And there was much rejoicing

With 32 days until we leave for London, two major hurdles have been overcome.

First, it appears I have a job. (Cue excited happy dance) This is awesome on many levels because 1) It means I will be able to eat the entire time I am in London. And that, my friends, is very important and 2) It is a job that is actually somewhat related to what I am studying. The firm is called Monitor Quest and they do risk management and security consulting, something that could be useful for an International Relations manager. We still have details to finalize and what not about what my position/ pay/ start date ect. is, but those are just minor things.

Secondly, the friendly UPS guy showed up at my door today (in California, where I am now) and after like, 5 minutes of trying to confine the dog, he gave me an overnight package which contained... drum roll please... THIS:

Woo Hoo! A student visa it's all shiny and pretty and lets me stay in the country until January 30, 2012. And it lets me work up to 20 hours a week (good because, see first part of the entry). And those little black marks don't exist on the visa, I just don't want to advertise my passport number to the world.

Siodhbhra doesn't have to have one of these because she was lucky enough to be born to Irish parents and is therefore a dual Irish and American citizen (technically a tri-citizen because every citizen from an EU country is a dual citizen with the EU). And is therefore aloud to study in any EU country without a visa. So she will just have to gaze at the shiny sticker from afar.

The last thing that needs finalizing is housing. We submitted our application and hopefully should be hearing back from the International Students House soon. And I have to move out of my room so my little sister can take it over. That should be fun. But things seem to be falling into place.


Kathryn