It Snowed Here Today!

It’s like a dream come true to me.

Wooow! I got to see the snowflakes fell and got to touch the snow on the ground here for the first time! I have seen this only in movies! When we got here in US last April, I got to touch a “leftover” snow along the road going to Round Mountain but the feeling today was quite different.

I woke up around 6am today and it was still dark outside. Hubby came home around 7:00am and he told me that it snowed last night. I thought he was just kidding me. I went back to bed and curled up to keep me warm while waiting for Brenda since we agreed to walk at 8:30am on Fridays and Saturdays.

I woke up again around 8:15 then I noticed that our room seemed bright. When I peeked at the window blinds, I was really surprised! Oh My GOD! The yard was covered with snow! And when I looked up at the neighbor’s roof, it was also covered with snow! I ran towards the living room shouting to Jen and Jun about what I saw and they were laughing at me, they said I was too late because they already saw it and enjoyed the scene earlier. Oh gosh, I was late!

Anyways, Brenda came and we headed for a walk. I wore 3 layers of thick jogging pants aside from my warm wear and I wore 3 layers of sweater with hood, a bonnet and a thick gloves. Brenda wore same stuff too. We looked like Ninjas. Well, gorgeous ninjas! Ahem!

While walking, I got to appreciate the wonders created by God. Everything was white, the roofs, the yards, the trees and the flowers. The cars that parked outside got snowed too. Everything looked white, bright, pretty and amazing! The wind blew way too cold! Brrrrrr! I felt like I was a child taking off my gloves once in awhile and touching the snow in a car, in a plant and even in a fence! I scraped snow in a parked car and made a snowball and I played with them in my hands. I embraced the cold air, I laughed and I really enjoyed the beauty around me! I got really crazy! Brenda and I laughed together! She was happy to see me laughing and playing with the snow. She said I have not seen the whole scene on winter yet and wait until snow is 2- inch thick from the ground! Well, I don’t think I can still survive to walk when that time comes, yikes!

While exposed to the cold environment, I got runny nose and I was already shaking. And I thought to walk backwards to get rid of the cold wind that blew on my cheek, hehehe! But I was wondering how the ants, the rabbits and other animals and insects have survived in cold weather like this. I could not imagine!

Brenda said that according to the advanced weather forecast, it would be warmer tomorrow so there will be no snow. She added that it got snowed earlier this time, it is usually get snowed here only after Halloween so maybe we will have a bad winter days ahead.

Well, we will see. I cannot wait to see more snow in the next coming days!

I wished my family and friends in the Philippines will experience this! They will surely appreciate this wonderful thing on the other side of the earth that God had created!

God Bless everyone!

We've Got our Green Card!

At long last, my teenagers and I got our Legal Permanent Card or what we called “Green Card’. At first, I thought its color is green but it is actually not :) Well, I experienced a lot of encumbrances before I got it.

I mailed the application last May 20, 2008, four days after we moved here. I got a Notice of Receipt less than a month after, then Notice of Appointment for Biometrics followed. I almost messed up my Biometrics because we were more or less 5 minutes late on our appointment time. We got lost for a million times in locating the Immigration office and it was a very humiliating experience for me and for my teenagers. Hubby was at work that time so my very kind sister-in-law took us there.

Anyways, the Biometrics was done on the 1st week of July. Afterward, I waited for the notice of the interview schedule and after a month I got it. The schedule was set on the last week of September. We waited for more than 2 hours in the Immigration Office and the interview was held briefly. In less than a week after the interview, I got a “messed up” Welcome Notice. It appeared there that Jun and me are Jen’s derivative, which was wrong because they are my derivative. So I called the USCIS about it but I was not able to get hold of them. I called them a million times, gosh, but to no avail. I was so real upset that time and I even had a serious argument with my hubby because I felt I was the only one who was trying to fix the problem. He was actually doing his part, trying to call the USCIS every now and then but it resulted the same. I became grumpy out of frustration. I even ranted and have had so many complain with him. I was bored, lazy, hot-tempered and impatient. And I did not attend ESL for 2 days. I was real bad that time. When I browsed their site, I found out that the phone lines of the USCIS were not working and they assured their clients to fix the problem as soon as possible, whew!

My husband finally got hold of one of the customer service officers of the USCIS the other Friday and informed the error. The customer service officer assured him that it will be taken cared of and he gave us reference numbers to be used when we make follow-up. He advised to wait for the green card and see it there is still errors. It may just a clerical error and the green card may come out clean. Hubby asked him if we are qualified to get an SS Number (for employment) since we already have the welcome note and he said we are qualified.

So we went to Reno last Tuesday to get SS Number. We could get the number in Elko though, which is nearer in Winnemucca but we liked it there in Reno since it has Asian Stores there where we can buy Filipino foods.

But we were frustrated when we got there. The SS officer disapproved the application. Geez. We waited there for 2 long hours! They wanted the green card as supporting document. There was nothing we could do about it so we went shopping and stayed there overnight as planned.

We stopped at the Post Office and checked our mailbox on our way home. the following day. There, hubby got 3 envelopes from the USCIS! The Green Cards! Yeheey! When I checked them, I thought there was no error at all. We were all too happy and we thanked the Lord for it. But wait, hmmm… hubby found out that Jun’s gender in the card is female, hahahaha!

Brenda took us to Elko to get Social Security Number this morning. And we finally did it!

GOD is good!

Now that I already have my green card, my next mission is to apply for a job and get hired.

Wish me luck!

Wowowee on TFC Today

I really enjoyed watching Wowowee on TFC today! The players of the Wheel of Fortune segment are all spouses of foreigners. I could relate to it!

I was expecting that mostly of the players have met their spouses online or in a dating site in the internet like my case. I was totally wrong.

The first player is Maria. She is a single mom. She met her British husband in Silverworks store where she worked as salesclerk. The guy was having a vacation in the Philippines after his painful divorce that time and he found her. Maria is thankful to her husband because he takes care of her and he treats her son as his own child. They looked very happy.

The second player is Cecilia. She is chubby. She met her Turkish husband in Japan when she worked there as an entertainer. They are now settled in the Philippines and her husband is a driver/operator of a jeepney in their province. Their problem is communication. She cannot understand and speak Turkish language and her hubby hardly understand and speak English also although he is trying hard to learn Tagalog. Sometimes they speak Niponggo or Japanese language when they talk. Confusing.

The third player is Grace. She met her Canadian hubby in Malaysia when she worked there as Lounge Singer. The first time the guy saw her, he has not stopped seeing her since then. He is a pilot trainee now and he wants to settle down in the Philippines for good. They already have 2 kids.

I forgot the name of the fourth player. I'm sorry. Anyway, she met her German husband in Hongkong when she worked there as Domestic Helper. Her husband confessed that he is an avid fan of Pokwang, hehehe! Pokwang gave him a hug and a kiss in the cheek.

Speaking of Pokwang, she confessed that she got a foreigner partner when she worked in Japan before but the relationship did not last. She considered her lovelife unlucky but she jokingly blurted, "But it's good that I have allot of money now!". Good for her.

There are still 2 more players left.

I was surprised when the name of the next player was called. Manny. Musculine. I thought no ordinary Pinoy man can afford to marry a foreigner. Well, I was again wrong. Manny is a guy from Leyte who is married to an American lady from Washington. He met her in a Karaoke Bar. They were the only ones left in the bar before closing time and they found each other so in-love. In fairness, the girl can speak Cebuano! Apart from that, she's got a good voice when she sang a Mexican song while Manny danced at the same time.

The last player is Benjie from Bulacan. He met his Brazilian wife in the internet. Hmmm. Sounds familiar! Hehehehe! When the pretty Brazilian went to Palawan for a vacation with her sister, Benjie went there to meet her. She stayed and they got married. She is pregnant now. And she can speak Tagalog and Visayan too! They rendered duet singing Willie Revillame's "Ako'y Para Sa'yo" and the girl really knew the song! I was really impressed! Bravo!

As expected, the lady foreigners are a way taller than our guys. Geez!

I am glad that hubby subscribed The Filipino Channel or TFC. I heard al lot about it when I was still in the Philippines and I am happy to be one of its subscribers now. It keeps me updated and I could always watch my fave programs especially Wowowee!

Thank you TFC! More power!