Since I never use my Dutch bank card while living here in Pittsburgh I only found out a few months after de facto that my Dutch bank card expired in February 2007. So 3.5 weeks ago I called my Dutch (ABN AMRO) bank to ask how I can obtain a new bank card. I am told my current address is not in their system so I need to send them a form with which they can update their files. They also tell me to include a letter in which I can request a new bank card. Lastly, they tell me it will take 2 weeks for the new bank card to arrive at my 'new' US address.
I do all this and spend $36 to have the package delivered by USPS to the bank within 2 days. The delivery is confirmed on the USPS website.
Today (August 10) is exactly 3 weeks that the package arrived at the ABN AMRO office. Since I have not heard anything I call them again. They inform me that my 'new' address is now in their system. Yay.
But then they tell me all my Dutch accounts are cancelled as of April 2007. They do not know why. They don't know any answers; they don't know where my money went.
I explain that in order to obtain a new US visa on September 10, 2007, I need to pay the visa fee with a valid Dutch bank card which holds my name. That is an explicit demand which I can't avoid. If I fail the embassy will not process my request for a new visa. I tell them that if this happens it will not make CMU nor me very happy.
Having fun yet? I promised that you'd love these experiences!
An hour ago the office of the ABN AMRO at which I used to do my business when I still lived in the Netherlands gets back to me to inform me my bank account has been reactivated. Great.
Also, they have processed my request for a new bank card which should arrive at my US address 'soon'. They can't guarantee it will arrive within 2 weeks time but 'it should'. I'm leaving for Budapest on August 25.
Still no answer to where my money went, they'll get back to me on that.
So, still considering to go work/live abroad? Think again. Have a laugh at my expense. Then stay put.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Dealing with bureaucracy living abroad 1: driver license drama
For people who are considering to go work and live abroad; here's some nice first hand experiences. You'll love them for sure!
1. US driver license: I needed to renew it. So I called the phone number listed on their website. Got a computer and a zillion options which are only useful for US citizens. So I filled in an online contact form with all my questions since I'm a foreigner and know that I need to bring extra documentation and stuff.
I did get an official response with answers so I went to a driver license center which should be able to help me according to the official response. Wrong. They tell me I need to go to another center which can update my INS status (meaning my visa status). I go to that 2nd center, wait for 2.5 hours and then am being told I miss 1 form which states that I am being employed by CMU. I complain. They tell me I can make an official complaint at an office adjacent to this central helpdesk. I walk over and complain some more. The guy tells me to come back directly to his office once I get the CMU statement.
So after obtaining that statement I go directly to his office. He asks me when my current driver license expires, I tell him August 31. He responds that they can't renew it now since you can only do that between 3 days prior and 3 days after the expiration date. I tell him I'll be in Europe from August 25 on. Only then he asks me if I'm a US citizen. Ah, since I'm not he can help me renew the license right now.
Total time needed to finally attain my new US driver license: 2 weeks.
2. Dutch driver license: since it expired in June 2007 I requested the required forms from the Dutch company called RDW. They send it to my parents' address even though I explicitly asked them to send the forms to my US address. After my dad has sent the forms I fill in everything and realize I need a new photograph. A Dutch size photograph. Which is a different size than the ones they have here in the US. I've been unable to find a photography place which can provide me with the correct size photograph.
Current status: I'll wait until I get back to the Netherlands, then have my picture taken and send in all required materials to obtain my new Dutch driver license.
1. US driver license: I needed to renew it. So I called the phone number listed on their website. Got a computer and a zillion options which are only useful for US citizens. So I filled in an online contact form with all my questions since I'm a foreigner and know that I need to bring extra documentation and stuff.
I did get an official response with answers so I went to a driver license center which should be able to help me according to the official response. Wrong. They tell me I need to go to another center which can update my INS status (meaning my visa status). I go to that 2nd center, wait for 2.5 hours and then am being told I miss 1 form which states that I am being employed by CMU. I complain. They tell me I can make an official complaint at an office adjacent to this central helpdesk. I walk over and complain some more. The guy tells me to come back directly to his office once I get the CMU statement.
So after obtaining that statement I go directly to his office. He asks me when my current driver license expires, I tell him August 31. He responds that they can't renew it now since you can only do that between 3 days prior and 3 days after the expiration date. I tell him I'll be in Europe from August 25 on. Only then he asks me if I'm a US citizen. Ah, since I'm not he can help me renew the license right now.
Total time needed to finally attain my new US driver license: 2 weeks.
2. Dutch driver license: since it expired in June 2007 I requested the required forms from the Dutch company called RDW. They send it to my parents' address even though I explicitly asked them to send the forms to my US address. After my dad has sent the forms I fill in everything and realize I need a new photograph. A Dutch size photograph. Which is a different size than the ones they have here in the US. I've been unable to find a photography place which can provide me with the correct size photograph.
Current status: I'll wait until I get back to the Netherlands, then have my picture taken and send in all required materials to obtain my new Dutch driver license.
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
The Westworld experience and other updates
The CogSci conference was held last week in Nashville, Tennessee and I spent most of it (July 31-August 5) at the hotel.
The day before I left (July 30) I quickly made my poster for the conference, got it printed, worked on an abstract for a symposium at another conference, and worked on the new project plan to be submitted two days later.
Since I arrived on Tuesday I was lucky since a lot of colleagues were supposed to fly in on Wednesday on an ill-fated flight. The same airline (US airways) that catered my flight told my colleagues that there was some "mechanical failure" and that the flight was cancelled while all of them were sitting at the gate, ready to board the plane.
Since it was pretty much only my colleagues who were on this flight it is likely that US airways figured it would cost them money to actually do this flight and subsequently cancelled it.
My colleagues were forced to chose between two flights and either take one or two lay-overs.
I felt sorry for them but also smiled to myself that I was smart/lucky to fly in the day before the conference started. This is exactly the kind of crap which you want to avoid and I fortunately did.
Good thing for all of us the flight back to Pittsburgh went smooth like butter without any glitches.
I fear it will be hard to explain to YOU who hasn't been there and I figured bringing my camera would be pointless since I was to spend almost all my time just at the 'hotel'.
First of all, after seeing the enormous lobby area and spotting an entrance leading to a large area with palm trees and a bridge over a pond, I got the feeling this 'hotel' would be somewhat different from the usual hotels I've been to.
During checking in I was given a map, to check it out click HERE.
Obviously I got lost once I walked off the main path in the Delta wing and the labyrinthine hallways where the guestsroom where located didn't help much in finding my room.
Eventually I figured it out, just moments before I lost the hilarity of the situation and started to get pissed off.
After getting rid of my bags and installing my stuff in the room I went out to scout the hotel areas. The first impression was of awe, inspired by seeing all those plants, trees, ponds, cascades and the likes. This hotel has also about 6 restaurants, 2 pubs, several shops, a few cookie/sandwich/salad places.
So pretty much it had almost everything one would need to live. Of course this was way too luxurious and expensive deluxe. But being stuck in such a 'hotel' somewhere between airport and the city left me with not many alternatives than to spend money like it was plain water.
Furthermore, the restaurants and pubs closed fairly early so the 'hotel' had a huge impact on our daily rhythm.
Let me tell you that being in a large airconditioned area where you are forced to breathe, eat and drink according to their schedule will make any living being feel awkward.
Besides the obviously hilarious hotel name (seriously, Gaylord Opryland, what the fuck?) the atmosphere of being coerced into sullen obedience in the country music capital of the world gave this entire experience an unreal touch.
It literally did feel like being in "Westworld" (Yul Brynner movie anyone?) and we had several conversations about the absurdity of the situation. We never really knew what those other two conferences were (office suppliers suppliers, what the hell?) and if the participants were actual humans or planted robots.
We also observed some drunken actions, mostly by guys (or robots...), who cornered/harassed women by groping and trying to kiss them. Pretty hilarious really. But also strange since the targeted women didn't oppose as much as one would expect. In one case (at the blues bar, see below) the woman actually went home with the guy after he had harassed, pulled her hair and groped her for well over an hour! Go figure...
After a few days I started to feel a bit freaked out. But I guess THEY noticed and adjusted the air composition in my hotel room so that feeling settled down fairly quickly. Eventually we dared to leave the compound, not in shuttle buses as they wanted as to, but on foot. Yes we were so bold and brave!
And actually found several normally priced restaurants, a HUGE mall (3 miles long if I'm correct) and best of all: fresh outside air. Wow.
We ended up going to the same blues bar downtown Nashville two nights in a row on Friday and Saturday night. A band played both nights with a nice mixture of rock, blues, covers and major guitar wankery. The frontman was quite the showman and walked up the stairs to the upper area of the bar to show off to all the audience members. Still, he had some mad skills and his band played as a tight unit. Though I'm not much of a blues fan it really was very enjoyable.
The last character I wanna mention is one of the cab drivers we had. It was Tony Montana.
Seriously.
He slowly worked on his looseness really. First he told us a story about him being nice to his customer (he returned a wallet with lots of $$$) and the customer scolding him for being late because he dared to pick up another customer with whom he had prior arrangement.
Then he started telling us that we shouldn't use Yellow Cab at any cost since their employees are ill-treated by their bosses, he knew 'cause he had worked for that cab company. But after this he started telling that the Yellow Cab employees are mostly Somalians and that they frequently steal his customers after he got a dispatch call.
He'd see them pull off right in front of him. Since he tried the nice way of talking to them and they always denied stealing his customers so he figured he wouldn't let them take advantage of him anymore. So nowadays every time he sees one of them Somalians he walks right up to them and....
SPITS THEM RIGHT IN THE FACE!!!!
Happens every day, he just walks up to them and spits in their face. That'll teach them to steal his customers.
Ok Tony, thanks for giving us front door service to the blues bar but don't expect us to call you later tonight to bring us back to our hotel hahahaha!
So now it's Tuesday August 7 and I've survived Westworld, weird people, whacky cab drivers.
Frank Capra was right: it's a wonderful life!
The day before I left (July 30) I quickly made my poster for the conference, got it printed, worked on an abstract for a symposium at another conference, and worked on the new project plan to be submitted two days later.
Since I arrived on Tuesday I was lucky since a lot of colleagues were supposed to fly in on Wednesday on an ill-fated flight. The same airline (US airways) that catered my flight told my colleagues that there was some "mechanical failure" and that the flight was cancelled while all of them were sitting at the gate, ready to board the plane.
Since it was pretty much only my colleagues who were on this flight it is likely that US airways figured it would cost them money to actually do this flight and subsequently cancelled it.
My colleagues were forced to chose between two flights and either take one or two lay-overs.
I felt sorry for them but also smiled to myself that I was smart/lucky to fly in the day before the conference started. This is exactly the kind of crap which you want to avoid and I fortunately did.
Good thing for all of us the flight back to Pittsburgh went smooth like butter without any glitches.
I fear it will be hard to explain to YOU who hasn't been there and I figured bringing my camera would be pointless since I was to spend almost all my time just at the 'hotel'.
First of all, after seeing the enormous lobby area and spotting an entrance leading to a large area with palm trees and a bridge over a pond, I got the feeling this 'hotel' would be somewhat different from the usual hotels I've been to.
During checking in I was given a map, to check it out click HERE.
Obviously I got lost once I walked off the main path in the Delta wing and the labyrinthine hallways where the guestsroom where located didn't help much in finding my room.
Eventually I figured it out, just moments before I lost the hilarity of the situation and started to get pissed off.
After getting rid of my bags and installing my stuff in the room I went out to scout the hotel areas. The first impression was of awe, inspired by seeing all those plants, trees, ponds, cascades and the likes. This hotel has also about 6 restaurants, 2 pubs, several shops, a few cookie/sandwich/salad places.
So pretty much it had almost everything one would need to live. Of course this was way too luxurious and expensive deluxe. But being stuck in such a 'hotel' somewhere between airport and the city left me with not many alternatives than to spend money like it was plain water.
Furthermore, the restaurants and pubs closed fairly early so the 'hotel' had a huge impact on our daily rhythm.
Let me tell you that being in a large airconditioned area where you are forced to breathe, eat and drink according to their schedule will make any living being feel awkward.
Besides the obviously hilarious hotel name (seriously, Gaylord Opryland, what the fuck?) the atmosphere of being coerced into sullen obedience in the country music capital of the world gave this entire experience an unreal touch.
It literally did feel like being in "Westworld" (Yul Brynner movie anyone?) and we had several conversations about the absurdity of the situation. We never really knew what those other two conferences were (office suppliers suppliers, what the hell?) and if the participants were actual humans or planted robots.
We also observed some drunken actions, mostly by guys (or robots...), who cornered/harassed women by groping and trying to kiss them. Pretty hilarious really. But also strange since the targeted women didn't oppose as much as one would expect. In one case (at the blues bar, see below) the woman actually went home with the guy after he had harassed, pulled her hair and groped her for well over an hour! Go figure...
After a few days I started to feel a bit freaked out. But I guess THEY noticed and adjusted the air composition in my hotel room so that feeling settled down fairly quickly. Eventually we dared to leave the compound, not in shuttle buses as they wanted as to, but on foot. Yes we were so bold and brave!
And actually found several normally priced restaurants, a HUGE mall (3 miles long if I'm correct) and best of all: fresh outside air. Wow.
We ended up going to the same blues bar downtown Nashville two nights in a row on Friday and Saturday night. A band played both nights with a nice mixture of rock, blues, covers and major guitar wankery. The frontman was quite the showman and walked up the stairs to the upper area of the bar to show off to all the audience members. Still, he had some mad skills and his band played as a tight unit. Though I'm not much of a blues fan it really was very enjoyable.
The last character I wanna mention is one of the cab drivers we had. It was Tony Montana.
Seriously.
He slowly worked on his looseness really. First he told us a story about him being nice to his customer (he returned a wallet with lots of $$$) and the customer scolding him for being late because he dared to pick up another customer with whom he had prior arrangement.
Then he started telling us that we shouldn't use Yellow Cab at any cost since their employees are ill-treated by their bosses, he knew 'cause he had worked for that cab company. But after this he started telling that the Yellow Cab employees are mostly Somalians and that they frequently steal his customers after he got a dispatch call.
He'd see them pull off right in front of him. Since he tried the nice way of talking to them and they always denied stealing his customers so he figured he wouldn't let them take advantage of him anymore. So nowadays every time he sees one of them Somalians he walks right up to them and....
SPITS THEM RIGHT IN THE FACE!!!!
Happens every day, he just walks up to them and spits in their face. That'll teach them to steal his customers.
Ok Tony, thanks for giving us front door service to the blues bar but don't expect us to call you later tonight to bring us back to our hotel hahahaha!
So now it's Tuesday August 7 and I've survived Westworld, weird people, whacky cab drivers.
Frank Capra was right: it's a wonderful life!
Thursday, July 26, 2007
More Impetigo!!!
I posted the Impetigo gig review HERE
Plus I finally received the original Wild Rags version of their debut album "Ultimo mondo cannibale" which features a prank phone call used as an intro for the song "Heart of Illinois". Why this is so amazing to have? Because this prank call was removed from both the Morbid Records and the Razorback Records re-issues!!!!
So now I have all 3 copies of "Ultimo mondo cannibale" AND 1 of them has that killer prank call!!!
This and the fact I finished the final Harry Potter book even make up for the $729 I had to pay to fix my car haha!
Plus I finally received the original Wild Rags version of their debut album "Ultimo mondo cannibale" which features a prank phone call used as an intro for the song "Heart of Illinois". Why this is so amazing to have? Because this prank call was removed from both the Morbid Records and the Razorback Records re-issues!!!!
So now I have all 3 copies of "Ultimo mondo cannibale" AND 1 of them has that killer prank call!!!
This and the fact I finished the final Harry Potter book even make up for the $729 I had to pay to fix my car haha!
Monday, July 23, 2007
IMPETIGO!!!
I don't turn into a fanboy easily but when I found out last year that the mighty Impetigo would be playing a one gig only reunion I felt like I could fly!
After having listened to their music for 15 or 16 years and I never thought of being able to see this legendary gore band live and obviously I just had to be at this concert no matter what.
So this last Saturday July 21 at 10:30 pm I went into gore heaven and I'm not sure I've returned from it yet.
Expect a nice long review about our trip and the Impetigo experience on and off stage at Vampire Magazine later this week.
For now THE PICS will have to suffice.
Happy as fuck, tired as hell and satisfied like a zombie feasting on its first victim!!!
After having listened to their music for 15 or 16 years and I never thought of being able to see this legendary gore band live and obviously I just had to be at this concert no matter what.
So this last Saturday July 21 at 10:30 pm I went into gore heaven and I'm not sure I've returned from it yet.
Expect a nice long review about our trip and the Impetigo experience on and off stage at Vampire Magazine later this week.
For now THE PICS will have to suffice.
Happy as fuck, tired as hell and satisfied like a zombie feasting on its first victim!!!
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
my ode to Independence Day 2007
Gary Johnston: Bak. Derk-derk-Allah. Derka derka, Mohammed Jihad. Haka sherpa-sherpa. Abaka-la.
Terrorist: Ahhh! Derka derka derka!
Terrorist: Ahhh! Derka derka derka!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)