You need to fill in form VAF1…

I can feel the stress bleeding out of me, and that's a good thing. I had a rather harsh morning. I had an appointment at the British High Commission in Ottawa this morning to finally try and make sense of my immigration paperwork. I'd been told previously in the week that I didn't need an exemption stamp, that I would be allowed entry at Heathrow with just my passport and my contract.

The EMBL, however, told me that the preferred way to go was to get the stamp in Ottawa, because that would avoid any hassles along the way, especially if I had to leave England during my contract (which I plan to do, as I want to go to Scotland and Ireland once I'm settled in and everything). The EMBL could get the stamp done in the UK, but getting it done in Canada would be better as it would look nicer (as if I really care) and would also avoid any unpleasantness that could possibly arise at the airport.

So, I got an appointment. Initially, I'd made one for Friday. Thank God I changed it to Monday. My dad drives me to the BHC in Ottawa, and prophetically enough, the last song on the radio before we actually get there is “I can't get no satisfaction”, from the Stones. True, how true…

I had a bad feeling about the whole thing. We get there, and we have to go up elevators and down stairwells to finally get to a back room where I hurry up and wait. It was eerily too much like the scene from Asterix's “La maison qui rend fou”.

It's finally my turn, and i start talking with the lady behind the glass, and that's where things start to go sour. They tell me I need to have a work permit (which I don't). I need to give them forms (which I hadn't filled out). I need to give them pictures (which I didn't have). Fill in the forms and wait some more. I'm called again, and another woman tells me that it's going to cost me 200$ and it can't be done today because I don't have my pictures. STRESS! I try and explain that no, from what's been confirmed to me previously, I do not need to pay anything.

That's when the nice lady behind the counter kinda loses it and says to her colleagues “can somebody deal with this guy, cause I don't have the time to deal with him. he just doesn't want to pay the fees”. Of course, I'm just 4 inches away from her. She tells me to go sit down and that “someone will call me”… ANXIETY!

I almost started to lose it. I felt that not only were thigns going nowhere, they were actually worse off than before, cause now they had my passport and my contract. Finally, somebody took pity on me and I was called to an interview room where somebody more senior talked to me. I love that woman. First words out of her mouth were “you're exempt, and it won't cost you a thing”. Did I mention that I love this woman? Cause I do. Even moreso because she told me that if I could get her passport pictures before the end of today (which I did), she could slip me on the appointment list for tomorrow (wihch she did) and I could pick up my passport. I think she could see the relief on my face, cause she apologized (!!!) for the stress they'd put me through. Da-yum, there are truly nice people in the universe. They are few and far between and should be cherished. I'm going to send her a thank you card.

More to come tomorrow.