Visa denied :(
I had a hell of a day on the 30th. But I've picked myself up, and well, I know already what I'm going to do now. Actually, there has been some good come out of it so far. But I'll explain what actually happened.
I left shortly after I spoke to Arian, and my attorneys (they're now fired for good), managing to miss my first train because I forgot to pack the shoes I wanted to wear. So, getting a cab to the larger train station, I had roughly an hour to spare; so I ordered a pizza and had it delivered to the platform! :P They so thought it was a prank call. "You want it delivered to platform 1, Llandudno Junction station? Riiight. *click*" It arrived 15 minutes or so later. :P
So, I got on the last train, which was due to arrive past midnight into London. I hadn't yet figured out where I was going to stay, so I made some calls and got a reservation in Westminster. I arrived, no reservation. I'd been quoted a bullshit price (I thought it was low for Westminster) and the guys at central reservations hadn't faxed or emailed anything through to let them know I was coming. I'd even secured it on my card so they wouldn't give away the room. Needless to say, I was mad as hell - I had an appointment at 9am, and they were fucking around at 1am before they'd give me a room? He managed to sort it out - I got a larger room, for the original price I was quoted, which worked out at 1/3 of the price I should have paid.
I merrily went on my way, glad that after being awake for 24 hours I could finally go to sleep. I didn't realize, however, that I'd dropped my wallet outside my room. Apparently at 4am, a guy from two doors down found my wallet and handed it in to the lobby. The guy was American. So, at 7am, the same person who'd earlier checked me in, came knocking at my door to hand my wallet back. It was clear my cards had been rearranged, but he was handing this back to me just as he was going off duty. So by the time I realized my US Visa (funny irony) card was missing, he was long gone. Everything else in my wallet was there. I don't know who'd taken it, but the new people in the lobby gave me his cell number. I called him to ask him about it; he denied even looking at my cards, but also gave me the room number of the people that found it. They'd just taken it to the lobby. Oh well, I decided, I didn't have time to fuck around trying to find out who'd got my card - for all I knew, it was probably neither of them. So I got on the phone to my bank to have it cancelled. Just as I was getting the information to do this, the same guy who'd checked me in, and given me back my wallet came back to explain to me in detail (which he'd done already on the phone) what had happened. I thanked him again for giving me my wallet back, and told him I'd already understood his explanation and that there was no need for this - I didn't have time and was just trying to get the card cancelled. He went away, finally. :P
It took 40 minutes to get my card cancelled; at hotel rates, that was a $16 call! I was running late for my appointment at the Embassy, especially as I had to get an odd sized photograph of me taken. I knew roughly where to go, but ended up walking the wrong way for a few blocks. I arrived, finally, had my photos taken, and scurried off to the line at the Embassy. After the bullshit of waiting in line for a long time, going through airport-type security and then having my MD player taken off me because it can record audio, I was in the line to hand my documents to the people at the window. I had to wait a further few hours before someone actually saw me. This was the interesting part. She'd practically refused my visa before I'd even got there. It took her 15 seconds of me trying to explain my situation before she'd decided to refuse my visa. She hadn't the intelligence to understand what I was telling her about my business, and couldn't see my ties to the UK. She didn't even give me a chance to elaborate or explain further before she was stamping my passport with the date of processing and handing me a letter explaining why I'd been denied. This was bullshit. However, as it turns out, this might actually have saved me from even more bullshit. No way has this stopped me, and actually it doesn't make a tiny bit of difference - all it means is I'll likely be delayed in coming back, probably not by long.
What had happened didn't sink in until hours later, when I decided to just get on a plane to Boston, as I'd done before - just for a week or something. It probably wasn't the best of ideas in retrospect. Funny thing happened. I'd left my shit at the hotel because I couldn't carry it all into the Embassy. The zipper on my bag broke as I went to pack a few items into it at the hotel. I didn't go to the airport. :P
This has saved me from some bullshit that would have lasted years. I've got a plan as to what I'm going to do now, but I will be delayed - you won't be seeing me in Boston in April; well, it's unlikely. Right now, I've just got to get my company's shit together, get my funding (which will take time) and then get my ass back to Boston. It's gotta be condensed into as little time as possible.
Well, this is a bit of a shock overall - I waited to write this until I could explain it fully. I'll bend, but I don't break easily, and all this means is you won't be seeing me in Bostin in April; a few months later is most likely. I know what I'm going to do! :)
I'll be back in a few months. :D
I left shortly after I spoke to Arian, and my attorneys (they're now fired for good), managing to miss my first train because I forgot to pack the shoes I wanted to wear. So, getting a cab to the larger train station, I had roughly an hour to spare; so I ordered a pizza and had it delivered to the platform! :P They so thought it was a prank call. "You want it delivered to platform 1, Llandudno Junction station? Riiight. *click*" It arrived 15 minutes or so later. :P
So, I got on the last train, which was due to arrive past midnight into London. I hadn't yet figured out where I was going to stay, so I made some calls and got a reservation in Westminster. I arrived, no reservation. I'd been quoted a bullshit price (I thought it was low for Westminster) and the guys at central reservations hadn't faxed or emailed anything through to let them know I was coming. I'd even secured it on my card so they wouldn't give away the room. Needless to say, I was mad as hell - I had an appointment at 9am, and they were fucking around at 1am before they'd give me a room? He managed to sort it out - I got a larger room, for the original price I was quoted, which worked out at 1/3 of the price I should have paid.
I merrily went on my way, glad that after being awake for 24 hours I could finally go to sleep. I didn't realize, however, that I'd dropped my wallet outside my room. Apparently at 4am, a guy from two doors down found my wallet and handed it in to the lobby. The guy was American. So, at 7am, the same person who'd earlier checked me in, came knocking at my door to hand my wallet back. It was clear my cards had been rearranged, but he was handing this back to me just as he was going off duty. So by the time I realized my US Visa (funny irony) card was missing, he was long gone. Everything else in my wallet was there. I don't know who'd taken it, but the new people in the lobby gave me his cell number. I called him to ask him about it; he denied even looking at my cards, but also gave me the room number of the people that found it. They'd just taken it to the lobby. Oh well, I decided, I didn't have time to fuck around trying to find out who'd got my card - for all I knew, it was probably neither of them. So I got on the phone to my bank to have it cancelled. Just as I was getting the information to do this, the same guy who'd checked me in, and given me back my wallet came back to explain to me in detail (which he'd done already on the phone) what had happened. I thanked him again for giving me my wallet back, and told him I'd already understood his explanation and that there was no need for this - I didn't have time and was just trying to get the card cancelled. He went away, finally. :P
It took 40 minutes to get my card cancelled; at hotel rates, that was a $16 call! I was running late for my appointment at the Embassy, especially as I had to get an odd sized photograph of me taken. I knew roughly where to go, but ended up walking the wrong way for a few blocks. I arrived, finally, had my photos taken, and scurried off to the line at the Embassy. After the bullshit of waiting in line for a long time, going through airport-type security and then having my MD player taken off me because it can record audio, I was in the line to hand my documents to the people at the window. I had to wait a further few hours before someone actually saw me. This was the interesting part. She'd practically refused my visa before I'd even got there. It took her 15 seconds of me trying to explain my situation before she'd decided to refuse my visa. She hadn't the intelligence to understand what I was telling her about my business, and couldn't see my ties to the UK. She didn't even give me a chance to elaborate or explain further before she was stamping my passport with the date of processing and handing me a letter explaining why I'd been denied. This was bullshit. However, as it turns out, this might actually have saved me from even more bullshit. No way has this stopped me, and actually it doesn't make a tiny bit of difference - all it means is I'll likely be delayed in coming back, probably not by long.
What had happened didn't sink in until hours later, when I decided to just get on a plane to Boston, as I'd done before - just for a week or something. It probably wasn't the best of ideas in retrospect. Funny thing happened. I'd left my shit at the hotel because I couldn't carry it all into the Embassy. The zipper on my bag broke as I went to pack a few items into it at the hotel. I didn't go to the airport. :P
This has saved me from some bullshit that would have lasted years. I've got a plan as to what I'm going to do now, but I will be delayed - you won't be seeing me in Boston in April; well, it's unlikely. Right now, I've just got to get my company's shit together, get my funding (which will take time) and then get my ass back to Boston. It's gotta be condensed into as little time as possible.
Well, this is a bit of a shock overall - I waited to write this until I could explain it fully. I'll bend, but I don't break easily, and all this means is you won't be seeing me in Bostin in April; a few months later is most likely. I know what I'm going to do! :)
I'll be back in a few months. :D