Forget Waiting for Godot — Try Waiting for a Visa

Tuesday morning, February 11:

No message yet from the Czech consulate about my visa application. 

I calculated the purported 90-day wait period to end yesterday ... but, given the time difference, "yesterday" for the consulate, in Los Angeles, didn't really begin until about 5 pm my time, so I didn't expect anything before yesterday evening.

So I was sort of hoping I'd wake up to an email today about the visa.

Nope.

Still. assuming I did the math correctly, yesterday would only be the 90th day, so maybe today is the day I should expect to hear.

If I don't hear today, though, this becomes more problematic, because that means the Ministry of the Interior is going beyond the 90-day wait period for my application, which means I'll have no idea when news about the visa will come. My Schengen visa will expire on February 22nd — 11 days from today — and I'll have to start making contingency plans regarding travel, and finding someone to take care of Catalina, without any idea whether I'll be leaving for a couple days, or for three months (until I can re-enter on a new Schengen visa).

Let's hope I hear today!

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Baked pasta with bacon and peas

Had a good weekend. First, on Friday, I went to get the lunch at Pivnice u Sadu ("The Garden Pub"). On my way out I took a photo of the entrance, including the cool beer shelf to make chatting at the pub (presumably during the summer) a little easier.

Then, Friday evening, Liesel arrived, and we spent much of the weekend unpacking most of the 37 boxes I had and filling up most of my dozens of shelves and storage spaces. It was a fair amount of work — Liesel also gave the kitchen a serious cleaning, which it had never had before (even from the professional cleaning woman who came last week). But the place is definitely feeling warmer and more like home!

The Calm

Before the Storm

If I do get the visa, I would then immediately start populating this spare room as well with a new bed and dresser, and chair/sofa, as well as creating a sort of stretching/exercising space. I would also get a new sofa for my living room, and invest in things like bedside lamps, a laundry hamper, and the few other things I'm missing. I'm excited about doing all that.

It would, indeed, be too bad if I now had to leave for three months. But we'll see!