Tickets and The Doctor

I went to the Dietition yesterday. I wanted to find out if there was just something I was doing wrong with what I had been eating my whole life to cause me to have so many problems with my stomach. Well... Turns out I am most likely allergic to Gluten. Gluten is derived from Wheat and is in EVERYTHING. Lucky for me I have a really good friend who had been dealing with this her whole life and who has a granddaughter who is in the same position. So, sad day...no more regular poffertjes, stroopwafels, or Kroketten. =( Lucky for me also though, there are universities in Holland researching Celeic Disease, and stores there that sell GlutenVrij products.

Good - Gluten Free living is one of the healthiest diets
Bad - Health food stores are the ones that sell the majority of Gluten Free products, and they are MORE EXPENSIVE!

On a more Dutch note....
I bought my tickets last night!! YAY!!! FINALLY!!

It took forever and a day to do though and by the time 1 am rolled around, I was no longer frustrated but delerious. Orbitz decided to charge me for tickets to New York and then proceed to tell me they couldnt process my request. "Okay" I thought, " They wouldnt have charged me yet...Ill just go through CheapTickets.com"

WRONG!

I bought the tickets successfully from CheapTickets with confirmation, went to go purchase the tickets to Holland from Orbitz (giving them another chance) and my card was denied...just plain out denied.

I called my bank..."Well it seems you have insufficent funds" - I knew I transfered PLENTY of money for my combined ticket price (for both B and I mind you) of $1214. (good deal, I know, Im a thrifty shopper!) I came to find Orbitz had charged me but had no record of it. Long story short...After an hour long phone call with CitiBank and Orbitz...My funds were released and deleted from my account. I was able to buy my tickets to Holland!

Bryan and I will leave SFO at 11:45 pm on July 7th and arrive at La Guardia at 10:50 am on July 8th. We will then have a fun filled and relaxing week spending time with my east coast family, including my soon to be 95-year-old great-grandmother who just relinquished her drivers license on monday - Strong will runs in our family!

July 13th at 8:30 we will take off for Holland via Iceland and arrive at Schipol at 12:55pm. (We could have taken the flight that arrived at 9:30Pm but we figured Lora and Arie wouldnt appreciate having to come to Amsterdam (an hour away) at that hour.

I am so excited! Im sad a bit too because of all the food I was looking forward to eating BUT I know there are Pannekoeken Haus' that have GlutenVrij Pancakes! YES!

Dutch Store

This weekend we visited the dutch store in San Jose. I went to Fremont to buy a new camera (since I need a point and shoot for when we move), and decided to make the extra trek for a taste of NL.

Nope.

Epic Failure.

The store, though it held lots of Delft Blue China, Dutch food (even kroketten and herring), and Lots of cheese and candies, was nothing like that of Dutch stores or markets.

I was disappointed, and honestly saddened at the Dutch store that looked so run down. I left feeling very sorry. They couldn't have been doing too horribly, however, since they have another location 3 store fronts down....Strange...

I bought 2 packs of Stroopwaffels for $4.60 each, for a grand total of $11.20. The sales man also wanted 4.60 each for 2 bumper stickers! BAH! Ill get them when I get to the NL for cheaper. =)

I still haven't bought my tickets to NL, but I have picked up some boxes to begin packing. I'm not sure though what I should and shouldn't pack! AH!

I will be packing up various boxes of clothes, frames and Ive decided 2 of the knives my father just brought home, I can not live without being in a kitchen where I will be cooking! They cut MARVELOUSLY!

Back from Chico without a hangover....

Last night was fun. I'm glad I got to be with my sister for her 21st. I did not however enjoy the hangover I had while I was out drinking. For some reason I got a headache at 8 last night after only having a few sips of a drink around 1pm. It made the whole drinking experience less than amazing, but I still had a blast!

I ordered my sister a Blow Job...a now 21st birthday tradition..which she did completely different from my birthday blow job. She had to take the shot from between her boyfriends legs (and if he hadn't been there, it would have been from between the bartenders legs! AH!)

I got home tonight though and went straight to the post office to ship off my finger prints for the FBI background check and am on my way not...at 10:15, when I have to work in the morning, to once again look at plane tickets. I cant believe they haven't been purchased yet!

My Sisters 21st Bday

So I left for Chico this morning with my mom for my sisters 21st birthday, but before we left I went to have my final finger prints done.

I asked the lady about the original live scan fingerprints and what happens with them and she assured me that because I applied for a background check for myself, it would be sent to be. Having the live scan fingerprinting means they will know to send a criminal record to me.

Previous to the nice lady at the Foto Shop (by the way, they are still open, they just relocated) assuring me that the DOJ of Ca will be sending me my criminal record, I was going crazy trying to figure out where I needed to go to actually attain the records. I called the DOJ in Washington and the nice woman on the phone said I would need a FBI criminal record for the immigration papers. Unfortunately she did not answer the question I was asking, referred me to the number that I called to get the required documents for the live scan, which is only an automated message, and told me I needed something other than what I requested.

So, this morning, because I was off work, I made a pit stop and got my fingers dirty, dipped in ink and pressed to a card stock paper. YAY! Real finger prints!

Cool think that happened while I was at the mall too... I was shopping in Forever 21 and saw one of their lame T-shirts with writing on it and a photo, but then I realized.....

....IT WAS IN DUTCH!! Lol, I translated it with my phone and it says...Feast of Miffy. Strange and I wanted it it but for $19.80...When I'm trying to save to get to Holland... I decided to pass.

Dinner time and Drinks with my sis now! =)

Is this finished? I have no idea...

My personal project for today? Make the final list. Its not finished though. Anyways, here it is.

To Do For and Before Holland;

For:
Purchase Tickets from Newark to Amsterdam
Pick Books to take
Pack up Computer
Pack up Camera Equiptment (inld. Underwater housing and Scuba Gear)
Pack Clothes
All Documents Together in one File

Buy New Point and Shoot Camera

Before:
Tickets for Newark
- Who is going?
Get Certificate of Non-Marriage
Get Apostille for Non-Marriage Cert.
Get Apostille for Birth Certificate
Criminal Record
Fingerprinting for Criminal Record
Apostille for Criminal Record?

Disneyland (Dates?) - Tickets
Sea World (Dates?) -Tickets
Midieval times (Date?) - Tickets

Benefit Party - June 26h
- Windows for Photos
-Building Resources
- 20x30 Photos - 16 total -$320.00
- Print Photos (5x7, 8x10, 11x14)
- Sign up sheet for 20 min session for photos
-Individual vs Groups
- Food for party
- Who's bringing it?
- Pot-Luck among family members?
- Photo Eassles
- Photo Montage of Kt & B with Envelopes
- Introduce Non-Profit?
- Raffel of one of the 20x30 photos?
- Raffel somthing else?

Garage Sale
- Clothes for Sale
- Ad them to Craigslist also...
- Books for Amazon
-

Maria's Book
- Edit Photos
- The Stories

-Sell Mattress
-Sell other unneeded belongings


I also have to get fingerprinted today, it was supposed to happen yesterday, but the place went out of business, so alas I have found a UPS store that does it in Oakland. On my way there in 15 minutes!

But, Good News...Its the Weekend, Its Easter (well actually good friday,) and some not so good news...The only person allowed to preach to the pope, made some comments about how the sexual abuse accuastions are close to anti-semitism. This is completely unrelated but since I read the article on BBC today I thought I'd mention it.

Nothing to note

Today I don't really have anything to note, but the fact that I still need to buy my ticket to the NL.

I did post on Shani Studios that the business will be moving to Holland, and I am totally excited because I have so many European friends from working at the Academy of Art University.

Bryan tried calling the County Clerks Office today to find out about obtaining a non-marriage certificate with apostille and an apostille for my birth certificate. He was directed to a message where they said they would return his call within 2 hours. I don't believe he has gotten a call back yet.

We need to get the Non-marriage certificate about a week before we are set to leave, so I'm not too worried about that one.

I will be getting finger printed tonight, as I believe I should have clear copies of my record to take with me to Holland. I can barely read the chicken scratch from the SB courts, so, unless the dutch have amazing American court reading glasses, I'm not sure they will be able to navigate the paper, though I could be mistaken.

Thanks to a TON of people on Answers.com and a Dutch Immigrations Lawyer, I will not be spending a bunch of money on getting my record expunged or calling the courts to fight with them about what my record says. None of this matters anyways.

I'm tired tonight though and really am ready to make my (lengthy) trek home.