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aruanI'm just not sure their process is exhaustive enough to merit that measure of accomplishment, but then again, so few things require proper demonstration of proficiency. Personally, I think we should've been required to navigate a Palm Beach butterfly ballot. Now there's accomplishment.
Not that what did happen wasn't fun anyway.
Getting up at 5:45 is one way to start the day. It's not the preferred method, but so it goes. I only last night called my mum while Miranda and I were out at Starbucks to tell her that I'd be going to the naturalization ceremony today, and even then she said if I'd only called a couple of hours earlier, she would've driven up. *warm fuzzies* Instead she called to make sure I was awake.
And so, with me dressed in a white shirt, blue jeans, and red underwear, we set out. The last-minute additions of REM's Shiny Happy People and Prince's Kiss to the America mix were truly inspired, and we sang the entire trip up.
Me, driving:
Also, I will absolutely not survive Joey as Danny in Grease. That hair! That smile! I'm fairly certain I'm on record somewhere saying that it'd be the perfect role for him to play and today, doing the choreography and actually listening to the lyrics inbetween, I about swooned just thinking about it.
We got to Robinson Theater at UNF right on time. After turning over my appointment paper and resident alien card, they teased by giving me my certificate, which they promptly took once again after I verified all the information on it and signed it. For you see, what's an occasion without proper pomp and circumstance?
And see, I was doing okay. Got a little misty while the guest speakers were talking about becoming part of the great "social experiment" of democracy and civic duty, what citizenship and being part of this country means. No, really, just a little misty, but otherwise fine.
Look, I even made it through the oath!
For those interested, the oath of citizenship basically involved renouncing all allegiances to your former country and swearing to uphold and protect the Constitution of the United States at whatever cost that may come.
There was a recorded message from Dubyah himself wherein he sounded only a little less insipid than normal, but then that's what a tried-and-true script and some rehearsing will do for you.
And then, the bastages break out some slapdash music video with dramatic fades and blatantly propagandist imagery set to Proud to Be An American and I. Just. Bawled. To be fair, so did Sailor Boy next to me (sweetheart even reached over and squeezed my arm) but dude, I still blush thinking about it.
Then, as instructed by the emcee, Sailor Boy and I shook hands before we walked the stage to receive our certificates to, on the funniest note of the day, the commencement march. It was deja vu all over again, but mercifully much shorter than my high school graduation.
My life's third Walk (with Sailor Boy just a few steps ahead):
We got a certificate (apparently a relic now, as mine still says Department of Justice instead of Homeland Security, thankfully) from the emcee, a letter from the president from the guest speaker, and flags and congratulations from the Daughters of the Revolution just out of frame. I also got big hugs from Miranda and, some more photo oppage later, we skipped back to my car and drove with the top down and Stars and Stripes Forever blaring to Jacksonville beach.
Along the way, we once again managed to creep ourselves out by simultaneously coming up with the phrase "they could be eating apple pie while doing it" in answer to what could possibly be more American than the Puritans' practice of fervent litigiousness, and if that doesn't convey just how dorktastic our conversations can be, nothing will.
We dipped our toes and frolicked in the lovely, squishy sand, then had tres patriotic lunches on the patio of Applebee's (Bourbon Street Steak and a Cowboy Burger, respectively), with, naturally, apple pie for dessert. Our lunch accompaniment was what we could only call muzak electronica, with the completely random exception of Ivy's Edge of the Ocean.
Said song totally got us in the mood for my soundtrack to Stay the Night & Fairy Tale, and I am ecstatic to say it still kicks just as much ass as when I originally made it. Mmm, good music, breezy weather, miles of open highway - the journey home may have been the most salient instance of freedom's joy I'd experienced all day.
Miranda (right) and me with the flag.
This weekend (well, the parts that aren't Halloween or Horror Nights) will be ass-kicking, as now that I can stay in the country, I'd like to stay in this university too.
Not that what did happen wasn't fun anyway.
Getting up at 5:45 is one way to start the day. It's not the preferred method, but so it goes. I only last night called my mum while Miranda and I were out at Starbucks to tell her that I'd be going to the naturalization ceremony today, and even then she said if I'd only called a couple of hours earlier, she would've driven up. *warm fuzzies* Instead she called to make sure I was awake.
And so, with me dressed in a white shirt, blue jeans, and red underwear, we set out. The last-minute additions of REM's Shiny Happy People and Prince's Kiss to the America mix were truly inspired, and we sang the entire trip up.
Me, driving:
Also, I will absolutely not survive Joey as Danny in Grease. That hair! That smile! I'm fairly certain I'm on record somewhere saying that it'd be the perfect role for him to play and today, doing the choreography and actually listening to the lyrics inbetween, I about swooned just thinking about it.
We got to Robinson Theater at UNF right on time. After turning over my appointment paper and resident alien card, they teased by giving me my certificate, which they promptly took once again after I verified all the information on it and signed it. For you see, what's an occasion without proper pomp and circumstance?
And see, I was doing okay. Got a little misty while the guest speakers were talking about becoming part of the great "social experiment" of democracy and civic duty, what citizenship and being part of this country means. No, really, just a little misty, but otherwise fine.
Look, I even made it through the oath!
For those interested, the oath of citizenship basically involved renouncing all allegiances to your former country and swearing to uphold and protect the Constitution of the United States at whatever cost that may come.
There was a recorded message from Dubyah himself wherein he sounded only a little less insipid than normal, but then that's what a tried-and-true script and some rehearsing will do for you.
And then, the bastages break out some slapdash music video with dramatic fades and blatantly propagandist imagery set to Proud to Be An American and I. Just. Bawled. To be fair, so did Sailor Boy next to me (sweetheart even reached over and squeezed my arm) but dude, I still blush thinking about it.
Then, as instructed by the emcee, Sailor Boy and I shook hands before we walked the stage to receive our certificates to, on the funniest note of the day, the commencement march. It was deja vu all over again, but mercifully much shorter than my high school graduation.
My life's third Walk (with Sailor Boy just a few steps ahead):
We got a certificate (apparently a relic now, as mine still says Department of Justice instead of Homeland Security, thankfully) from the emcee, a letter from the president from the guest speaker, and flags and congratulations from the Daughters of the Revolution just out of frame. I also got big hugs from Miranda and, some more photo oppage later, we skipped back to my car and drove with the top down and Stars and Stripes Forever blaring to Jacksonville beach.
Along the way, we once again managed to creep ourselves out by simultaneously coming up with the phrase "they could be eating apple pie while doing it" in answer to what could possibly be more American than the Puritans' practice of fervent litigiousness, and if that doesn't convey just how dorktastic our conversations can be, nothing will.
We dipped our toes and frolicked in the lovely, squishy sand, then had tres patriotic lunches on the patio of Applebee's (Bourbon Street Steak and a Cowboy Burger, respectively), with, naturally, apple pie for dessert. Our lunch accompaniment was what we could only call muzak electronica, with the completely random exception of Ivy's Edge of the Ocean.
Said song totally got us in the mood for my soundtrack to Stay the Night & Fairy Tale, and I am ecstatic to say it still kicks just as much ass as when I originally made it. Mmm, good music, breezy weather, miles of open highway - the journey home may have been the most salient instance of freedom's joy I'd experienced all day.
Miranda (right) and me with the flag.
This weekend (well, the parts that aren't Halloween or Horror Nights) will be ass-kicking, as now that I can stay in the country, I'd like to stay in this university too.
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no subject
Date: October 31st, 2003 08:12 am (UTC)(I have no icon for this, but porn! is very American.)
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Date: October 31st, 2003 08:20 am (UTC)And porn! I'd consider the right to read and write slash without governmental persecution to be pretty high up on the rights and priviliges I'm grateful for (and hey, now our icons match!)
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Date: October 31st, 2003 08:14 am (UTC)Congratulations honey. I may have got a bit of stinging behind the eyes myself reading this. And you two are so cute!
Go team Florida!
*waves flag*
no subject
Date: October 31st, 2003 08:25 am (UTC)Thank you, darlin'. *hands you a tissue* It's the last one in the box I pretty much demolished yesterday. It just feels ridiculous to think that there's any other place I'd ever belong more than here, and having that finally acknowledged really was something incredibly special.
*salutes* Rockin' in the USA, indeed.
And now I can finally use this icon properly.
no subject
Date: October 31st, 2003 08:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: October 31st, 2003 08:45 am (UTC)Sailor Boy was very sweet and I promise I only had illicit thoughts about his outfit on others after we left the theater.
Rawr. Sexy kitten in your icon. JC elicits such an irrationally squeeful response from me these days, it's probably a good thing my chances of running into him anytime again are fairly slim. ;)
no subject
Date: October 31st, 2003 08:53 am (UTC)Meow!
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Date: October 31st, 2003 08:40 am (UTC)*offtopic, the words in your text box, where can I find that story?*
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Date: October 31st, 2003 08:48 am (UTC)That story is by the Sandys, and you should read absolutely everything they write. If you have the slightest affection for Lambs or even if you don't, they'll make you love 'em. It's inevitable.
Out and About by Sandy Keene
no subject
Date: October 31st, 2003 08:55 am (UTC)Thanks for the story info!
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Date: October 31st, 2003 08:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: October 31st, 2003 08:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: October 31st, 2003 03:18 pm (UTC)And if you do come bring Bonnie! I haven't see you guys since we bumped into each other at Publix.
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Date: October 31st, 2003 08:56 am (UTC)And porn! We (okay, not me) may be puritans at heart, but we do provide pornography that meets and sometimes exceeds the international standard.
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Date: October 31st, 2003 09:06 am (UTC)Woohoo! Nothing like going above and beyond the norm when porn is concerned! What a country, eh? *g*
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Date: October 31st, 2003 08:58 am (UTC)(And they made sure you signed your certificate? Good. I am (among other things) a Passport Agent, and we get lots of people in who haven't signed their certificate. Helpful hint: get yourself a passport now. It also works as 'evidence of citizenship' and is much easier to replace than a lost citizenship certificate. And besides, what if you have a sudden whim to go to Bora Bora?)
no subject
Date: October 31st, 2003 09:10 am (UTC)Heh, Bora Bora. Or you know, Europe for Justin's tour. But yes, applying for a passport as soon as I make it to the post office tomorrow. Besides being able to vote, it's the thing I'm most excited about. Try visiting New Zealand without being a citizen sometime - almost as tedious and exhaustive a process as letting the US government grant you a green card.
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Date: October 31st, 2003 09:13 am (UTC)And dude, I even get misty during "Proud to Be An American", which is really saying something.
Welcome to the fun, babe!
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Date: October 31st, 2003 12:47 pm (UTC)I first heard Proud to Be An American at a football game (the only such game I ever attended) but it didn't have the same effect when sung by a bunch of wet, rowdy, mostly drunken college students. But yeah, it's a good song, and it totally got me.
Woohoo! Glad to be here, pass the dice.
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Date: October 31st, 2003 10:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: October 31st, 2003 12:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: October 31st, 2003 11:27 am (UTC)Seriously, man, that's so cool. And hey, it's good to know there will be another voter in Florida who can properly punch a card. You can, can't you?
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Date: October 31st, 2003 12:54 pm (UTC)I can! I'm all read up and armed with common sense. There'll be no slacking chads or Buchanan votes on my watch. ;)
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Date: October 31st, 2003 03:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: October 31st, 2003 04:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: November 1st, 2003 10:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: November 1st, 2003 10:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: November 1st, 2003 12:39 pm (UTC)And then, the bastages break out some slapdash music video with dramatic fades and blatantly propagandist imagery set to Proud to Be An American and I. Just. Bawled.
*sniffle* Bastards. They know how to hit your soft spot.
I cried a little when they played patriotic songs during my citizenship ceremony too. The guy standing next to me was also from my home country (the Philippines) so he kept patting me on the back in a 'there, there' manner. He didn't cry at all. Bleh.
You look cute, by the way.
no subject
Date: November 2nd, 2003 01:47 am (UTC)Aaw, that's a really sweet story about the guy at your ceremony. Sailor Boy was good to me in that way, too. I totally expected to cry though, and better then than bursting out with it while walking across the stage.
You look cute, by the way.
And you're a dear for saying so. *g* I'll post better pictures soon, gonna get back in that habit, but not before the JC ones which are about as flattering to us as brown potato sack dresses. But JC looks pretty and that is seriously the only point there.
Citizenship! Whoot!