ah 2008

New Year's at the beach and wedding anniversary celebrations are fun.

In case you were wondering, of course.

merry almost christmas

I had forgotten how bad a hangover I get from too much pisco. Let's just say that it totally sucks. And I now recall why I only drink pisco in small amounts. Ouch.

Apart from that, good times are had by all in this neck of the woods. It's crazy hot, people wait until the last minute to shop, and we're doing (we being my mother in law and I) a cross-cultural Christmas Eve dinner - I think they are a little freaked out about the sound of the Green Bean Casserole, but they'll come around once they taste it. Or I'll be eating a lot of green beans.

I also just read a quick book that an aunt lent me (yay totally exciting) called Bonsai (Alejandro Zambra 2006), I'm still not sure what my reaction to it is. But it was a random book to read, and everyone knows I love that.

Merry Almost Christmas!

christmas shopping

We were woken up a few days ago by another earthquake - it was longer (about 40 seconds) than the first one but not as strong. Really, it was annoying, because it woke me up.

My Christmas shopping is all set! We had to cop out for one of the family members and go for a gift card, mostly because there were so many options and we couldn't decide! But I'm pleased with it being done and having everything set under the tree, even though oddly everyone here wraps presents in bags, and not gift bags like you think in the U.S. but rather bags made out of wrapping paper. Yeah. It's good for odd shaped things but still.

And S still has some shopping left to do for Christmas. Rather, for me. He's kinda cute about it. Actually, really cute. But he is really cute basically most of the time, so no surprises there!

woohoo an earthquake!

I know, I know.

I felt an earthquake yesterday! And it was higher on the Mercalli scale than a 3 and on the Richter than a 4. I'm actually pretty excited about that. Because I think earthquakes are really cool. Seriously.

They'll be even cooler if it has the weather effect my mother-in-law says they do, namely that the weather changes. And that it will be cooler. I like the sun and whatnot, but when there isn't really A/C anywhere, I vote for less heat.

chile's great minus the dog

It's still quite lovely here. I'm enjoying the sun - today was especially pleasant given that I didn't feel as if I were in a sauna of my own creation. And this in a place that has nearly no humidity in the summer.

S and I are having a very pleasant time. Unfortunately, their dog is really annoying. I shouldn't hold it against him, since he's still a puppy, but I really don't like dogs. There is no way that we will have a dog if I can help it. The dog is cute when he's not near me, but all he ever wants to do is play... which is really quite annoying.

But other than the dog, it's quite nice. :-)

fun times with the chilean aduana

I'm in summer! Yay!

Fun fact of the day:
So it turns out that the SAG people here have never heard of Summer Sausage. And they wouldn't believe me when I said that it wasn't uncooked meat. And when they heard the word sausage, that automatically meant an uncooked hot dog. Which it's not. So in order to bring it into the country, I had to let them cut into it to prove it was cooked. And then they said, well this time you can bring it in, but don't bring it again. Even if it has a label saying its cooked.

Score: Chile 1, Wisconsin 0.

However, when I was waiting for them to cut into the sausage (you don't cook it before you eat it! It's cooked! It's delicious! ay!) it turns out that I can indeed bring cheese into the country, as long as it is labeled as having been made with pasteurized milk.

Score: Chile 1, Wisconsin 1.

more frustration

Immigration still moves along... slowly...

How is it that I get something on Saturday and send of the requested materials Monday, and that same day S gets a notice (in Chile!) saying that his application is missing those materials, dated a month ago. The first I received anything was Saturday, and that was postmarked Wednesday.

I don't understand.

That, and why is it that when you call the NVC they say, you can talk to an operator! But then when you go to talk to an operator, there is never one available. And so you go back to the automated menu to see if there is something you can do. But there isn't so you try for an operator again. But there isn't one! So you get sent back to the automated menu. They also tell you to call after 6 PM. Well, I can't get through to an operator then, either. Seriously, you would think that with all of the money the government spends on things, they would be able to invest in a call waiting system for the National Visa Center. But wait, that would be too logical.

Ugh.

lovely

What an absolutely lovely Thanksgiving break. My family is just fabulous.

What isn't fabulous? That both there and back my flights got quite screwed up. But it was worth it all in the end.

Fabulous times two!

Well, people, you know that I love Michelle Bachelet. Seriously, she's fabulous. And the NYY Magazine has a piece on her: check it out! It's a refreshing change from the drivel that the mainstream (and super conservative, controlled by the right-wing) Chilean media usually writes about her. Estoy contigo, Michelle!

Also in fabulousness - my sister. She is great, for many reasons. The most recent one? I need a book that someone hasn't returned to the library (at least they're being charged late fees...) - so she looked it up at her uni library, and behold! She checked it out for me :-) So I can use it while we're both at our parent's house. Yay!

When retail doesn't want my business

I had a fabulous weekend. But this week (or Monday morning at least) totally sucks. And this is the most superficial of the various reasons, but oddly enough it is the one that angers me the most.

I hate Ann Taylor. I will never shop there again. And I will tell everyone I know (including the Internets) never to shop there again. Why? Mid October I was shopping in the store, and they didn't have the color of the shirt I wanted in the size I am. So, they offered to order it, and they did. They took my information, gave me a print out and that was that. Well, the shirt never came. So finally today I called to inquire as to what happened. The woman I spoke with informed me that my order had been canceled due to lack of stock. Well, that is just fabulous isn't it, because this is the first I've heard of it. They had my phone number. But evidently, the policy is only to email when things are canceled. And I was never asked for my email at the store! So their solution is just to not inform me. When I asked to speak with someone about the policy, the woman just told me I could speak with her. So I somewhat shamefully admit that I got angry, told her off based on that policy and hung up after telling them that they had lost a customer.

If they don't have stock, they don't have it. But you need to tell the customer. I shouldn't have to call an automated number weeks later to find out that my business isn't important enough to them for them to pick up the phone and take all of 2 minutes to call me and apprise me of the situation.

If I hadn't already worn them and therefore made them impossible to return, I'd also return the pair of pants I got there. I'm that furious.