Author Topic: My search  (Read 76879 times)

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Offline fivetrout

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Re: My search
« Reply #255 on: December 20, 2013, 10:11:37 am »
Jim, my guess is that you're smiling on the inside? ;D

Offline JustJim

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Re: My search
« Reply #256 on: December 25, 2013, 04:14:03 pm »
That is me trying to look proud...   :)

The truth is that I chipped a tooth and didn't have time to get to the dentist prior to my trip, so I am a little self conscious and trying to hide it.

I have been too busy to read or write here, and my access has been spotty, but I head home today, and I will post more when I get home.

Hopefully I have all the documents I need, but I think I have the most important ones.

China has been good to me.  I ate a lot but lost a few pounds.  A lot less carbs I think.  Goodbye for now...

Offline Pineau

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Re: My search
« Reply #257 on: February 11, 2014, 05:37:43 pm »
Well Jim.....tic tock.... were waiting.....
Don’t give up when you still have something to give. Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.
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Offline JustJim

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Re: My search
« Reply #258 on: February 22, 2014, 09:45:25 pm »
Sorry to be so neglectful...

Actually this winter is kicking my a**.  Since I got back from China I started a new union job working on an aqueduct project.  It will be a good job but I have been outside all winter, and some of these days have been brutally cold.  Also I have had to replace my water pump, and I had some frozen pipes on the house, so I had to replace a lot of plumbing.  It has been rough back here in the States...

I would give anything to be back in China.  Even if there was no heat in her house Mei was always warm in bed... ;)

We QQ everyday, and I have discovered a way that we can text each other.  Before she could not initiate contact with me - she had to wait for me to call or QQ her,  and I could sense her frustration about this.  Anyways, one day I realized that I can email from my phone, so that led me to experiment, and of course my phone can also receive emails, in the form of texts.  So I sent a text to my QQ email and then back to my phone from QQ.  Then I explained to Mei how she could do the same.  She loves that she can now contact me when she wants to say hello in the morning, or even when she is just thinking about me.

I am hoping to go back in May, but only for two weeks.  Meanwhile we are getting all of our documents together and I am talking with Robert about helping us with the paperwork.  I am just waiting on two more documents from Mei and then I am going to send everything off to Robert - ( well, if that is what I am supposed to do.)  I have to confess that I am not good with paperwork and all of these documents and all of these rules confound the H -  E - double toothpicks out of me.

I feel like a very lucky guy.  Mei keeps on proving herself to me.  I am not even testing her on this - I just have come to accept that I got lucky and I made a good choice.  I am looking forward to her being here and I am looking at the house to see how I can make it more suitable for her.  One thing I am thinking about is replacing my stove with something more amenable to her cooking style. 

I like the two burner cook tops that they use in China.  The burners are farther back and that makes room for a wok to sit there just perfectly.   Truth is that I don't ever think I have used more than two burners at the same time, so why not?  Now I just have to figure out where to get one.  And I want to remodel the downstairs half bath.  There is room in there for a good size shower and that would give her daughter her very own bathroom.

Besides winter beating me up I am also working way too much.  There is the outside job and then there is another on going project that I am doing on the side.  The money is good, and I will need it for everything I need to do immigration wise.  My costs are double because I have Mei and her daughter.
And of course I want to go back to China too, but at one point I realized that I had worked 26 days straight.  The only saving grace is that I have not gotten sick this winter.  No colds or anything like that.

Okay now I am over compensating for not having been here in a while.  I hope someone can use that info about texting to their advantage.  I will try not to be a stranger here.  Until later....

Offline IrishGuy65

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Re: My search
« Reply #259 on: February 22, 2014, 10:03:46 pm »
Glad to hear it is going well, Jim.  Robert is AWESOME!  I am terrible at paperwork myself, and he was great at getting it all done!  No stress in working with Robert!
I-129F Delivered: 9/26/13
NOA-1 Received: 10/1/13
Request for evidence: 11/13/13
RFE evidence received by USCIS: 11/29/13
Approval of petition (online): 12/17/13
NOA-2 Received: 12/24/13
Lisa received letter from Guangzhou: 1/14/13
Interview on 2/25/14.  Visas approved.
Visas picked up on 3/5/14.

Offline RobertBfrom aust

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Re: My search
« Reply #260 on: February 23, 2014, 07:42:08 am »
Jim , glad to read that all is okay with you and Mei plus 1 ha ha , stay safe whilst working so hard and I am sure there must be some warmer weather on the way , regards Sujuan and Robert .
Now it is early to bed and late to rise .
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Offline Pineau

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Re: My search
« Reply #261 on: February 23, 2014, 12:44:00 pm »
Jim,
about getting the house ready for her.  Well since she did not know any English I took some labels and wrote in Chinese for the washer and dryer, dishwasher and stove and the hot-cold faucets.

I will share with you what I learned from Jing about Chinese cooking. It is really messy and it also (sometimes) smells awful.  She is from Hunan and used a lot of spice. Sometimes it would burn your eyes and throat and make you cough.  Our first kitchen was always covered with grease and oil and the house smelled like burnt squid.  So to prevent this from happening in our new house I converted the laundry room into a second kitchen, complete with sink, cabinets and stove and a turbo jet exhaust fan and a door to close it off from the rest of the house.  She would gather everything she needed from the refrigerator and head back to "her" kitchen, close the door and come out with her prepared Chinese dishes. Both of us were happy about it, as it was just a few steps away from the dining room and the other kitchen. 

Jim, I saw a few photos on QQ. How about posting them here for the other guys.
Don’t give up when you still have something to give. Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.
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Offline Willy The Londoner

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Re: My search
« Reply #262 on: February 23, 2014, 07:41:45 pm »

about getting the house ready for her.  Well since she did not know any English I took some labels and wrote in Chinese for the washer and dryer, dishwasher and stove and the hot-cold faucets.

Just what I did, our first home was covered in labels stuck on just about everything. Not only in English but also in 'phonetic mandarin' o she could say in English what she read.

Willy
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Now in my 12th year living here,

Offline IrishGuy65

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Re: My search
« Reply #263 on: February 23, 2014, 07:45:54 pm »
Gerry and Willy... great ideas!

Since the girls (Lisa and Amy) know English, I think I may have them do some labeling for me in Chinese.  It sounds like a great way to really boost the learning of their language.
I-129F Delivered: 9/26/13
NOA-1 Received: 10/1/13
Request for evidence: 11/13/13
RFE evidence received by USCIS: 11/29/13
Approval of petition (online): 12/17/13
NOA-2 Received: 12/24/13
Lisa received letter from Guangzhou: 1/14/13
Interview on 2/25/14.  Visas approved.
Visas picked up on 3/5/14.

Offline Pineau

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Re: My search
« Reply #264 on: February 24, 2014, 06:52:18 pm »
Hey Pat, I bet your nervous. Lisa messaged Fiona and I guess she is at the embassy waiting for her interview.  Good luck and hope we see an announcement here in a little while!
Don’t give up when you still have something to give. Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.
https://chinaandfriends.shutterfly.com/pictures
http://www.youtube.com/user/gerrypineau/videos
http://youtu.be/zG4eoONlutE

Offline IrishGuy65

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Re: My search
« Reply #265 on: February 24, 2014, 10:16:25 pm »
Hey Pat, I bet your nervous. Lisa messaged Fiona and I guess she is at the embassy waiting for her interview.  Good luck and hope we see an announcement here in a little while!

Haha.. just posted.  She was asked more questions about you than about me!  I am jealous  ;D
I-129F Delivered: 9/26/13
NOA-1 Received: 10/1/13
Request for evidence: 11/13/13
RFE evidence received by USCIS: 11/29/13
Approval of petition (online): 12/17/13
NOA-2 Received: 12/24/13
Lisa received letter from Guangzhou: 1/14/13
Interview on 2/25/14.  Visas approved.
Visas picked up on 3/5/14.

Offline Pineau

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Re: My search
« Reply #266 on: February 27, 2014, 02:39:27 pm »
Your joking, right?
Maybe it because she told them I introduced her to you and they have a long history with me. Well, I guess it didn't hurt.

I'm the one that should be Jealous ! It took me two years to get Fiona into the USA and you just strolled in 5 months ago and now taking Lisa home.  ???
« Last Edit: February 27, 2014, 02:41:47 pm by Pineau »
Don’t give up when you still have something to give. Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.
https://chinaandfriends.shutterfly.com/pictures
http://www.youtube.com/user/gerrypineau/videos
http://youtu.be/zG4eoONlutE

Offline IrishGuy65

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Re: My search
« Reply #267 on: February 27, 2014, 08:59:10 pm »
I owe it all to Robertt.  He is the one that got all my ducks in a row and did all the legwork.  He made it simple.
I-129F Delivered: 9/26/13
NOA-1 Received: 10/1/13
Request for evidence: 11/13/13
RFE evidence received by USCIS: 11/29/13
Approval of petition (online): 12/17/13
NOA-2 Received: 12/24/13
Lisa received letter from Guangzhou: 1/14/13
Interview on 2/25/14.  Visas approved.
Visas picked up on 3/5/14.

Offline JustJim

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Re: My search
« Reply #268 on: March 24, 2014, 08:42:26 pm »
Sorry to be away for so long.  I have been pre- occupied with life, I guess.

Let me just get this out because it is on my mind...  Is anyone else really consumed with this missing flight 370?

I have the TV on CNN almost all the time now.  My first thought is of course my concern for the passengers and the families.  Everyone wants to cling to some shred of hope even when the evidence says otherwise.  My second thought, of course, is that anyone of us flying to or from China is going to be on a 777. That's the long haul plane of choice.  And you have to wonder, what happened?

Anyways, despite all of this I just booked a return flight to China to see Mei. I will be leaving at the end of April and will be there three weeks.   We have been apart 3 months now and it will be four months by the time I get there.  Things are going well between us, and Robert has all my paperwork and is going over it with a fine tooth comb.

Someone suggested I should post more pictures, and I will, but you all should be thankful I am writing this and not Mei, because if she was in charge of pictures you would get about a million....  like everyday.... ;D   Actually, that is one of the things I love about her, and I find myself taking pictures of my food so I have something to share with her.  (For those who don't know - it seems like food is a really big thing in China. At least my gal is always getting pictures from friends of what they had for dinner...)

SO here are some pictures..  I asked Mei to pick out four pictures that she would want everyone to see and she picked out about 15...

Here are four of those...
« Last Edit: March 24, 2014, 08:44:41 pm by JustJim »

Offline JustJim

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Re: My search
« Reply #269 on: March 28, 2014, 06:36:05 am »
I forgot to ask...

On my next trip I want to go also go to Macau or to Hong Kong.  Is there anything that I need to know?  What is required?