I say, drop the pilot indeed

So I’ve been productive today. As a result, I’m pretty wiped. Which is either impressive or pathetic, since I didn’t really leave the desk chair all day. Still, I was in full-on panicky-adrenaline mode for about six hours, trying to navigate my way through telephone customer support for a client, again for myself, and once more when I called the Detroit consulate. That shit’ll wear you out something quick.

I guess I’m pretty low on accomplishments, for all of it, but I did get two phone calls I was really dreading out of the way. Neither ended up being particularly conclusive, but they’re done now. The consulate did very little to clarify my situation, I’m afraid. A lot of what they had to say amounted to “we can’t answer any of your questions now, the border official will decide when you get here.” [!!!] I don’t see how this approach makes any of our lives easier, but so be it.

I did manage to get my website back online with a new (and infinitely better) hosting company. so my portfolio is now up at stevencochrane.org (in the last two weeks someone snapped up stevencochrane.com! I was put off, let’s just say). New design, a little bit of new content. wreckingball.org is, for the time being, just my design portfolio.

The fun thing is, now that I’m at dreamhost, I have oodles and oodles of new space and a handful of nice new features to work wit–plenty of room to start developing fun things. Problem is, I don’t know what fun new projects I should work on. I’m sure I’ll think of something; in the mean time, I’m open to suggestions.

Unrelatedly, I had my iTunes on shuffle, and some killer keyboard intro comes in, and I’m like, “what is this? it’s fantastic!” and, as it happens, it’s Mandy Moore singing a Joan Armatrading song. And why the hell not? I know you want the mp3. Don’t front.

Getting things rolling

So, after going over the outline of the student visa application process for the umpteenth time, this morning, I finally decided that there was no way in hell that I was just going to wait to submit my application at the border. Because that would be insane. Even if nothing is going to go wrong, why chance it? Also, this way, I don’t have to actually call the consulate to make sure I can submit at the border. Two birds with one stone, double-avoidance.

So I have my application printed out, my acceptance letters copied, and my “passport photos” taken, printed and cut out. Some people might have, I don’t know, washed their hair and/or faces before taking the photos that are going to serve as their primary form of identification for the next two years, but not I. I just didn’t want to risk having the border office think I was using forged documents because my photos showed a nice,  clean, well-kempt, young man, when I’m entirely unlikely to project that kind of image in person. Ever.

Dirt off my shoulders

I’ve been feeling a measure of ungrounded panic for the past couple of days. It could be moving-related, in some capacity, but I’m pretty sure that as soon as that gets resolved, I’ll just find something else on which to fixate. The website for the Canadian consulate in Detroit assures me once more that, really, honestly, I can just show up at the border with my application form and my check made out to them and enter the country without any problems. We’ll see if I can drum up the resolve to actually give them a call, today, or if that will wait until next week, or if I’ll just assume that everything is all-go and never get around to calling anybody ever. I’m clearly not going to be able to put this to rest until somebody tells me, literally tells me, that I’m good to go. Several times. Can’t Windsor just send somebody to pick me up?

I need an assistant. Not at all because I’m in any way shape or form busy, but because I’m just not that great at… life, and need to have arrangements made for me if I’m ever to get anything done.

In pleasant news, however, I got word yesterday that I’ve received something called the “President’s Excellence Scholarship” for an additional $3000. Adding that to the half-tuition scholarship I’ve already received, the $8,000 GA position (unsure if that figure covers one year or two: in either case, given the number of hours I’m actually expected to work for it, it will still be the highest-paying job I’ve ever held. That’s a little bit sad.), and likely the remainder of my tuition waived (word on that comes later in the summer), I’m doing quite well, support-wise. Of course, because I have a problem accepting that nice things happen either because I’ve earned them or “just ’cause,” it’s all making me a little bit suspicious.

I need to get out more.

Gah!

So the contact point at the graduate college assures me that I can just apply for my Canadian student visa at the border, when I move: I should be able to make out a $125 check, present my official acceptance letter and some paperwork that demonstrates sufficient funds for a year and be good to go. Given how poorly my last attempt at entering Canada went, this seems like a terrible idea. If customs in Winnipeg felt the need to search my luggage and my person for over an hour just so I could visit for a week and a half, do I really want to show up at the border with all of my stuff and ask to please live there for two years without a visa already firmly in hand? It seems like a poor, poor idea, but that’s what they’re telling me I’m supposed to do… nervous!