Batmaniac

You guys seen these pics yet? Some blood. So just a warning. http://news.backchina.com/2009/7/7/gb2312_47788.html Ying just sent me this link. I havent gone through all the ones in the thread. The last one is a Chinese driver that was killed. http://news.backchina.com/2009/7/6/gb2312_47763.html

Yes you have to buy something. Not sure if it has to be a drink or not. They came over briefly and mildly hassled Stepbrow when he sat down and filled us in on his meeting while we were there. We went across the street and ate at KFC and got to the coffee shop about 9:30.

A friend of mine will be there the 23rd. Maybe you will run into him. I've given him the rundown on the coffee shop. I'll be sending him this thread.

We both use Macs now. I was trying to get Ying to throw out her black and white pocket translator and just carry the iphone. WOW. She wouldn't hear of that. She loves OSX though. Very happy with it. When I heard about the chinese characters entered by the track pad she was unimpressed. Said she could enter them faster the old way. There's a nice plug-in for Firefox.

You obviously haven't been watching <or reading> the news in China recently. I don't read China news now. I rely on Ying to tell me what's up from what she reads. And oddly enough it's quite similar to whatever the flavor of the day is of Chinasmack.com. Are they reporting that on CCTV # whatever now? The bus fire was pretty major, but the other stuff? Is that coming across?

When I was in China and watched the news - there was no news! It was ALL about the president and premier meeting with various people! That's it! All shaking hands and greetings. Pretty pitiful excuse for news.

Ditto that. Have a great time and get that pink. I doubt you guys will have a problem at all. My buddy goes in about 2 weeks.

Maybe a little more environmentally friendly too. Think of the dirty diapers that would quickly add up over there. However, I don't think I could deal with it. We'll probably be contributing to the landfill once we have a baby. Maybe cloth diapers?

We had the HPV vaccine done at the county health clinic. The Civil Surgeon sent us over there because it would take a week and $250 to get this shot in (and they plainly say they make no money off it oh I have probably stated before that I believe it's BS to require this shot.) Anyway, it was $15 at the county clinic. Initially I was concerned that it would be violating some government rule that we received county assisted health care when I am supposed to be financially responsible for her. Guess it's no big deal since everyone is doing it and no RFE for the I-693. We have the AOS interview FINALLY next month.

Ying tried the microwave Kraft mac and cheese yesterday and liked it. It's not part of my regular diet, but it was OK. Thought it was odd because she HATES American processed cheese. I keep that around to throw on eggs or a quick sandwich. Have some muenster slices from the deli right now and she likes that pretty well. Provolone she likes too.

There is a Starbucks across the street with wi-fi. We hit KFC (also across the street) until about 9:00 then headed back and sat around the coffee shop for a couple of hours.

I thought I read here, or maybe somewhere else that it was sort of trendy for the younger Chinese generation to put "lao" in front of different words.

At the consulate on the Amercian Citizen Services side. My I-134 notarization was free since it was pertaining to the visa. When's the interview? He will need an appointment.

Right. And we found that printed e-tickets do work, but we had a slight delay at the border for a simple interrogation. They were cool with everything once we went inside and chatted with someone at a desk.

I love the SoHo area. Fun to walk it, eat, hit the bars. There are some great galleries and antique shops around there to browse in too. I've stayed at the Central Park hotel in the area twice now. Small, clean and around $120 a night IIRC.

I bought a new MacBook from an Apple authorized reseller at an electronics mart in Shenzhen for us when my Air was giving out. Probably wouldn't have done this, but it was 2 months before the interview and I knew we'd need a computer. We started looking at the nice malls and the Apple Resellers inside them. And these were about $400 more than the US price. However, if you know Shenzhen, there is a street full of these electronics marts inside office buildings. We bargained the guy down and it ended up being only a $100 more than if I had bought it in the US. I found that acceptable. One year warranty is good in the US. It hasn't given us a lick of trouble, but I did buy AppleCare (1/2 price on eBay) for it when we arrived in the US and now it's covered for 3 years. Can't even complain about the extra $100 much either, since the Apple store gave me a brand new model Air they couldn't fix the problem upon my return. I was ecstatic. Bigger HD new video chip. Ran so much better. I know they had Sony resellers there. Maybe she could work a deal?

Sounds a little like Up The Yangtze. Have you seen that one? Good too.

Great to read this! I have been waiting all day to hear some news.

Nope won't happen. We had an RFE and it took us out 2 weeks. Back in the game now. Bob wins. We do have the EAD and AP. No transfer to CA.

Very cool!

I've always heard don't mention going to school or working. And if they ask just be as vague as possible with answers like "I am going to the US to be with my husband/fiancee. We will discuss together schooling of job opportunities when it arises." You don't want to look like you are trying to get around requirements for another visa type. I wouldn't think the cats would be a problem. That's pretty cool though. I haven't read about any fiancees having pets and bringing them over. I love cats. Maybe Ying will let me have one or two someday. B)

+1 on the high speed train. Then you just walk through customs and hop on a light rail. You will also get onto HK's subway system and go wherever you want. The subway/trains in HK are great. Maps everywhere. Oh yeah and watch your stuff in the Guangzhou and Shenzhen stations.

I didn't know about the appointments. I had one, but saw walk-ins in December when I was at ACS. Now when I went to ACS a month before our interview I got a very cool gentlemen who entered in information about Ying and our case into our file. Another fellow on CFL (Nabeshim? or something? Chesire Cat Icon) had the same experience when he went. Now as far as not answering questions concerning Visas . . . I directed a guy I met (documented this in a thread back in March) whose girl received a blue up into ACS with letters of explanation and the name of the gentleman who had assisted me the month before. He had quite a bit of success I'd say, and even received some information about the VO who did the interview. This couple is now in Houston and happy. Obviously a blue is quite different than a white.

We were so close to traveling there in December - just so nervous about our upcoming interview that I don't think we would have had fun. It is on the list when we return!

Yeah I have always noticed that the guys cutting hair are usually on "the cutting edge" of fashion. If my hair wasn't so thick, I'd do the same thing. Of course some hair salons are fronts for something else . . . be careful!