Work permits, stress and other stuff

Immigration to Canada can be a nerve testing business, especially when you see the processing times. My work permit was submitted for renewal in plenty of time, but after a forty minute phone call the other day, I found that there is almost a ninety day lead time on renewals if done via the processing centre at Vegreville, Alberta. The upside is that I'm allowed to stay and work because while my application is in the stack waiting to be processed, I have what is called 'implied consent' to continue as normal.

Angie is delighted because she finally has bagged a proper job and praise the Lord is all smiles again. We went down to the border to get her work permit last week, and for a change everything went as smooth as silk. No hitches, comments, hangups or anything; apart from finding that we had three files open instead of one. However, this is due to our Permanent Residency still in the queue for processing with 18 months still to go before someone actually looks at our application. Everyone was terribly nice to us, even when we went to do what is called a 'Flagpole' which is leaving Canada for the USA, stopping at the border post and after a perfunctory check at US customs, heading back to Canadian customs for the documents Angie needed. "When are you coming for a proper visit?" Asked the US border guard with a quick grin. Canadian customs were likewise easy to deal with. We even managed to catch the 12:45 ferry back from Tsawwassen instead of having to wait until 3:15.

Another pleasant surprise greeted us the following day upon application for a temporary Social Insurance Card Number at Service Canada. "Use your old one." Angie was told. This was a bit of a surprise, as her old immigration documents, including SIN card, were siezed last January by a Border Guard at the Peace Arch crossing. I recall her annoyance at being told "These aren't valid, you shouldn't have them." The Service Canada tax people and even our local immigration officer now say, and not without a little embarrassment, that the guard in question shouldn't have taken Angie's old SIN card and certificate of landing, even if the 2006 immigration rule change rendered them currently unuseable. Said documentation, we have been assured, will be returned upon processing of our Permanent Residency application.

Despite the relative ease of the transition I'm mentally exhausted. I've been living off my nerves for the past four months and it shows. I feel run down and tired, stressed out and just generally out of sorts. Nothing specific, just an all round lassitude that saps my normal exuberance. I've not been on form at all. My usual "go git 'em floyd" attitude is conspicuous by it's absence. Mister Brain is not playing ball, either, and processing capacity is distinctly reduced. Mental tasks that once took milliseconds hiccup like a scratched CD. Trains of thought have shunted themselves into rusty sidings and are refusing to move without half a gallon of coffee and a Tim Hortons Blueberry fritter as fuel.

All of this comes from the last five months when Angie was offered a job, denied a work permit because her would-be employers weren't paying the proper rate for the job, and her endless worrying at the bone of employment has eroded my own resiliance. Now she's all bouncy and chipper, and I feel like death warmed over.

Concerns over money have also been at the forefront of our anxieties, what with the exchange rate doing a nosedive. Only having one shot of cash a month has been worrying, but now we've transferred last years interest on our capital over here, and Angie will be pulling in a modest wage, things will ease up. We've spent close on CDN$1000 on fixing the brake system on our old Ford Windstar van last weekend, and there are costs like the Dog's booster innoculations, wash and trim, and dog licence. Then our Ford Bronco II needs some attention to the parking brake and fuel filter, then I need to replace my old laptop, which has just died. We can afford all these things now, thank goodness.

Upon reflection I think I'd like a Mac, as the retailers still trying to offload machines loaded with the Microsoft Vista operating system, which no-one I know likes at all. The various shops will 'roll back' the machines O/S to XP, but I'd rather have 2000, which is just as stable as XP, and rarely gave me any issues.

Am stopping volunteering for the Canadian Red Cross. Not really for any one reason, but just because I'm not getting anything out of it any more. There was also the issue that I felt excluded over the 150th Birthday celebrations in Victoria on 31st January. Everyone at the Nanaimo office was offered an invitation, even those who didn't want one, but me. I replied to the round robin e-mail, said "Ooh yes please." When asked verbally, yet never got onto the guest list. I'm vaguely annoyed about the whole business.

Have put my name down as a volunteer for the Nanaimo Global Film Festival in March, and will continue my work with artefacts and display building at the Nanaimo Museum. That and attending every meeting under the sun to promote Tetra. I'm confident this strategy will pay off in the long run. By the time I'm done, Tetra will have an office and workshop, so that people who need one-off aids for the disabled can drop in and at least talk to a human being.

The Museum volunteering is useful because we get invited to various functions and it helps us meet people like the Mayor, local MP, and various other dignitaries who can help our cause. It's a slow business, but quite interesting, and in the interim I get to work on old technology circa 1900 like Movie Projectors, Magic Lanterns and gramophones.

I'm currently spending a little time every week restoring an 1890's Magic lantern, the trademark of which is proving somewhat obscure. From what I can make out, it's a common tinplate model which were purchased in bulk by the Provincial Educational boards. The firebox is missing, as is the mahogany slide assembly, but I can fake those and as the lenses are in good condition, another few sessions and I'll have it working properly.

In the meantime I'm still writing and punting stuff out to publishers and agents. Maybe one of them will actually read my work, and like it enough to take a chance on a relative unknown like me. It's like promoting a charity, all it takes is time and persistance.