Wow, it’s the middle of June already, where has the year gone? Not only that but it’s almost a month since my last blog.. So what have I been up to??
Well, I was on my way back to Colorado when I last posted. It was another short leave, not as short as the one before but still not even three weeks. We got a fair bit done around the ranch, we sold a few critters, including Izzy the last of our llamas, so we’re now llamaless. The Blossom Art show has been and gone, though I did get a chance to pop into the Fremont Art Center before everything was taken down to have a look at all the exhibits. June had been when the planned ‘Fusion’ exhibition was to be for local fiber artists, one that Dazzle had been looking forward too. But it had been canceled and in it’s place they are having a “Strut your Stuff” exhibition. We were going to pass on it, but at the last minute we found out that there was still space available so Dazzle and I got a ‘double’ section to display our creations. The opening seemed to be fairly well attended and there was even a reporter from the local paper on hand who decided that shed like to interview Dazzle and I for the paper. This link is a transcript of the article that appeared the following Monday. The opening night of the exhibit was my last night at home, so we had a good evening there, followed by a meal in one of the local hostelries.
One of the reasons behind my my short leave this time was that, as my L1 visa was due to expire at the end of the month, I had to return to London and visit the US embassy there and have it renewed. It’s always a bit of a tedious effort, with a great deal of waiting involved though in the past I’ve always been fortunate enough to get through the experience quicker than a lot of my colleagues have. I have to be particularly careful as any issues with my visa could end up having long term implications for getting my green-card.
Anyway, along the route, I found myself having to explain to one of the embassy staff the differences between US and UK domestic wiring. Not, as he repeatedly pointed out, that this was part of the interview, just a problem with a light fitting that he had at home! The interview when it came was simple enough:
Embassy: You work for Subsea7
Me: Yes
Embassy: How long have you worked for them?
Me: 19 years
Embassy: You’re renewing your visa?
Me: Yes
Embassy: Okay, your visa’s renewed, it’ll be sent out to you in a few days.
So that was me done. I had expected to have to spend an extra day in London, as the crew change wasn’t scheduled until the Wednesday, but the ship was going to be in early, so at the crack of dawn the following morning, I was off on my travels again. Hard to believe, but if you want to be in Stavanger before noon, you can’t fly there direct from Heathrow. I had to fly first to Copenhagen in Denmark before getting a connecting flight to Norway.
Anyway, I’m now back on the ship and my first week is in, only another three to go!
