My 2 New Loves - 22 Days

Yesterday I got a new phone: the HTC Droid Eris.  It's a smart phone which means that I will owe more money a month, but it's about time that I upgraded.  Plus I seriously needed a new phone because my old one was crapping out.  I spent all of last night adding contacts and syncing to Facebook and twitter.  Because I am a nerd it was fun.  The phone isn't international though, so when a few days before I go to London I will transfer my number back to an older phone so I don't have to pay data charges while I am abroad.  I will have to get a phone over there for emergency purposes as well.

But my biggest and favorite gift came today, about 45 minutes ago.  My VISA arrived via FedEx.  My friend and travel buddy, Bailey, called me up to tell me that she got hers and I was happy for her but sad for me.  So what do I do?  I immediately go check the status of my Visa at itseasy.com.  No surprises, it says its "processing".  They provide the option for you to check your status, but they don't really update it very well.  About five minutes after that the doorbell rang and it was FedEx with my phone's car charger and my Visa.  I squealed a little bit.  There may have been jumping with a slight victory dance as well.

Now nothing is standing in my way of London and working in London.  Work is the reason I needed the visa in the first place.  I got a sweet internship at TDG (The Design Group).  They do branding and labeling for big companies like Olay and Nestle.  Anyway, that's my update for now.  See you soon!

Pip Pip Cheerio!

Visa "Problems" - 34 Days

Hello internet.

So it's official, I am done with my fall semester.  I finished up on Thursday with my media law test.  My fav boys took me out for some Thai food on Wednesday to celebrate/say goodbye.  One of my best guy friends was leaving the next morning so I was planning on saying goodbye to him in person right before my test.  When I got to his house, no one answered the door, the window or their phones.  I never got a proper goodbye and it makes me really sad.  I won't be seeing these guys for about 8 months since I will be in London next semester.  Super sad day :(  Thursday night I went out for some sushi and drinks with some awesome girls, and there I did get to give a proper goodbye.  The end of the semester and came up so quickly, and I was sooo stressed that I didn't get to say goodbye to as many people as I would have liked to.  So this is me saying from the bottom of my heart "Goodbye everyone!  I miss you already.  Hugs and Kisses ~ Rachel"

Fall semester may be over but what is not over is my Visa process.  Itseasy.com received my visa around Dec 10th but as soon as they got it my status said "Problem" and as you can imagine, I was freaking out.  I called them up and they hadn't received one major piece of paper work from me.  I FedEx'd the package so the everything should be hunky-dory now.  Right now my status is "Processing."  I hope to get my visa before Christmas.  That would be an excellent Christmas present.  Moral of the story is, don't forget your paperwork when applying for a visa.  It will kick you in the butt if you do.

We haven't had a big snow since the blizzard that took over our lives for 2 days a little over a week ago. If there are doubters that this snow wasn't any big deal, I'm posting a picture to disprove that.  Look at how high the snow is on the little tables.  It's ridiculous.  I couldn't get out of my driveway without burning rubber probably 4 times.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Holiday season.  I will post again soon since I'm not as stressed anymore.
Pip Pip Cheerio!

SNOW DAY! 44 Days

Hello Internet!

This begins my time blogging for when I study abroad in London this coming spring semester.  I will be traveling through the Central College Abroad, and I will be staying in the the Vandon House in Downtown London.  Curious as to just how awesomely located I will be?  Well here's a hint... I will be able to see Buckingham Palace from my window. (BALLER!)

Like the title says, I have 44 days until classes start, and last night we had the blizzard of the decade leaving me snowed in at home.  Just enough time to start a blog, and get some stuff organized (Yes Mom! I'll attempt at my room).

Yesterday, I finished up my visa process by getting my biometrics done downtown.  Basically they took a non-smiling picture of my face and gathered some finger prints.  I'm sure my picture was just wonderful.  I was smiling really big and the lady turns to me and says, "how about a closed mouth smile?"  Great that's what I need, a mug shot.  But let me tell you, the Visa process sucks!  I decided to use the expediting service found at Itseasy.com and I'm glad I did.  They will help me if anything goes wrong.  I sent my stuff off yesterday, but I hope it's not delayed in it's delivery with this weather.

Anyway, let me tell you what I want to do with this blog.  I want to update it at least once a week while I am over there.  I will post pictures and tell stories about my experience.  I'm hoping that it's everything that I built it up to be.  All that's left to be done is to wait for my visa to come back.  Wish me luck!

Pip Pip Cheerio!