SWEDEN-ARIZONA

WHAT A DAY

2009-05-06T05:17:00.004-07:00

I don't know what it was but people were just crazy yesterday. Davetta said it's cause it's full moon, but we weren't sure it was. Crazy person after crazy person kept coming up to the counter. I had the weirdos but poor Davetta got the angry weirdos. Also me not having slept at all the night before didn't help either. I was so glad when 6'o'clock came around. It was a Green Fair at work yesterday so we got cool, green freebie stuff. I got pens made of jeans and 5 dollar bills, a stress ball, markers, a bag and some other stuff. Then we got to eat in the banquet room, supposedly the food is nicer on employee appreciation day, but I don't know... At least the desserts were nice, ha ha, except for this sugar free thing I grabbed by accident. DISGUSTING!

Anyway, I was so tired when I finally came home that I went straight to bed so now my sleeping schedule is all screwed up. I woke up at 4.00 and I just can't go back to sleep. I think I'll text my mom and see if she or my grandparents have time to talk to me!

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Vet inte riktigt vad det var men kunderna var helt konstiga igar. Davetta sa att det var foer att det aer fullmane, men det var vi inte ens saekra pa att det var. Pucko efter pucko kom fram till disken. Jag fick alla knaeppgoekar men stavkars Davetta fick arga knaeppgoekar. Det hjaelpte vael antagligen inte alls att jag inte hade sovit nagonting under natten heller. Jag blev sa glad naer klockan aentligen blev 18.00. Vi hade en eko dag pa jobbet igar, sa vi fick lite coola gratis grejer. Jag tog tva pennor gjorda av jeans och 5 dollar sedlar, en stressboll, maerkerings pennor, en tyg kasse och lite andra grejer. Sa fick vi aeta "fin" lunch i bankettsalen, maten var inte alls mycket baettre aen va den aer annars. Men dessertena var riktigt goda, ha ha, foerutom nan sockerfri dessert jag tog av misstag. SKIT AECKLIG!

Jag va sa troett naer jag kom hem sa jag gick och lade mig direkt. Sa nu har jag foerstoert min dygnsrytm helt. Jag vaknade 4.00 i morse och kan inte sova mer. Ska nog ta och smsa mamma och se om hon eller mormor och morfar har tid och prata lite med mig!

CAN'T SLEEP

2009-05-05T05:41:00.003-07:00

It is now a little past 6.00 am and I'm supposed to get up and get ready for work in 2.5 hours. But after tossing and turing for 2 hours I just couldn't stay in bed any longer.

Work's good, I guess that's why I haven't typed anything in forever. There's still a lot to learn but I don't feel like I'm completely clueless anymore. I'm also in the process of getting cross-trained at the front desk to get more hours. Patty, from my orientation group, fixed me up. I had a little "meeting" with Patty's boss who told me that if it was ok with my boss, Michael, she would gladly cross-train me so that I can work part-time at the front desk as well as part-time at Total Rewards.
I was supposed to call her yesterday to tell her what Michael said about the whole thing (he said YES) but I was told that she was off yesterday. So I'm gonna call again right before I go to work today or stop by during my break or after work.

This month will be kind of tough, on top of all of our usual bills we have; our first car payment, as well as out first toyota credit card payment, we need to re-new the warranty on my wedding ring and the we need to re-new the vehicle registration on Jon's bike.

So when we we're asked to go on a vacation to San Diego with Jr and Fabi this month, we had to decline. We're trying to figure out something to do on our anniversary that is comming up next month. As of now the plan is to go to Lake Havasu, and save up money for a Disneyland trip later on. We'll see what happens, busy, busy.

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Nu aer klockan lite efter 6.00 och jag ska ga upp och goera mig iordning om 2.5 timme. Men efter att ha foersoekt att somna i oever 2 timmar sa var jag tvungen att ga upp.

Nya jobbet gar bra, det maste vara daerfoer som jag inte har skrivit nagot pa sa himla laenge. Jag har fortfarande mycket att laera mig men nu kaenner jag mig inte som en nyboerjare laengre iallafall. Just nu foersoeker jag fa ett andra deltisjobb pa casinot, vid check-in disken. Patty, fran min introduktions grupp, fixade ett moete med hennes chef at mig. Pattys chef sa att om det aer ok foer min chef, Michael, sa anstaeller hon mig deltid vid check-in disken.
Jag skulle ringt henne igar foer att beraetta vad Michael sa (och han sa JA) men naer jag ringde sa sa personen jag pratade med att hon var ledig igar. Sa jag ska ringa nu innan jag aker till jobbet eller sa tittar jag foerbi naer jag har rast eller efter jobbet.

Den haer manaden kommer ga lite troegt foer oss, utoever de raekningar vi normal har sa har vi aeven; varan foersta avbetalning pa bilen, varan foersta avbetalning pa Toyota kredit kortet, vi maste foernya foersaekringen pa mina ringar och vi maste foernya skattemaerket pa Jonathans motorcykel.

Sa naer Jr och Fabi fragade om vi ville foelja med till San Diego den haer manaden fick vi tyvaerr tacka nej. Personligen aer inte jag sa ledsen oever det foer det verkar som att den enda anledningen att dom fragade var sa att de kunde aka i varan bil. Naer vi tackade nej sa dom,
"Jaha, da far vi vael hyra en bil iallafall da.".
Vi foersoeker komma pa nat som vi kan goera pa var broellopsdag naesta manad. Just nu aer planen att aka till Lake Havasu strosa runt lite och aeta nat gott. Och boerja spara pengar till en Disneyland semester senare i ar. Vi far se vad som haender, fullt upp!

ORIENTATION DONE!

2009-04-10T22:43:00.002-07:00

This week has been crazy busy so I haven't had time to write anything. I had my 4-day orientation this week and I started at 8.30 am everyday. I almost felt like I was back in school again. It was fun, during the whole orientation there was a competition going on and my team won. We kicked butt!

Wednesday Jon and I went to Lake Havasu and bought our first car! A silver '07 Dodge Charger. I got out early from orientation that day so we spent that afternoon car shopping. Now we finally have our own car.

Thursday was the last day of orientation, customer service day. At the end of the day we had a little customer service test and if we passed we got certified. We all passed.

After orientation Jon came and picked me up in our new car. We went home real quick so that I could change in to something more comfortable. And then we drove over to Fort Mohave to show Jon's mom, sister and brother in-law our new car. We hung out for a while and then we went to the movies; me, Jon, Fran, Fabi, Jr, Paul and Chelsea. We saw "Knowing" with Nicholas Cage, not a great movie, really weird. We were gonna see "Dragon Ball Z" but they had screwed up the premiere date on the website, so when we got there we were told that that movie wasn't gonna be showing until the next day. After the movie some of us went over to our 'ohh, not so clean' apartment and went in the jacuzzi.

I was off today so Jon and I went grocery shopping, inspected my rings and faxed some info over to the auto dealership. Cleaning the apartment was on the list, but we'll have to do that tomorrow, either before I go to work or after I get home. Hopefully, ha ha.

Tomorrow I'll start working again.

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Har varit jaette upptagen hela veckan sa jag har inte hunnit skriva nat. Jag har haft min 4-dagars introduktion den haer veckan och boerjade kl. 8.30 varje morgon. Kaendes naestan som att jag hade boerjat skolan igen. Introduktionen var jaette kul, under dom 4 dagarna taevlade vi i grupper mot varandra och min grupp vann. "We kicked butt!"

Pa onsdagen fick vi sluta tidigt sa jag och Jonathan akte till Lake Havasu och koepte en bil! En 2007 silver Dodge Charger. Nu har vi aentligen egen bil!

Torsdag var sista introduktions dagen da vi fick laera oss service. Det sista vi fick goera var ett service test och klarade det blev vi certifierade. Alla klarade testet.

Efter introduktionen kom Jonathan och haemtade mig i varan bil. Vi akte hem en snabbis sa jag fick byta klaeder och sedan akte vi oever till Fort Mohave och visade Jonathan's mamma, syster och svaer-bror bilen. Vi var kvar daer ett tag och sedan gick vi pa bio med Fran, Fabi, Jr, Paul och Chelsea. Vi sag "Knowing" med Nicholas Cage, inte alls en bra film, vaeldigt konstig. Vi skulle ha sett "Dragon Ball Z" men dom hade skrivit fel premiaer datum pa hemsidan sa naer vi kom dit fick vi veta att den filmen inte skulle boerja visas foerraen dagen efter (fredag). Efter filmen foeljde Fran, Fabi och Jr med oss hem till varan, inte alls sa rena, laegenhet och sa gick vi ned till jacuzzin.

Idag var jag ledig sa jag och Jonathan akte och veckohandlade, inspekterade mina ringar och faxade ivaeg lite info som bilfirman behoevde. Staeda laegenheten var pa varan att goera lista, men vi far goera det imorron, innan jag aker till jobbet eller efter jag kommit hem. Hoppas jag, ha ha.

Imorgon aer jag tillbaka pa jobbet igen.

AFTER SECOND DAY AT WORK

2009-04-04T23:20:00.002-07:00

I got to work two days this week. Next week is orientation Monday - Thursday and then I'll be back at work again on Saturday. So far so good, it's a lot of new info at once right now but it's starting to stick.

At first I thought the "Are you really from Sweden?" comments were pretty funny. But after getting about 10 of them today I realized it's not that they don't believe that I am, it's just a way to ask about it. It makes it really easy to start conversations with the customers. However I don't think that I was able to answer a single question about the rest of the casino that I got today. I memorized where the closest bathrooms, buffet and cashiers cage are located, since that is the most common question. But not a single person has asked me that yet, off course. So there I stand like a "trainee" idiot, with a big smile on my face while I'm frantically trying to find one of my co-workers that can help me answer. Or answer for me, I should say.
Hopefully I'll be able to answer a couple of them next time I work.

I'm looking forward to my orientation, everyone says it's a lot of fun. And you can win prizes!

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Jag fick jobba tva dagar den haer veckan. Naesta vecka aer det introduktion mandag - torsdag och sen jobbar jag igen pa loerdag. Aen sa laenge gar det bra, det aer mycket nytt pa samma gang just nu men det gar enklare foer varje gang.

I onsdags och naer jag boerjade jobba idag sa tyckte jag att "Aer du verkligen fran Sverige?" kommentaren var ganska rolig/dum. Men efter den 10e gangen idag insag jag att dom menar inte att dom inte tror pa att jag aer fran Sverige, det aer bara ett saett att fraga OM Sverige. Det goer det iallafall laett att prata med alla. Jag behoever inte hitta pa nat att prata om, dom fragar mig om Sverige istaellet. Men aen sa laenge har jag inte kunnat svara pa en enda fraga om resten av casinot. Jag har memorerat svaren till var toaletterna, buffen och daer man "cashar in" aer, eftersom det aer dom vanligaste fragorna. Men inte en enda person har fragat mig om det aen, sjaelvklart inte. Sa daer star jag som en "ny pa jobbet" idiot, med ett leende pa laepparna medan jag frenetiskt letar efter en medarbetare som kan hjaelpa mig att svara. Eller, raettare sagt, svara pa fragorna at mig.
Naesta gang jag jobbar hoppas jag att jag kommer kunna svara pa ett par fragor iallafall.

Jag ser fram emot min introduktion, alla saeger att det aer jaette kul. Och man kan vinna priser!

FIRST DAY @ WORK

2009-04-01T04:32:00.002-07:00

So later today I'll start working again, after +8 months as housewife. I've taken a shower and fixed my bangs. Jon and I decided that we'll go shopping after I got off of work instead of when he gets home in 3 hours. Then I'll see if I can find some nice black pants to wear at work, my black jeans will have to do until then. Maybe I should look at some comfortable black shoes as well. But that's not as urgent, I have a pair of black sneakers.

We've been getting UsWeekly the past two weeks. Well, to be honest, it's not addressed to us, it's for someone else who used to live here before us. Usually I cross out the name and write "NOT CURRENT RESIDENT" on the mail and put it back in the mailbox. But not this, I took it with me to the apartment and read the whole thing. I figured that whoever the magazine is for will call once they realize they're not getting it. But the second UsWeekly arrived in the mail yesterday. Again I kept it, took it with me back to the apartment and read the whole thing. I had no idea that Cat Cora is a lesbian, and is married with children, and that she and her wife are pregnant, at the same time!

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Lite senare idag boerjar jag jobba, efter ca +8 manader som hemmafru. Jag har duschat och plattat luggen. Jonathan och jag bestaemde igar att vi aker och handlar efter jag slutar jobba istaellet foer att aka naer han kommer hem fran jobbet om ca 3 timmar. Da ska jag se om jag kan hitta nagra svarta byxor som jag kan ha pa jobbet. Mina svarta jeans far duga tills dess. Kanske skulle se om jag kan hitta nagra bekvaema svarta skor med. Men det aer inte sa bradskande som byxor, jag har ett par svarta gympaskor.

Vi har fatt UsWeekly (typ amerikanska Haent Extra) i brevladan tva veckor i rad nu. Fast det aer egentligen inte till oss. Det aer raett adress pa tidningen men inte raett namn, maste vara nagon som bodde i laegenheten innan oss. Naer vi far san post brukar jag stryka oever namnet och skriva "NOT CURRENT RESIDENT" pa posten och laegga tillbaka det i brevladan. Men inte naer jag fick UsWeekly inte, jag tog med mig den tillbaka till laegenheten och laeste varenda sida. Den som premenurerar pa tidningen kommer vael ringa UsWeekly naer dom inte far nagon tidning, taenkte jag. Men igar fick vi en UsWeekly till, och jag behoell den, igen. Jag hade ingen aning at Cat Cora (en kaendis kock) aer lesbisk, gift och har barn, att hon aer gravid och att hennes fru aer gravid med!

BOOT CAMP ORIENTATION

2009-03-31T05:15:00.002-07:00

Today I got fingerprinted at the River Palms at 9.00 am, then Jon took me over to Harrah's around 10.00 am for my mini-orientation. I'll have my real 4-day-orientation, next week. I'll start working on Wednesday, 4.00 pm 'til 10.00 pm. I am so excited to finally start working.

Other than that there hasn't been that much going on. Jon's been working and I've been at home.

I've been sitting on MySpace listening to Lily Allen's new song "The Fear" for the past hour, LOVE IT!

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Idag tog jag mina fingeravtryck pa River Palms kl. 9.00, sen skjutsade Jonathan mig till Harrah's daer jag hade en snabb-introduktion kl. 10.00. Jag far min riktiga 4-dagars introduktion naesta vecka. Jag boerjar jobba nu pa onsdag 16.00-22.00, ska bli sa kul att fa jobba igen.

Annars har det inte haent sa mycket mer. Jonathan jobbar och jag aer hemma.

Har suttit pa MySpace och lyssnat pa Lily Allens nya lat "The Fear" i oever en timma nu, LOVE IT!

DRUG TEST!

2009-03-24T01:41:00.003-07:00

Today I went over to the casino to sign all my paper work. I even got some to take home as home work. After I got all my paper work Jon and I went to this toxicology place where I had my drug test done. You have to pass the drug test to get hired. Luckily I didn't have to pee in a cup, they cut off some hair instead. I'm gonna have to get a gaming card and get fingerprinted as well. Only $95 or $115, depending on where I end up getting fingerprinted. Oh, and background check, off course. After all of that is done I can start working. To get a job is such a process in this country, but now I'm almost there. They want me to come back on Thursday with all the paper work and the money for the card and the fingerprinting fee. If everything goes well I should be able to start work next week. I just need to get that $95 or $115 somehow.

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Idag var jag pa casinot foer att skriva under alla papper. Jag fick t.o.m. med mig en bunt hem som jag ska laesa igenom och signera som laexa. Efter att jag hade signerat allt akte jag och Jonathan till ett staelle daer man drogtestas. Man maste drogtestas och fa ett negativt resultat foer att bli anstaelld. Som tur var behoevde jag inte kissa i en burk utan dom klippte av en tuss av mitt har istaellet. Jag kommer aeven behoeva skaffa ett "gaming card" och ta fingeravtryck. Endast 770:- eller 930:-, beroende pa var jag tar fingeravtryck. Och aeven bakgrunds koll igen, sjaelvklart. Efter att allt detta aer klart sa kan jag boerja jobba. Att ens fa jobba verkar vara en jaette process i det haer landet, men nu aer jag naestan klar. Jag ska komma tillbaka pa torsdag med alla papper och pengarna. Om allt gar som det ska borde jag fa boerja jobba naesta vecka. Jag behoever bara skaffa fram 770:- eller 930:- pa nat saett.

NEED TO CLEAN THE APARTMENT

2009-03-21T22:33:00.004-07:00

Today I had the final "interview" at the casino with the director. I got the job, I get to fill out all the paperwork on Monday. So now I'm a casino-employee, or I will be on Monday. I'm gonna have to get some black pants, I only have one pair.

I can't wait to get that car now. We haven't decided yet if we want apply for a loan with our bank or just go straight to the dealer-ship and let them figure it out. We'll see what happens.

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Idag hade jag den tredje och sista intervjun pa casinot. Jag fick jobbet, pa mandag ska jag aka dit igen och fylla i alla papper. Sa nu aer jag casino anstaelld, eller jag blir pa mandag. Jag maste koepa lite fler svarta byxor, just nu har jag bara ett par.

Om bara skatteaterbaeringen kunde komma sa att vi kan aka och koepa den daer bilen vi vill ha. Vi har inte riktigt bestaemt oss aen om vi ska ansoeka om ett lan pa var bank eller om vi ska ga direkt till bilfirman och lata dom fixa nat. Vi far se vad det blir.

THIRD INTERVIEW!

2009-03-19T01:08:00.003-07:00

Got a call back from the casino yesterday, I got the job. Now I have a meeting with the director's director on Saturday.

Jon has a cold so no jacuzzi last night, but maybe later tonight. He just took some NyQuil so he should feel a lot better when he wakes up.

Now we're gonna get some sleep before we go over to Ross in about 8 hours.

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Igar ringde dom fran casinot, jag fick jobbet. Nu pa loerdag ska jag ha ett mote med chefens chef.

Jonathan aer lite foerkyld sa det blev ingen jacuzzi igarkvaell, men kanske senare ikvaell. Han tog precis lite medicin sa naer han vaknar kommer han ma mycket baettre.

Nu ska vi ga och laegga oss sa vi far lite soemn innan vi ska aka till klaedaffaeren om ca 8 timmar.

WEEKEND

2009-03-13T19:16:00.006-07:00

Yesterday Jon and I went over to his sisters house and hung out. We ate some really good food, watched some tv and Fabi, Jon's sister, helped me cut my bangs. Which had grown so long it was covering my entire face if I pulled it forward. It turned out really good, I'm still not used to it but it's great to have some kind of hairdo again.

While we were there I got a phone call from the casino where I applied for a job. The position I applied for had already been filled but they were wondering if I would be interested in a part time position they had. Off course I was! So I had a group interview today at 8.15 am. It was my first group interview, we were a group of people trying to prove our customer service skills in front of three company directors. It was very different from any other interview I've had, but I've realized that that goes for all the job interviews I've been to in this country. I guess job interviews are just done differently here. Anyways, I passed the group interview so I'm getting a call tomorrow from to book a second interview.

After the interview Jon took me out to Maki Sushi, a great Japanese restaurant here in Bullhead. Yum, yum!

When we got home again Jon got a call from work asking him to come in earlier. Jon said that they'll most likely let him go home earlier since he started earlier. I hope so.

So that was our weekend, now I'm sitting here again, home alone, still jobless and waiting for Jon to come home... (HAHA)

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Igar akte jag och Jonathan oever till hans systers hus foer att haelsa pa. Vi at god mat, tittade pa tv och Fabi, Jonathans syster, hjaelpte mig att klippa lugg. Luggen hade blivit sa lang att om jag slaeppte ned haret sa taeckte luggen hela mitt ansikte. Det blev riktigt bra foer hemma-klipp, jag har inte riktigt vant mig vid luggen aen men det aer skoent att ha en frisyr igen.

Naer vi var daer sa ringde casinot som jag skickat in en ansoekan till pa min telefon. Jobbet (fulltid) jag hade soekt hade nan annan redan fatt men dom undrade om jag skulle vara intresserad i ett annat jobb (deltid). Sjaelvklart var jag det! Sa idag kl. 8.15 var jag pa en gruppintervju. Jag hade aldrig varit pa en gruppintervju innan, det var tre av casinots direktoerer som testade var kundservice kompetens. Det var en vaeldigt annorlunda intervju, men det har alla jobbintervjuer varit som jag har haft i det haer landet. Iallafall, det gick jaettebra och direktoererna gillade mig sa imorron kommer en av dom att ringa mig och boka en andra intervju.

Efter intervjun bjoed Jonathan mig pa Maki Sushi, en toppen restaurang haer i Bullhead. MUMS!

Naer vi vael var hemma igen ringde Jonathans jobb och ville att han skulle komma in och jobba lite tidigare. Jonathan sa att eftersom han boerjar tidigare far han antagligen sluta tidigare med. Jag hoppas det.

Det var varan helg, nu sitter jag haer igen, ensam hemma, fortfarande arbetsloes och vaentar pa Jonathan... (Vad vore vael en bal pa slottet?) (HAHA)

SORE THROAT!

2009-03-04T06:26:00.005-07:00

I woke up with a sore throat yesterday so I went back to bed after Jon went to work. I woke up around 5.00 am and I'm feeling better, not all good, but better. Jon should get home from work in about an hour and then I'll be his weekend! We have so much to do this weekend; sign a new lease, call the insurance company about our insurance cards, call the hospital where my mother and sister in law are working to see if they're hiring, go to the social security office in Needles, CA to change my immigration status, send in Jon's tax return, grocery shopping, laundry, pay bills and hopefully sometime after all that go look at cars. And then hopefully tonight we'll jump in the jacuzzi!

I'm gonna go take a shower now.

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Igar naer jag vaknade var jag lite krasslig i halsen sa jag gick och la mig i saengen igen naer Jonathan akte till jobbet. Jag vaknade runt 5.00 nan gang och madde baettre, inte helt bra, men aenda baettre. Jonathan kommer hem om ca en timma och da aer det hans helg! Vi har sa mycket som vi ska hinna med den haer helgen; foerlaenga varat hyreskontrakt, ringa foersaekringsbolaget angaende vara foersaekringkort, ringa sjukhuset daer min svaermor och svaersyster jobbar foer att se om dom har nat jobb till mig, aka till det amerikanska social security kontoret i Needles, Kalifornien och aendra mitt immigrations status, skicka in Jonathans skatteaterbaering, veckohandla, tvaetta, betala raekningar och foerhoppnigsvis kommer vi hinna med att titta pa en bil after allt annat. Vi kanske tom kan saetta oss ett tag i jacuzzin ikvaell!

Nu ska jag ga och duscha.

HAD MY JOB INTERVIEW

2009-03-02T23:52:00.007-07:00

The job interview went great. I was a little early so I got to walk around the store while I was waiting for my turn. They had so many nice clothes, handbags, shoes and home decorations stuff, and all dirt cheap. I'm amazed I was able to keep myself from buying anything, I'm a shopaholic, but what girl isn't? It was probably a good thing that I got called to the interview when I did though. Like I said the interview went great, I was asked a couple of questions and then the lady who interviewed me asked me if I had any questions for her. After that she told me that she's gonna do a background check and if everything is fine I will get hired. It's a part time job, 10-15 hours per week, but it's better than no job at all.

They're talking about opening a mini-market in the apartment complex where we live. If they do I'm gonna apply for a job there too. That way I'd have two jobs and one of them would be like working at home!

Jon and I wanna buy a car, his bike will be all paid off by next month or the month after that. Then we could probably afford a car payment even if I'm working part time.

Since Jon's days off changed our schedule has been thrown off a little. We we're supposed to do laundry this last weekend so now he only has one pair of clean black socks left. It's a good thing it's his Friday tomorrow. Last week our fridge was empty by the time his weekend came around.
I got a postcard from my grandmother in the mail today. It was from the winter cabin, it had an address to a website on it so that I can go online and check it out. Like that's gonna make me any less jealous, ha ha.

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Jobbintervjun gick jaettebra. Jag var daer lite tidigt sa jag gick runt och tittade i butiken medans jag vaentade pa min tur. Dom hade sa mycket snygga klaeder, handvaeskor, smycken och heminrednings grejer och allt var super billigt. Helt otroligt att jag lyckades laemna affaeren utan att ha koept en aenda grej. Jag aer helt shopping galen, men hur manga tjejer aer inte det? Men det var nog tur att jag blev kallad till intervjun naer jag blev. Som jag sa gick intervju jaettebra, hon som intervjuade mig staellde ett par fragor och sen fragade hon mig om jag hade nagot som jag ville fraga henne. Sen foerklarade hon att hon kommer goer en bakgrunds koll (det goer naestan alla arbetsgivare i USA, en del kraever aeven att man goer ett drogtest) och aer det inga problem med den blir jag anstaelld. Det aer ett deltids jobb, 10-15 timmar per vecka, men det aer fortfarande baettre aen inget jobb alls.

Var hyresvaerd pratar om att oeppna en liten mat affaer daer vi bor. Om dom goer det ska jag saega till att jag kan jobba daer. Far jag ett jobb daer blir det naestan som att jobba hemmifran!

Jonathan och jag vill koepa en bil, hans motorcykel kommer att vara avbetald naesta manad eller manaden efter. Da kulle vi antagligen kunna ha rad med en bil aeven om jag skulle arbeta deltid.

Nu efter att Jonathans lediga dagar aendrades har det varit lite struligt med vara hushalls bestyr. Varan tvaettdag skulle ha varit i soendags men eftersom han inte aer ledig foerraens pa onsdag sa har vi inte tvaetta aen. Sa nu har han bara ett par rena svarta strumpor kvar. Det aer tur att det aer hans fredag imorron. Foerra veckan var varan kyl helt tom naer det aentligen blev Jonathans fredag.

Jag fick ett vykort fran mormor idag som hon skickade naer dom var i Orsa. Det fanns en adress till Orsa Groenklitts hemsida pa vykortet som jag kan ga in och titta pa. Da kommer jag bli aennu mer sugen pa att aka snowboard, ha ha!

ANOTHER UNEVENTFUL DAY

2009-03-01T23:37:00.005-07:00

Didn't do much at all today. I cleaned the apartment and then I spent most of my time playing 'Ratchet & Clank'. My mom and I talked for an hour or two on the Messenger. The annual 'Chocolate Fair' was this last weekend in my hometown. My mom and I used to go every year, we love choclate. But this year my mom had to go by herself, nobody wanted to go with her. I felt so sorry for her, if I would have been in Sweden I would have gone with her in a heart beat.

When Jon came home from work we made breakfast. Hash browns, bacon, fried eggs and pancakes and warm maple syrup for the pancakes. Yum, Yum!
Probably not the smartest idea though, we didn't fall asleep until 4.00pm or 5.00pm. The plan was to have pizza for dinner but we didn't wake up until Jon's alarm went off. Time for him to go to work. So I'll make myself some 'Campbells Mushroom Soup' later tonight.

Tomorrow's the job interview so I'm gonna take a shower, straighten my hair and then go to bed a couple of hours before Jon gets home. The interview is at 10.30am!
Wish me luck!

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Gjorde inte mycket alls idag. Jag staedade laegenheten och efter det spelade jag mitt nya spel "Ratchet & Clank". Pratade med mamma pa Messenger i ca en till tva timmar. Det var den arliga "Choklad Maessan" i Linkoeping den haer helgen. Jag och mamma brukade ga pa den varje ar, vi aelskar choklad. Men det haer aret fick mamma ga ensam, det var ingen som ville ga med henne. Jag tyckte sa synd om henne, om jag hade varit i Sverige hade jag defenitivt gatt med henne.

Naer Jonathan kom hem lagade vi frukost. Hash browns, bacon, stekt aegg och amerikanska pannkakor med varm loennsirap. MUMS!
Men det var antagligen inte en sa jaette bra ide foer sen kunde vi inte somna. Vi somnade inte foerraen nagon gang mellan 16.00 och 17.00. Vi hade bestaemt att vi skulle aeta pizza till middag ikvaell men sa blev det inte, vi vaknade av Jonathans alarm pa varan klockradio. Det var dags foer honom att aka och jobba. Sa jag goer lite Campbells svamp soppa till mig sjaelv senare ikvaell.

Imorron aer min jobbintervju sa jag ska duscha och "platta" haret sen kommer jag ga och laegga mig ett par timmar innan Jonathan kommer hem. Intervjun aer klockan 10.30!
Oenska mig lycka till!

Bloggkartan

2009-03-01T01:33:00.000-07:00

Jag har placerat min blogg i USA på bloggkartan.se!

MY GREEN CARD IS HERE!

2009-02-28T23:53:00.004-07:00

I got my Green Card today! Along with a little envelope to keep it in and a 'Welcome to the United Stated - A Guide for New Immigrants' pamphlet.

I'm so happy and relieved that it got here in time for my job interview in Monday!
Now I gotta go change my status at the Social Security Office sometime next week.

SO HAPPY it's finally done with! (At least 'til the end of next year)
Keep your fingers crossed that I get the job!

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Idag fick jag mitt green card! Tillsammans med ett litet kuvert som jag ska foervara det i och en "Welcome to the United States - A Guide for New Immigrants" broschyr.

Jag aer sa glad och laettad att det hann komma innan min jobbintervju pa mandag!
Nu, nan gang naesta vecka, maste jag aendra mitt immigrant status hos det amerikanska social security kontoret.

SA GLAD att det aentligen aer klart! (Iallafall tills slutet pa naesta ar)
Hall tummarna att jag far jobbet!

WEEKEND

2009-02-27T17:45:00.004-07:00

Jon will go back to work again tonight. It was so nice that he finally got to have a weekend. We went grocery shopping on his Friday (Wednesday) and then we just stayed home and relaxed, around 5.00 am we went down to the jacuzzi, so nice. Yesterday during the day we went over to Jon's work to figure out who to call about our insurance, since we didn't receive our insurance cards yet. After that we went over to Jonathan's sisters house to wish his mom a happy birthday. When we came back home my "Ratchet & Clank" was in the mail. Fun Game!

Later that night we went across the river to Nevada and gambled a little. I've never gambled in a casino before (only on cruise ships) so Jon took me to see his co-workers and then we tried our luck on the machines. We didn't win anything, but it was nice to get out of the house. After that we went back home again to another dip in the jacuzzi. It's so cool to watch the sunrise over the mountains from the jacuzzi, I will bring my camera next time.

Today I got a phone call from a lady @ Ross' she told me that they will be interviewing for a part time store associate position and was wondering if I was still interested. HELLS YEAH!
So I got a job interview on Monday! However, in my excitement I totally forgot that I have neither Work Permit nor Green Card at the time. OPS! So I ran out to the mail box hoping it would have arrived today, but no. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll get it tomorrow. A few people who had their interview the same day as me received their Green Cards today, I'm thinking mine is a little late cause I'm living in the middle of nowhere.

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Ikvaell boerjar Jonathan jobba igen, jag aer glad att han aentligen fick ha sin helg tillslut. I onsdags akte vi och veckohandlade, efter det var vi bara hemma hela dagen och tog det lugnt. Runt 5 pa morgonen gick vi ned till jacuzzin, sa mysigt! Igar akte vi till Jonathans jobb foer att foersoeka lista ut vem vi behoever ringa angaende varan foersaekring och varfoer vi inte har fatt vara foersaekrings dokument aen. Efter det akte vi och haelsade pa Jonathans mamma, som bor hos Jonathans syster, och oenskade henne grattis pa foedelsedagen. Naer vi kom hem igen lag mitt "Ratchet & Clank" i brevladan. JIPPI!

Senare den kvaellen akte vi over till Nevada sidan och spelade lite enarmad bandit. Jag hade aldrig "gamblat" pa ett casino innan (bara pa kryssnings fartyg). Sa vi akte till casinot daer Jonathan jobbar foer att se om vi hade turen med oss och sa fick jag aeven traeffa Jonathans jobbarkompisar. Vi vann inget men det var kul aenda att fa komma ut lite. Efter det akte vi tillbaka till varan laegenhet och gick ned till jacuzzin. Det e sa coolt att sitta i jacuzzin naer solen gar upp oever de omkringliggande bergen, jag ska ta med mig kameran naesta gang vi goer det.

Idag ringde det en kvinna fran en klaedesaffaer som heter Ross och beraettade att de soeker ett butiksbitraede, deltid, och undrade om jag fortfarande var intresserad. SJAELVKLART!
Sa pa mandag ska jag pa arbetsintervju! Men, i min iver hade jag gloemt att jag har varken abertstillstand eller green card just nu. OPS! Sa jag sprang direkt ut till brevladan foer att kolla om mitt green card hade kommit, men nej. Jag haller tummarna att det kommer imorron (man far post aeven pa loerdagar i USA). Andra immigranter som hade sin intervju samma dag som jag fick sitt green card idag, mitt kommer antagligen lite senare eftersom jag bor mitt ute i ingenstans.

HUBBY'S FRIDAY! YAY!

2009-02-25T03:01:00.006-07:00

Finally my hubby's weekend is here. We're gonna make "semlor" today, a Swedish pastry that Swedes eat on "Fat Tuesday". We're actually making them one day late, but we're usually too late or too early when it comes to birthdays, x-mas, valentines etc. anyway. We, or I, have a tendency to miss the 12.00 am mark when it comes to calling or emailing to congratulate friends and family in Sweden and Thailand. We celebrated x-mas on December 17th, we had Valentine's on February 13th and we celebrated New Year's during the same time as New York, even though we're in Arizona.

No green card in the mail yesterday either, so keep those fingers crossed! I know I am!

I bought a game for Jonathan's PSP last night. Just so I'll have something to do when I'm home alone. I bought a game called "Ratchet & Clank, Size Matter" (only $6.99 on eBay). A little corny for my age maybe, but I like those games that reminds me of the video games I played as a kid. After playing a game called "Neopets" on Jon's PSP it left me wanting more. :D
I've already gone through Leisure Suit Larry, Mario Kart, Super Mario Galaxy, Guitar Hero III and Guitar Hero World Tour. I've played wii Fit andd wii Sports so much that just the thought of it makes me yawn. And all those online games like Ikariam are getting boring too.

I know I've said it before, I really NEED a job!

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Aentligen aer det Jonathans helg! Vi ska baka semlor idag, men ingen av oss gillar mandelmassa sa jag hittade ett recept online pa mini chokladsemlor. Jag vet att det aer en dag senare aen i Sverige, men vi verkar alltid vara foer tidiga eller sena naer det gaeller foedelsedagar, jul, alla hjaertans dag o.dyl. Vi, eller raettare sagt jag, grattar naestan alltid familj och vaenner i Sverige och Thailand en dag foer sent. Jonathan och jag firade jul den 17 December, vi firade alla hjaertans dag den 13 Februari och pa nyarsafton firade vi det nya aret samtidigt som alla pa oest kusten (New York), fast vi bor pa vaest sidan (Arizona).

Inget green card i brevladan idag heller, sa fortsaett halla tummarna! Jag haller dom sa hart att dom blir bla!

Jag koepte ett nytt spel till Jonathans PSP igar kvaell sa att jag har nat att goera naer jag aer ensam hemma. Jag koepte ett spel som heter "Ratchet & Clank, Size Matters" (endast $6.99 pa eBay). Lite larvigt i min alder kanske men jag gillar spel som paminner om tv-spelen jag spelade som liten. Jag fick mersug efter att ha spelat ett spel som heter "Neopets" pa Jonathans PSP. :D
Jag har redan spelat Leisure Suit Larry, Mario Kart, Super Mario Galaxy, Guitar Hero III and Guitar Hero World Tour. Jag aer sa troett pa wii Fit och wii Sport att bara tanken pa att spela far mig att gaespa och alla dessa online spel som t.ex. Ikariam boerjar ocksa bli riktigt trakiga.

Jag har sagt det foerr, jag BEHOEVER ett jobb!

BORED

2009-02-23T23:56:00.006-07:00

Didn't do very much today. I cleaned the apartment early this morning then Jon and I basically slept all day. We got up around 9.00 pm, took a shower, and then made some chicken alfredo with pasta and garlic bread. Yum!

Now I'm just watching tv and hoping that someone will sign on to MSN.

Looked at some job ads, I found a couple I could apply for, if my green card would arrive soon!
Nothing in the mail today, keeping my fingers crossed for tomorrow though.

Anna called this morning, but my phone kept dropping her calls. After the 3rd attempt we ended up on MSN instead, where my terrbily rude cell phone (T-Mobile) couldn't keep dropping the calls. It was so nice to talk swedish, cause I don't wanna end up like Victoria Silvstedt, 'Ehh, what's the word, I can't remember, ehh?'
I miss my friends. And my family. It's so nice when I get to talk to them on the phone or online.

Well, not much more to write about so I'm gonna go back to Food Network and Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.

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Har inte gjort mycket alls idag. Jag staedade laegenheten imorse, sen sov jag och Jonathan hela dagen. Vi gick inte upp foerraen runt 21.00, duschade och sen lagade vi chicken alfredo med pasta och vitloeksbroed. MUMS!

Nu sitter jag vid tv:n och hoppas att nan jag kaenner ska logga in pa MSN.

Laeste lite jobb annonser igar, hittade ett par stycken som skulle passa mig, om bara jag kunde fa mitt green card snart! Tom brevlada idag men jag haller tummarna att det ligger ett litet vitt kuvert daer i imorron.

Anna ringde imorse, men min sjukt daliga amerikanska mobiltelefon (T-Mobile) tappade all taeckning hela tiden och la pa. Sa efter 3 foersoek att ha ett normalt telefon samtal hamnade vi pa MSN istaellet, daer min extremt oartiga mobil inte kunde stoera varat skitsnack. =)
Saknar att prata svenska sa det va kul att Anna ringde. Vill ju inte blir som
Victoria Silvstedt: "Ehh vaoood heteew de nu igeeen, ehh?"
Jag saknar mina svenska vaenner. Och min familj. Blir sa glad naer vi kan prata i telefon eller online.

Har inte sa mycket mer att beraetta idag. Ska ga tillbaka till tv:n och Food Networks "Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives".

NOT THE WEEKEND YET AFTER ALL

2009-02-23T00:10:00.004-07:00

And I was so excited that my hubby was gonna be home with me for two days, but no, not yet. When he came home yesterday he told me that two off his co-workers had been laid off after their shift. An hour or two later his phone rang, it was his boss. He told Jon that due to the changes earlier that day his days off had changed, effective immediately. His new days off will be Wednesday night and Thursday night, which means Jon isn't off until Wednesday. I was so disappointed, I bet he was too since this means he'll have to work 8 days straight. Lucky he had those 9 days off for the green card interview in Phoenix and has only been back at work since Tuesday night. But I guess we should be happy he wasn't laid off too.

I need to find a hobby or something until I can find a job. At least, before we went to the green card interview, I had things to do every night when Jon was at work. I was scrap booking, putting an album together with pictures going all the way back to when we first met 'til now, to show at the interview.

I had read about other green card interview experiences online and some of them made me really nervous. We we're lucky and got a really nice interviewer, she was joking and laughing, and made me and my husband feel very comfortable. First she asked to see our id's, and all my previous immigration documents. Then she looked through our papers really quick and then asked Jon a couple of questions. Nothing difficult only basics like what's your name, and things like that. Then she turned to me and asked me some questions like, what's your name, what's your phone number, what's your parents name's, when was Jonathan born. Only easy basic questions. After that she asked to see any evidence we had to show her that we are living together. We showed her our apartment lease and statements showing me as an authorized user from our electric-and internet company. Then we showed her our bank statements in both our names and a credit card statement. After that she told us that she needed to check something regarding my vaccinations with her supervisor and left the room. The interview was being video-and audio recorded with a web cam. When the interview officer left the room Jon started singing the "Aladdin" song, I started laughing and told him to be quiet. After a while the officer came back in, she was giggling and smiling at us and said the magic words 'OK, I'm going to recommend that your application for permanent resident status will be approved.'
Jon and I were SO relieved. After almost 18 months of visa applications followed by AOS, EAD and AP applications we were finally going to be able to breathe for a while. At least until the end of 2010.

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Jag som var sa glad att det var Jonathans helg naer han kom hem fran jobbet igar, men sa blev det inte. Han beraettade att tva av hans medarbetare hade blivit sparkade naer deras skift var oever. En till tva timmar senare ringde Jonathans chef och foerklarade att efter "aendringarna" som hade gjorts tidigare den dagen sa har Jonathans ledig dagar aendrats, fran mandag och tisdag till torsdag och fredag, med omedelbar verkan. Vilket betydde att Jonathan var tvungen att jobba ikvaell och att han inte aer ledig foerraens pa torsdag. Jag blev sa besviken, men inte lika besviken som Jonathan som maste jobba 8 dagar is straeck. Som tur aer var han ledig i 9 dagar naer vi akte till Phoenix pa varan green card intervju. Sa han har bara varit tillbaka pa jobber sen i tisdags natt. Samtidigt som vi aer besvikna sa far vi vara tacksamma att han har kvar sitt jobb.

Jag behoever verkligen en hobby eller nat tills jag hittar ett jobb. Innan intervjun hade jag iallafall nat att goera naer Jonathan jobbade. Jag satte ihop ett fotoalbum med bilder fran 2002-2009 som vi kunde visa som "bevis" under intervjun.

Innan vi akte pa varan intervju laeste jag om andra pars green card intervjuer pa internet och en del intervju upplevelser gjorde mig riktigt nervoes. Men vi hade tur och fick en jaette trevlig intervjuare som skrattade och skaemtade. Foerst bad hon att fa se min och Jonathans legitimation och alla mina immigrations dokument som jag hade sen tidigare. Sen satte hon sig och kollade igenom vara papper och boerjade med att fraga Jonathan ett par fragor, t.ex. vad han hette. Sedan vaende hon sig till mig och fragade mig ett par fragor, t.ex. mitt namn, mitt telefon nummer, vad mina foeraeldrar heter, naer Jonathan var foedd osv. Bara enkla fragor, inget konstigt. Efter det bad hon att fa se bevis pa att vi bor ihop, sa vi gav henne varat hyres kontrakt och vara senaste el och internet raekningar. Sen visade vi kontouttdrag pa Jonathans spar-och check konton och hans kreditkortsutdrag med bade mitt och hans namn pa. Naer hon hade tittat pa allt hon ville se sa foerklarade hon att hon hade en fraga angaende mina vaccinations dokument som hon ville ta upp med sin arbetsledare och laemnade rummet vi satt i. Hela intervjun spelades in med en webbkamera. Nar var intervjuare laemnade rummet boerjade Jonathan sjunga "Aladdin" laten "Haer kommer prins Ali", jag boerja skratta och sa at honom att vara tyst. Efter ett tag kom var intervjuare tillbaka hon smaskrattade, log mot oss och sa dom magiska orden "Ok, jag kommer rekommendera att eran ansoekan om uppehallstillstand blir godkaend."
Vi var sa laettade. Efter naestan 18 manader av immigrations dokument fram och tillbaka skulle vi aentligen fa pusta ut ett tag. Iallafall till slutet av 2010.

WELCOME TO THE U.S.

2009-02-22T02:44:00.010-07:00

Yesterday I got my "Welcome Letter", exactly one week after my Green Card interview in Phoenix. Hopefully this means that I will get my actual card sometime next week. The interview officer took all my previous immigration documents @ the interview, including my EAD-card (work permit). Which means I can't resume my job searching until the green card arrives. Not that there are that many jobs to apply for in Bullhead right now. But we've been living solely on Jonathan's paycheck since July now so it would be really nice with a second income.

I talked to my mom and one of my brothers on MSN Live today. It's "sports vacation" in Sweden. They were at the winter cabin in Orsa @ the beginning of the week. Snowboarding, skiing, sledding... I wish I could have been there. This was my second time in my entire life I wasn't able to go, it sucks. I love snowboarding.

I get so bored being home alone. Luckily it's Jon's Friday today so it'll be his weekend when he gets home. Hopefully I'll get a job shortly after my green card arrives so that I don't have to be bored anymore!

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Igar fick jag mitt "Welcome Letter" fran amerikanska immigrationsverket, exakt en vecka efter min green card intervju i Phoenix. Foerhoppningsvis betyder det att jag far mitt green card i slutet pa naesta vecka. Hon som intervjuade oss tog alla mina immigrations dokument som jag hade fatt innan intervjun, mitt arbetstillstand och mina resedokument. Sa nu maste jag vaenta tills jag far mitt green card innan jag kan fortsaetta mitt jobbsoekande. Just nu finns det inte sa manga jobb att soeka haer i Bullhead City. Vi har klarat oss pa Jonathans loen sedan jag flyttade hit sa det krisar vael inte men det skulle inte vara helt fel med en extra inkomst.

Jag pratade med mamma och Jacob pa MSN Live idag. Dom har sportlov i Sverige. Dom akte till vinterstugan i Orsa Groenklitt och akte slalom och snowboard foersta halvan av veckan. Jag oenskar att jag kunde foeljt med, jag aelskar att aka snowboard, jag har bara missat en vecka i Orsa innan.

Det aer sa trakigt att vara ensam hemma hela naetterna, men idag aer det Jonathans fredag sa naer han kommer hem aer han ledig 2 dagar.

Jag hoppas att jag hittar ett jobb snart!