off to the consulate

T-rev and his friend Johnny are on their way to NYC to the consulate today, it's a five hour drive. He has an appt there at 3pm for his ftf interview and has a UPS envelope for them to overnight his passport back here when it gets stamped so he doesn't have to go back for it. The embassy in DC said that PA's consulate is in NY, so that's where he has to go for his visa interview. I think they're just being asses because it's less work for them (yet shorter distance from here).

Meanwhile, Korea sent him his flight information and he flies out on Monday. I don't like how they booked him, it ends in Seoul and his school is in Busan (other end of Korea). I hope someone is meeting him there, might be an excuse for the recruiter to take a road trip. He has an International Driver's permit from AAA, so this trip to nyc will be good training! He's been there with the lax team twice and once with me in '03. If he has the nads to go to Korea, I think he can do some city driving too.

They'll be staying in Brooklyn tonight at John's cousin's and meeting a union guy {mob boss} to get Johnny a construction job there. Ha. I told them to enjoy the pizza, last chance for the real thing. They're driving my old beater Mercury that he's had at college for two years. It runs good but the driver's side window won't work--that could get them in trouble if they get stopped by police... gah, I should have warned him to yell at them thru the window or hand the licenses over thru the sunroof, or they'll get their heads shot off :p THAT's what's scary about NYC driving, but I did tell him to keep it under 70 on I-80 if he doesn't want stopped and socked with a hundreds dollar fine. Geez, he actually has a clean record, needs to keep it that way.

They studied maps all night and he thinks John can drive around the block if they can't find a parking spot and come back to meet him when his business is over. I hope they have the skill for this, in Korea, it'll be the train. He's driving in his underwear (shorts and a t-shirt) and I guess plans to get dressed somewhere on the road. ha But it's the start of this great adventure. Good thing it's not going to get hot till tomorrow when they're on their way back, the ac doesn't work in that car either.

I have an old history book from 1931 to give him as a going away present. I think it came from the old school across the road here, they have flea markets in there that I've walked over to browse--and cart an armload of books home every time. History is his major and he can use it to read stuff to the kids to get them listening to him. Never having taught, it would be nice to be a fly on that wall, but after sitting in classes all his life, surely he picked up something from the good teachers he's had? That's how I figure he can do this job. What an amazing opportunity to see the world without having to be in the military? This is our reward (his dad and me) for seeing him thru college--not having to join the military. It's funny because I nagged him all thru college to get a teaching certificate, and now he's doing it without one.

Oh, and he's beating his cousin Kris to a job, who's in elementary education--trained to be a teacher, does have her certs. And Dylan, a PIT grad who got in grad school in Iowa as a teaching assistant. They'll be meeting back in Hollywood in 2012 -- (this is classic Entourage, their favorite HBO show). Dylan's the writer, good stuff too--kinda stiff, but great thoughts and he'll loosen up if he doesn't get tangled up too much in academia. He's in Iowa this summer teaching football recruits how to write five paragraph essays so they won't look so dumb and can keep up with their classes. He's also the kid who brought me my first kitten (in 30+ years), Misty, who came in from out of the cold. (That'll be my bragging right when he's rich and famous. Dylan, I knew you when you were a young whippersnapper, and you're a whippersnapper still.)

So anyhow, I'm calling the airline to let them know that he'll be bringing sports equipment and they can get a special box ready for the lax sticks. Or maybe not. Looks like another airline policy has changed again and they treat it the same as baggage--get your own damn bags. I'm sending a set of mini-sticks for his class to play with, the beach kind. Kind of an ice breaker/reward he can use when two kids get the pronunciations right. We saw the pics of Ryan's classes on Facebook and it looks like they have some fun too. He just has to exude confidence and he'll be fine. (I can't wait for the letters home)

Well, I have the whole week to be nervous now and I'm kinda glad that he's gone for two days--get me used to it again. His flight takes him thru LAX and that will give him bragging rights to Dylan that he (technically) got there first. They are living their dreams.

Anyhow, that's the latest. He should have his visa this week, already has the flight schedule so it's going to be a packing party at my sister's where he has all his stuff (so it doesn't get pet hair on it here), then away he goes...!

Fly


Oh, and unless the Herald author below was using poetic license--play on red China, it's not technically a 'red tide' until there's a massive fish kill from the algae depleting the oxygen in those waters. This might just be the normal harvast and how they keep fish kills from happening in the first place: