Application: Rejected!

I am not pleased. My UK work visa application was rejected for the following reason: they don't consider my payslips from my previous employer to be originals. I can see why they would think this because the payslips are "paperless" meaning the only way you can get a physical copy is to print it out from your own computer. So, my payslips are not the three-sided perforated edge envelopes you get in the mail.

The reason they need to see payslips is to confirm my income for the past year (payslips along with bank statements to cross-validate). I am annoyed mostly that they couldn't have bothered to just contact me with a clarification before utilising the "REJECT" stamp on my application.

What this means now is that I need to call my employer, see what fake "originals" I can have them make, and then re-submit my UK application for administrative review. What I don't know is how long that will take, or how quickly I have to do this. This is all complicated by my upcoming travel plans in May to/from the States (when I need my passport and can't afford to have the UK consulate have it).

I still have questions that I will investigate on Monday, but I am going ahead with my plans to travel to Boston on Wednesday and on to the UK next Monday. I will just take things from there. Wish me luck!

Also, to make yesterday worse, I spilled an entire water bottle all over the inside of my purse in the cab on the way to Friday night drinks. This wouldn't have been so detrimental except that it also completely ruined my camera! How is it that my camera survives travelling around the world, including activities like going to the beach and hiking a glacier in pouring rain, and I ruin it with a bottle of mineral water and a black leather purse in San Francisco? I have had the camera for 20 months so by most people's standards I am due for an upgrade, but I usually keep these things until they really die, and I wasn't expecting this so soon! (The memory card was salvaged and I already had all my travel photos copied over to my website, laptop and backup drive, so no pictures are lost, thankfully!)

This disappointing day was salvaged by a great night out with my girls in San Francisco. I met up with Lisa, Samidha, and Stephanie and it felt like one of those Sex in the City weekend brunch get togethers where we all share our drama and catch up, and it seems like no time has passed. They also cheered me up about the visa rejection, although they all have a secret agenda to get me back to San Francisco, so they weren't as sympathetic as I was expecting! ;) We had drinks at Waterbar, overlooking the Bay on an absolutely gorgeous SF evening, dinner at Koh Samui & The Monkey, an upscale Thai restaurant in SOMA, and then a wine flight at Bacar to end the night.