New...

So, I decided to get my own domain name while I could. From now on I'll be posting there as well as updating stuff like where I am and what's going on (aside from the blog). See my new site here: www.jessismore.com.

If you have links or bookmarks to this site, please change them to the new site as I won't be posting here anymore. Or at least not even close to as often as I do now (not that I do very much anyway).

Thanks for listening. I hope you enjoy the new site.

Oh, SLO...

So I was in SLO for a few days this week to go cake-tasting and help Adam move. It was really nice to see friends again. Thursday, Adam and I tasted cake and moved a load of his stuff to his new place. Then we met Annie at Farmer's and got food and flowers and then went over to the old house to do some beautiful bouquets and have some beer. It was really fun to be back drinking in that kitchen, however it was a bit incomplete without our token Englishman.



It was a sad night being back in the house without Steve. On top of that it was the first day in forever that we didn't get to talk. I know it seems silly, but being far away, not knowing when I'll see him again, all I have is that daily chat. To make things worse, I ended up using his old pillow which smells like him. Sheesh. Anyway, it was still a fun night and we got commemorative photo to show the last night in the house, and of course, drinking in the kitchen.



The following day we moved Adam. It didn't take too long especially considering we didn't even start until like 1 because we had lunch with Crystal. We were done by 5 and had dinner at Sylvester's. Yummy!! The great thing was that Splish-Splash Nash and Chris came too and I haven't seen either of them in forever. We had a good messy time, coined some new quotes, stayed for nearly 2 hours and then parted our separate ways.



That night I stayed at Annie's place so we stayed up and chatted with the company of some wedding cake leftover from cake-tasting. Today I woke up early, chatted with Steve for a bit and then went to breakfast with a couple of the CCMW guys. It was actually a lot of fun with such a small group. Then Annie and I met at Michael's and picked out ribbon for the wedding cake and her bouquet. My last stop in town was the cakery to put down the deposit on my cake! Yay!! Now I'm completely planned. I also stopped by Penman Springs in Paso on the way home to tell Beth and Rosie the news and inform them that I was going to use their wine for the reception. So I was in Paso for an hour and a half just hanging out with them.

Now I'm back in effing hot Fresno. Yuck. But it is nice to see my parents again. I gotta spend as much time as possible with them now since I won't be seeing them very often after I leave.

So, yeah. That's my SLO trip. Unfortunately there were things I didn't get the chance to do: see Deb (Steve's AmeriMom), have a beer with Kevin who was in town from Boston for a little bit or see Eva (don't know how I would have handled that). But I'll be back in October. I will be going to a 1 year anniversary BBQ for the Apple Store in Atascadero next Sunday. I'm going to bring my mom so I'm looking forward to the time with her.

Hope everyone is well.

One...

Fresno is lonely. I miss my friends. I miss Steve. I miss Eva. I spend the days working on my visa application or doing research for the wedding or running errands. But it's all by myself. I feel very vulnerable. At least I have Bailey (the kitten) to keep me company all day.

So I've been in Fresno for 2 days now. It's tough being away from Steve. I miss him a lot. Luckily, it's free for him to call me so each day we talk on the phone for an hour or so. Today our conversation was filled with chatter of our newest adventure: Steve and I are getting married! I guess that the positive part of me being stuck here in the States is that I can plan as much of this thing as possible before I head back. I've already got my dress, the guest list, favors, some choices for venue and the colors chosen. Luckily, it's not going to be very big, around 50 people, and it's going to be kinda mellow so yeah. Not too crazy. Anyway, my mom and I are heading over to SLO next Saturday to look at venues and bakers. So much work to be done!

So Steve and I have begun gathering paperwork for my visa. My goal is to have it all together a week from tomorrow so I can do the application and get the visa 1-5 days from when I apply. Anyway, cross your fingers for me and think happy thoughts. Things are pretty stressful at the present time.

My mom got a new kitty and I made a really cute video of him. Check it out if you like.

Anyway, it's getting late and I need to work on going to bed earlier. Talk to you all soon!

WTF?!?!?!

Thursday May 8, 11:27 PST

So, I’m on a plane. Alone. Going back to the US. Turns out they didn’t want me to visit over in England. I was denied entry into the country. What a mess. Here’s what happened:

I went to the entry clearance agent and she started asking me questions. Stupid me didn’t have a copy of my itinerary because, well, I don’t know why. Anyway, the lady starts getting on my case and asking how much money I had and what I was going to do while I was there. So they thought I wasn’t going to go home after the 5 months (I really did plan on going home, for a few weeks anyway). Anyway, they found out about my relationship with a Brit and begin freaking out. So they take me down to this “detainment room.” That’s a nice way of saying a stinky prison with a bunch of nasty, uncomfortable couches and stinky people and gross soggy food. Let me know take the time to mention that I got food poisoning, most likely from the airline food. So I was throwing up every hour or so. I couldn’t even keep down water. Yeah, and the stinky room didn’t help a bit. So finally after a couple of hours, they take me into this interview room and start asking me the same questions they did before. I answer the same answers, granted I did lie to them about a couple of things to make them just let me go. I know, not a good idea, but I was soooooo panicked. During this entire time, Steve was sitting in the airport thinking that maybe they’d sent me back without him even knowing. So he’s panicking too. So I contacted my parents and Steve’s mom and let them know what’s going on. Steve calls his mom and she tells him everything. At this point I’ve been in the stinky room for about 6 hours with no word. I get pulled out again to answer more questions and, finally, after 8 hours in the room, they tell me I can’t go into the country. The woman on my case really liked me though and she pulled a couple strings to get me temporary entrance so I could stay the night in a real bed rather than that awful room. They kept my passport, booked me for flights going home and let me go. I caught up to Steve around 6:30pm. Our flight had landed at 9am. He has spoken to the woman helping me so he knew everything. I was miserable, he was miserable. Neither of us could even speak or look at each other without coming close to tears. At 7:20, we took the 3 hour bus to Bridgwater where his mom and brother picked us up. We stayed the night, got something to eat, stayed the night, got to take showers, it was nice. My flight left at 2:15 today so Steve’s mom drove us to the airport where we said goodbye. Now I’m on another freaking plane. And that’s my miserable story. Still sick, no room to lay down and sleep. Bleh. So as soon as I get home, I’ll be working on getting my visa. It should only take 1-3 weeks. Man, I cannot wait to get back there!!

I really feel like I’m having a nightmare.

Here's what really makes me angry: they say that US citizens can come to the UK for 6 months or less without a visa. My trip was 5 months. They said that because it was so long they were suspicious. But really, it's less than 6! If they wanted people to get visas to visit for 5 months then they should freaking say that. Plus, of course I was planning on coming back in October. I paid extra money to get a longer stay. If I was going to stay I would have just bought a return ticket for a week later and saved myself $100. ARGARGARSGSRSKLKNDLIUQHNOIUGBIYL!!!

So close, yet so far away...

So, three weeks from yesterday I'll be driving from SLO to Fresno. Three days later, Steve and I will be flying out from Fresno Air Terminal to LAX and then onto Heathrow Airport in London. Three and a half weeks from now, I'll be living in England. That is crazy!!!! I'm going to miss SLO a lot. I'm going to miss people in the US a lot. But I know that this is just the next step in my life and I'm not going to deny it. Don't worry guys, I'll be back to visit in October.

My last night in town is May 2. I'll be at McCarthy's from 6pm until the bar closes. I'm inviting everyone I know to come have some drinks. So, if you're going to be in town that night, come out and say hello, goodbye, see ya later, etc. I'd like to see everyone there!!

May...

So the moving date has been changed up to May 5. My last day at work is May 2. I've already pretty much narrowed all of my belongings to 3 suitcases: one large, one medium and one small (for carry-on). I feel so good now that I've kinda cleared out my stuff. The only things left are to find someone to take my lease and buy my car.

So for those of you who'd like to hang out before I leave, here are a few opportunities:
April 26- Trashy Prom Goodbye Party
May 2- McCarthy's night, last night downtown

If none of those work for you, then let me know and we'll do lunch or something. I'm leaving SLO on the 3rd to head to Clovis to hang out with my fam for a couple days before we leave. We fly out of LAX on Monday the 5th.

In other news, I've been asked to be in a photo shoot in San Francisco for my company to represent my position in marketing materials. I'm really excited! They've rented me a car to drive up there next thursday and spend some time in a photo studio. On the way home, I'm going to stop in Emeryville and see my mentor who trained me. Steve is taking the day off so he can come with me. It should be a fun road trip. I'm excited for it.

Anyway, I'm excited to be leaving so soon, although I'm bummed too because I won't be seeing people from here anymore. Don't worry, I'll come back to visit.