together.

it's true. we are together. everything with immigration went well as soon as they recieved the medicals. aderito was sent his permanent residence card at the end of april, and by the end of may he was in canada! as soon as he arrived i started the grand job search... for him. amazingly enough he had 4 calls within the first week. he took the first job that was offered. however, it was in toronto. which meant we had to find a place to live asap!! within 2 weeks we found a place, and moved in the last week of june.

it's september now. and just yesterday we bought our first piece of furniture! we were living fine off of one income... but, i had to find a job if we ever wanted to get ahead and eat off a table. we went to ikea friday night, bought a table... it's lovely! and window treatments. i call them that because they aren't quite a blind, and not quite a curtain. it's called a panel curtain. anyways, it was a complete bitch to assemble. why can't ikea tell us what is going to be included in the "self assembly"?! i had to sew people. i can cook. i can read. and i sure can shop. but, sewing. not my thing. i made it work, and now we have panel curtains in the living room, along with a lovely table. next... a bed frame. as much as i love that i can literally roll out of bed in the morning... it would be nice to step out.

i'm having issues figuring out what to name the blog. i wanted to call it something along the lines of "lost in translation"... but, that title has been used many times. it's so true though... i can't even tell you how often we don't understand what the other one is trying to say. which is sometimes really seriously funny. other times... a huge frustration. thankfully i have our handy dandy portuguese-english dictionary on hand at all times... and i can just find the word and try to say the word in portuguese. i need to work on that!

i need to tell you about my new job!! it's amazing. however, aderito is clearing his throat and pacing... which means that he would like to use the computer. there are many futball games on today... and he needs to start watching them! and i have to bake a cake... yeah, i'll tell you about that next time too. goodness.

spangles.

yeah. well...

guess where aderito's passport is?! still in freakin' new york.

dear immigration officer,

please hurry up and send aderito back his passport stamped with that lovely visa, and his certificate of permanent residence. we don't plan on seeing each other until july so, he doesn't need it asap to fly or anything. but, he would like to be able to book his flight... and soon... he can get a round trip flight for only $215! so. please. let's get movin' on the passport, k?

thanks.
nikki


in other news. i quit that job.

in other other news. i found a new one.

well... it found me. seriously. a few weeks ago, i received an phone call from a former chef. he left a message saying that there was a job opening at a restaurant in crystal beach... a restaurant owner was looking for a chef to take over the kitchen, the restaurant had been closed for the past few months and he wanted to re-open soon. i listened to the message, and then promptly deleted it. no thanks! a few weeks later, i'm at the spa... and the esthetician was a girl that i went to school with. she was telling me that she has a friend that was moving back home to take over a restaurant... the very same one that i heard about! we chatted about what the food would be like, and how cool it will be when jenn takes over the kitchen! and then! on monday, i was home sick from work... i managed to catch something wicked. when i woke up in the morning, i checked my email... there was a message from my neighbour, patti. jenn... the girl that is re-opening the kitchen was at patti's house for easter dinner and was talking about taking over the kitchen and needing new staff. patti immediately suggested me... and jenn said that if i was interested in a position to just email her my resume and we could talk. well... wednesday i went to the restaurant to meet up with jenn and the owner. we talked a whole lot... i had the opportunity to hear about where jenn has been... and what she wants to do at the restaurant. i'm excited. especially to work in a nice, clean, well organized, highly communicative kitchen. ahhh. it will be wonderful.

what i am not looking forward to... is working at night. aderito and i have this lovely routine. we chat 4 times a night. it's kept both of us sane... and able to deal with a long-distance relationship that has lasted for 3 years. even though the chats are quick... it still gives us that chance to connect and for me gives me a great deal of security. i love when we talk. i look forward to it. and well. working at night, i'm not going to be able to do that. i am going to try!! that's for sure! the other thing that is already causing a bit of stress... is that we have already planned for him to come here in july for 3 weeks. we haven't make any solid plans as to what we will do when he is here. but.. i really do NOT want to have to spend a lot of that time working. i want to be with aderito. we were only together for 3 weeks at christmas... and he worked a bunch while i was there. it won't be until this next christmas that we see each other again. ugh. i just need to know that we will be able to have time together in july. we had planned on going to florida for a week. how sweet would that be? perhaps we will have to put those plans on hold until the beginning of next year. who knows. none of these questions will be answered... until i let my new boss' know what is going on, right?

alright. i'm going to watch a movie... or do something. i took a nap this afternoon because i had a brutal headache. hopefully i'm not up till 3am because of it.

the forgotten signature.

well. aderito's passport request came. there was much rejoicing. then, he fedexed everything here to me... the letter, passport, pictures. i went through everything and made sure that the paperwork was filled out, the pictures were in thier separate envelopes. then, off to buffalo my mom and i went. it's cheaper to just drive over the border and send it off from fedex over there. i was so excited to have it sent off to new york!! i was so excited to go home and call aderito so we could celebrate! i was in mid-celebration... when i realized that aderito had forgotten to sign the passport request paperwork. ugh. i called fedex quickly... but, it had already been sent off. so, now we wait. will new york send everything back... and aderito will fill out and SIGN the request this time? will new york be ok with the paperwork not being signed and give aderito his visa? who knows. i keep checking his email to see if they send another request... so we can get it right this time. i think that it's totally valid for me to feel like i've been in immigration limbo for the past 6 months. it's not fun. i hope that i'm able to get out of it soon... and onto a higher, more stable ground.

how is work... you ask? well. umm. perhaps we should talk about something else. if it does happen to come up in conversation... all that will be said is that it is a means to an end. that's it.

the eating has went wonderfully! my lunches have been plentiful and healthy. i drink 2 liters of water during the day. and umm... dinners at night have went well too. tonight was salmon and potatoes. i felt good about the lack of vegetables... i ate many veggies today already for lunch and snacks.

ok. back to the work conversation. i was totally wrong about the hours i would be working. i made it clear that i will only work during the day. so, my shifts are... 9-5 monday to friday. i can handle that. as well as every other saturday 10-6. i can handle that too. however, the week i work saturday... i don't get another day off during the week... nope, that week i have to work 6 days. ick. that means this weekend i have to work saturday. but, easter weekend... i get 3 days off. giddy up!! i love that! i plan on baking that weekend. we have a shitload of bananas that need to be transformed into bread. yum.

i miss aderito extra right now. i think that it's because last year i saw him in september and then only had to wait until december. that's 3 big bad months. nothing at all!! this time... i left him in january and i won't see him again until july. eff. that's a long time. it's not the longest we've ever went... but, seriously.... it's toooo long. initally we said that he would only vacation for 2 weeks this year. but, i'm not sure if that's possible. seriously... away for 6 months and together for 2 weeks?! and then during that time he thinks that i should keep working. blahhhhhh. no way. no chance. i think i need some chocolate.

and that's exactly what i am going to do... i am going to eat chocolate. cadbury flake. and then... call aderito. i also may or may not be watching dancing with the stars.

the day before: work

yet again... i'm sitting in bed watching tv. desperate housewives. it's not super interesting, kinda keeping my attention. however, my mind keeps wandering to tomorrow morning.

you see... tomorrow is the day that i start my new job. ha! i should just say... i start a job. it's been a while since i've worked. i was laid-off december 2008. aderito was working a lot... and we were able to save money, even with me not working. and well... 2009 was the year of travelling. cuba, portugal and then bermuda. in between all that was the crazy gathering, sorting, filling out of paperwork, and hoping. lots of hoping. that pretty much filled up last year. so, now... i need to work. my mind needs keep busy, my body needs to do something, and we need to really save moola for the big move next year!

i'm a bit nervous about starting this new job. it's not a difficult job. it's just the unexpected. i love to know what's going to happen. i do not like surprises. at all. i do love expectations... lay them out for me... and i will do anything to meet them and exceed them. why i wasn't like this in high school, i don't know. i get to wear clothes to work. not that i worked naked before. it was always chef uniforms i was wearing, and of course the restaurants i have worked in didn't allow any sort of personal style. so, this will be a nice change... kinda. i have to wear "business casual" clothes. i went and shopped on thursday, found a really nice pair of pants... and black flats. hopefully i will be conservative enough. i'm excited to check everyone else out, see how far i can get away from the business part and closer to the oh-so-wonderful casual.

this is going to sound... not nice. but, every time i start a new job... i worry that people are going to want to be my friend. i'm nice, outgoing, super friendly, and funny. which bodes well in a work place... but then people want to hang out with me. i just want to work, go home, talk to aderito... and plan our plans. i have friends. i have people that i like already. goodness. thinking this is my head is a whole lot different than typing it out, and reading how wretched i sound. i do want work friends, i just don't want them to be my out-of-work friends. is that bad? it's bad.

a new job means change. so, tomorrow will also be the beginning of eating healthy. i made a big huge quinoa salad filled with veggies to take for lunch all week. i bought yogurt, and fruit, and raw almonds to snack on... i will NOT get caught up in the office junk food. oh! i also have a water bottle that i picked up today, i hope to drink more water too. as for quick healthy dinners through out the week... i think that i'll figure something out. thankfully my shift is over at 4pm, it will take about an hour to get home. i have a feeling that this will be a good trial week, but that i just might have to make a dinner plan. i like plans. systems. schedules. when they are on my terms... and planning dinner. definitely up to me! however, i won't complain if my mom cooks... she made some killer barbeque chicken last night!

somewhere in there i need to find time to walk... or move in general. when i get home from work? i think that's the best time. there is no chance that i am going to be getting up at 6am to work out... getting up at 7am will be hard enough!

time to close down the computer. get comfy in bed. watch a bit more nonsense on tv... and hopefully my eyes will close easily, and my mind will stop making that whirring noise.

closer to being together...

monday are brutal for television. ick. i am ashamed to admit that i am indeed watching "molly and jason's wedding - the bachelor". my excuse is that i need closure... i watched jason's season of the bachelor from the beginning, i see to see it though and watch the wedding. ha!

oh yes. immigration. well. i called ottawa, and asked what was going on with aderito's medical results. the woman on the other end was NOT happy that i had her phone number... i apologized and told her that i was told she was able to tell me what was going on... when she finally conceded, i didn't have the proper file number in order for her to find the medicals!! ugh. so, that ended up not going well. thankfully, i am a bit of an immigration forum addict. there was a case that started a bit before mine, and was processed in record time. this person was super pro-active and sent a fax to ottawa, and requested that the medicals be sent onto the consulate. i sent this person a message, and she was so sweet and kind!! together with two different fax numbers, she also sent a copy of the fax that she had sent to ottaw!! perfect. so, i faxed ottawa... and heard a response from them the next day!! woohoo!! march 2nd, i checked aderito's email... lo and behold there was an email from new york!!! yes! it said that his passport request was in the mail!! yay! how wonderful! we are waiting for aderito to receive that letter still, from north america it takes about 2 weeks for a letter to get to aderito. it's mostly bermuda's fault... they are pretty slow when it comes to mail processing. ugh. so, by next monday aderito should have that lovely letter in his hand!! from there he has to do a bit more paperwork, a few more pictures, and then it all gets sent to new york!! weeee!! new york then puts a visa into his passport, and sends a letter of confirmation of permanent residence. and then... when aderito is here he lands, we start paperwork for his sin card, health card, everything!!

of course, aderito won't be staying when he comes in july. he will be going back to bermuda... his contract isn't over until october... and even then he can stay for another 3 months after his contract is finished. i think that i will go to bermuda again this year for christmas... only this time aderito will come back with me!! where we will go from there... i have no idea.

i've been doing so much research trying to figure out where aderito can work. there are a few construction companies in toronto that request the employee be able to speak portuguese on the job site. hopefully one of those jobs will work out for aderito... and depending on which job he gets... we will decide where to live. it's going to be north of toronto, as much fun as it would be being downtown right in portugal village... it's far too expensive. yikes!!

ohh!! i've found a job. it's bizarre... because it's far from what i've done over the past 10 years in the kitchen. it will be so nice to work, i'm ready anything. to wake up at a normal time. and well... to make some money. it would be nice for aderito and i to have some money saved up for when he moves here.

guess what time of the year it is? time for nikki to start moving her ass a bit. i'm really ready to start riding my bike again. i would like to start running. two years ago, i started running a bit. i think this will be the year that i start running full time. i have shoes. all i need is an ipod, and i'll be good to go. oh. and i would prefer for the snow to melt first too. then, i will run. i don't really have any other excuses. i live in a pretty good area, with a trail that's really close. i just need some.. motivation. ha! oh boy... do i even need motivation.

tomorrow i'm having lunch with 2 of my favourite people. i'm excited. hopefully i'm able to get some sleep tonight!!

pretty much the same...

since i changed my blog link... i have no idea if anyone is reading anymore. i decided that this blog most definitely had less and less to do with me and cooking. and more and more to do with the familia pacheco. ah. it's nice to say that. my little family with aderito and i. i love it. we are looking forward to being together soon. we know that it won't happen too soon though. next christmas is the goal. i really hope that happens.

not a whole lot has changed with our immigration application. well a little bit. while i was in bermuda the entire package was returned. with a letter that told me that i had forgotten to include aderito's work visa. proof that aderito indeed is living and working in bermuda. so, i sent that bad boy back. the beginning of february i checked out ecas... it not only said that they had begun processing the pr application, but that it had been sent from buffalo to new york. aderito hasn't received any letters from new york telling us why. so, it could be because they want to expedite the process and buffalo was backed up so they sent it off. or, it could be because they want to do an interview. however, i requested that our interview be done in detroit if it couldn't be done in buffalo. tomorrow morning i am going to call ottawa and ask about aderito's medical stuff. he had it done in bermuda and from there they are supposed to send it to ottawa. when the center that is processing the permanent resident application is ready they request the medicals. sometimes they don't go... or take a while. so, i'm going to call... and see where they are. hopefully they are indeed in ottawa... and they just need a gentle push in the right direction. that would be ideal. what we don't want is for them to be lost. that would be the worst possible situation. we paid over $1000 for them to get done. we most definitely can not afford to do them over again!! goodness.

i still need a job. so so badly i need one. but, i need one during the day. that's it. aderito works all day... and our time is at night. it's created this sense of living together... and most definitely consistency. we both like knowing that the other person is at home hanging out... doing normal people things... together, at the same time... just not in the same country. so, that means that i need to work during the day. i will do anything. work anywhere. i've sent my resume to so many places. perhaps tomorrow... all of them will call. that would be wonderful... cause i want to work... and i like options.

the olympics have been a nice distraction from the worry and stress. however, i find that they just create a new worry and stress. i know that canadian athletes are good... i believe that we can win a lot of medals. it's just... sometimes i don't think that they believe it enough. perhaps that's unfair. it's just how i feel about it at the moment.

my lung is gurgley... the right one. lowish. it's been like this for 3 days now. more at night... it's weird. i'm going to google... and do some self diagnosing. eek!