Best (worse?) case

Here's another thought...

If my I-485 falls through, I'll have to leave US for a year before reapplying for a H1-B (work visa). I've decided that I will use that one year properly.

I'll start with two or three months of vacation. I'll visit Ye Lin in Sri Lanka. I'll visit Roz in the UK. I'll visit Yee Jenn in Australia. I'll spend a month or so alternating between my parents in Malaysia and my friends in Singapore. And then, I'll try to find a job in either the UK or Australia, or in the worst case, Singapore. I figure that if I'm going to be away from US, I'd rather use the time to work somewhere where I won't normally get the chance (ie, not Singapore).

The more I think about it, the more a vacation sounds like a beautiful idea...

I-485 denied due to abandonment?

The issue:
I filed for an I-485 (Adjustment of Status) about 2 years ago. On Aug 12 2004, BCIS sent me a request for evidence of some sort, which I never got. In mid Nov, I happened to check my case status online and noticed that the case status said they had sent me something. I called the BCIS help desk and they said they did not know what kind of info the request was asking for (they didn't have access to such details) but they would re-send the request. On Dec 21 2004, I got a letter stating that my I-485 was denied due to a lack of response on my end.

It is possible that BCIS sent the request to an old address of mine. However, I have managed to receive other notices from them (eg my fingerprint notice and this letter of denial) just fine, which seems to indicate that they have a current address. Also, I have mail forwarding on all my previous addresses.

I have 30 days to appeal the decision, or else I'm out of the country. Great huh?

For now, my immediate future in the capable hands of Stacey Gartland from Van Der Hout, Brigagliano, & Nightingale LLP. Who knows where I'll be in 1 or 3 or 6 months?

Sushi + Wine fundraiser

Crystal kindly invited me to attend the SAWL Sisters' annual children's fundraiser held at Diablo Grande Wine Gallery in SF. At first, I thought I'd just pony up the $25 entry fee just cos it's a good cause, but a few days before the event, I decided to actually show up cos I had nothing better planned. No staying home and playing with my Xbox isn't "better".

So I dolled up a little, took my car in for a wash and wax, and drove to SF. Tedious drive as always...

The event was surprisingly fun. There wasn't quite enough sushi, and the wine was decent at best, but everyone was nicely decked out, super friendly, and well, I had a generally good time meeting people.

Some people I met:

Christine, who owns a company (http://www.oriented.com) that organizes monthly happy hours on a global scale.

Clara, who works as a financial controller for a hotel group. She had guys hovering around her the whole evening!

Hamilton, who is Crystal's classmate from her MBA days

Got gmail?

Well, it looks like that gmail fad is finally fading. A quick scan of craigslist shows that there were only 3 "gmail wanted" ads and a plethora of "I've got gmail" ones. Most of the gmail-4-sale ads were free or for trades, but some idiots still have the balls to ask for $5 for the invite?!

Chair

My chair really sucks. It doesn't quite recline properly. More like, it's either totally upright or leaning back at some crazy angle. And there's no cushioning for my butt. And it can't be elevated to the right height. This really sucks. My shoulders ache from using this chair. I need to talk to Nigel about hooking me up with a new chair...