4081

Does Canada un-citizen you once you naturalize in the US, or can you still legitimately wear your canada pin on your backpack when you’re abroad?

Canada doesn’t require you to renounce so I’m a dual citizen - although I don’t know how the passports work and why I had to get an American one. I assume because the American citizenship is the primary now or something? I’ll have to question my immigration lawyer soon…

4082

To avoid another red flag.

4083

The expedited processing - red flag sounds unlikely to me. I used expedited processing when I got #1 son his US passport. We then travelled abroad on it, and there were no extra checks (even though both his parents are suspicious furriners!).

As for how to use dual-wield passports, the key is to only use the passports for that country when entering or exiting that country. So if you are going from the US to Canada, use the US passport to exit the US, then show the Canadian passport when entering Canada. When you exit Canada show the Canadian passport, then show the US one when entering the US. This allows both countries to keep information straight about where you are, and you don’t end up with one of thinking you are still there because you entered on one passports and exited on another. Also of course, using the native passport at passport control in each country means you get to stand in the shorter line :)

4084

I tried to go to Las Vegas today.

Turns out the 70 minutes between flights in Heathrow was really only 50 before check in closed (the flight from London was rescheduled after the trip was booked, my travel agent then told me, that her system wouldn’øt even let her book connecting flights with less than 100 minutes transfer time).
But British Airways claim that the delay was due to snow (less than one inch in Copenhagen, which is nothing out of the ordinary in fucking january) and offered no compensation at all. So instead of a nice Las Vegas suite, I’m in a shitty hotel right next to the runway and will be late for everything instead of well rested.

4085

You think that’s a shitty day in the snow? I’ll show you a shitty day in the snow (I live in the other end of the country where we got quite a lot more snow today).

Anyway, we all flee work early (we don’t want to get stuck there, especially since it’s unlikely we’ll be open for business tomorrow). On my way home I learn that my debit card (I don’t have credit cards) has been blocked, and remember that today I’m supposed to activate my new debit card (New bank, the old one went belly-up during the financial meltdown).

I go home and find the envelope with the activation code (a very distinctive envelope of the kind where you have to rip off the edges to open it). Only, it’s not for my debit card but for home banking. So I call the bank who tell me that quite a few people recently haven’t gotten their activation codes (which are required to be delivered by mail). So the bank has to start all over and get me a new card. Which will take a week.

Meanwhile my only way of getting any money is to show up at the bank. Which is in another town. Which I can’t get to because of the snow. And I’m totally out of cash. And my kitchen is completely devoid of food, post-New Year holidays. I’m quite literally starving until I can borrow some cash from a friend tomorrow.

Fuck banks. And fuck snow. In the ear.

4086

You should always have emergency cash sitting somewhere safe in your house. Doesn’t Denmark get any storms that take out the electricity and bring down the ATMs and credit card machines at grocery stores?

4087

Practically never. The weather is usually miserable, but not extreme.

4088

Ok, ok, stop right there. That’s your problem. Heathrow. Just… just don’t. Ever… try and use Heathrow. I think the entire planet should veto this hellhole to force them to upgrade the entire damn thing. I hate that place with a passion, and in fact the next time I have to go to the UK I’ll be flying to Europe first so I can grab another flight to Gatwick or Stanstead.

4089

But this is why I own guns.

4090

I have never had trouble in Heathrow. In fact when flying to Vegas I specifically pick Heathrow to avoid O’Hare, transfer to an American airline and lately the more and more craptastic SAS.
This time we went with BA instead of Virgin Atlantic, because Virgin didn’t have proper connections from Denmark… turned out neither did BA even though they were trying to connect their own fucking flights.

Now everywhere is snow and apparently this is so rare in the UK that they have one snowplough and one 10 pound bag of salt… both currently in Scotland. I’m never getting out again.

4091

Best answer.

4092

We’re trying out a January inter-session class here. Ten nights in three weeks. Full credit class. Stupidly, a limit was not set on the one I’m helping with since no one knew how popular or unpopular things would be. It’s a writing intensive class that’s supposed to be a workshop where people learn how to write in the social sciences. Usually this is limited to 15.

There are 65 students in it. 36 of those students I will be grading. Nightly.

I want to cry.

4093

Woke up… it is straight up freezing in my apartment… I think our heating is broken.

4094

I’ll give a hearty “that sucks!” to both the last two posters. :(

4095

No heat definitely sucks. Heat was broken at the office on Monday. Frigid.

4096

It hasn’t happened to me yet, but it is interesting. In about 2 hours, I will endure some medical table time as a doctor inserts two electrodes INTO MY SPINE. There they will stay for 5-7 days.

If this neurostimulationtherapy helps my chronic and oft-acute sciatica, I’ll go into the hospital at a later date for a permanent implant.

I will emerge a perfect blend of human being and machine. I will be stronger, faster, and nearly indestructible. I will be…a Cyberman.

4097

Anything where they insert into the spine is scary. Good luck, man!

4098

Tell me how it works! I’ve been using … less intrusive methods to work on my sciatica, but I’m quickly having to look to other methods. I don’t want to live with this the rest of my life.

4099

My boss just took me into his office to talk about ‘where I was going’ in my job. Considering the whole laid off last July thing, I was petrified. It turns out his boss had contacted him and said I seemed more than capable at what I was currently doing and suggested that he start pushing me into security training so that eventually I could be their Chief Security Officer.

I’m still kind of flabbergasted. It means I have to take two classes this spring, so much for a schoolwork break, but hell. They want to keep me and give me a better job. Woohoo!

4100

Congrats! That’s always a scary situation.