where the world ends

Today was a rather stressful day, thankfully interrupted by a lovely dinner with Natasha and Chris. I was freaking out a bit about the whole visa situation, which culminated in receiving an email back from the consulate around 4pm saying that there were no other documents they would accept, but that I could get a proof of change of address paper from the DMV in lieu of a new driver's license. I madly checked the DMV website and discovered that the Redwood City DMV was open until 5pm, but closed tomorrow due to the fact they have no money, and closed Monday for Martin Luther King day. So I threw everything in my bag (except my dry cleaning, which will have to stay at the office until Tuesday) and dashed for my car, then drove frantically to Redwood City. I arrived by 4:30, took a number, and was out the door by 4:45 $5 poorer but holding a priceless sheet of paper verifying that my address is indeed my address. Provided that the consulate actually accepts it, it appears that everything worked out; I have an appointment tomorrow afternoon to drop off my application in person, so if they approve it I will have a visa Monday or Tuesday. That's much better than spending the weekend wondering how long the wait at the DMV would be on Tuesday or Wednesday (not to mention that the big boss will be back next week and I won't have time for such shenanigans).

I didn't really have time for such shenanigans today either, but better today than sometime in the next two weeks. I slogged violently the rest of the day, and then took a break after the DMV to have dinner with Natasha (and later Chris, who joined late). We went to Yume Sushi in Sunnyvale, which I had never been to before, but it was utterly delicious, and the server was incredibly friendly (particularly after she accidentally broke the ice by inadvertently laughing when she overheard Chris say to me 'do you have sparkly shit in your hair?'). It was lovely to catch up - they went to Costa Rica over the holidays for a slightly belated honeymoon, and I'm incredibly jealous of the fun times they had (Katie - take note!)

Dinner wrapped up a little after eight, and I made the annoying trek back to the evil city, where I even more annoyingly worked from the time I got home until midnight. But, I got a ton of stuff accomplished that I needed to get accomplished, which will clear up any need to work over the weekend. That means that I can spend the weekend doing exactly what I need to be doing, which is writing up a storm. Of course, I have to get through tomorrow first, which will necessitate more slogging + a trip to the visa processing office, but the weekend is so tantalizingly close! And on that note, it's time for bed!