etc. The joke was that she couldn't get sick because she couldn't go on my insurance. (Thankfully, she didn't.) Money moved back and forth from tight, to very tight, to just crazy sleepless tight. Six years in limbo is a long time.

However, last Friday, May 12 2006, she became a Landed Immigrant!!!!!

Wow. We hadn't realized just how stressed we had been until the stress came off. Up until the last minute, DW was worried that the Powers That Be would change their collective minds, and put her on a bus to Seattle. Not because she had broken any laws, but just because... (Don't get me started on the fact that living the last few years in the US helped bring on that mentality...)

Anyway - she has now been added to my insurance. Her SIN card is on the way. She can begin to advertise her business and actually make some money.

And she's counting the days until she can apply for Citizenship (just like I did all those years ago.)

So Welcome to Canada, sweetie. We'll make that appointment at the tat shop for your Maple Leaf now!

(The beautiful watercolour included in this post is of the Peace River in northeastern BC, where we live. I found it on the net, so with many thanks to the artist...)