Desautel.net
August Update
Today is Monday, August 9th. Yeng's appearance in Malen's annulment case is actually next Tuesday, August 17th (not the 8th like I thought). Malen and I are praying that there will be no more delays!
Meanwhile, here in Sequim, we are having a neighborhood yard sale next weekend (14th & 15th). There will be 4 families participating. I am hoping to get rid of a lot of my stuff and make some money.
I recently traded in my 1998 Toyota RAV4 for a 2002 Trailblazer. Pretty much the same amount of mileage, but a newer and slightly larger vehicle, and with more features.
Please note that I has updated our photo site with pictures from my last trip to see Malen, and some pictures taken here in Sequim.
Summer is Here!
Well, dry weather has finally arrived in Sequim. We have had a few hot days, but still mostly cool and windy. Currently we are in a morning-to-half-day fog loop that seems to happen every day. At least, the plant life wild growth has slowed down some. Most of my day is still spent on yard work however.
Malen's annulment process seems never-ending! Even though Malen has had her last appearance, the judge wants to see the "witness," which is her daughter Yeng. So, when the day came, the judge decided she wanted to go home and rescheduled Yeng's appearance for August 8th. Another month's delay! Grrr!!
Malen and I have scheduled a small vacation together in Taipei, Taiwan for October, and I will go back to the Philippines in the November-December time-frame. Hopefully, we will have finally started the K1 visa process by then (once the annulment is finally done).
My COBRA health insurance will run out at the end of September, so I am shopping for and individual plan. It might end up being cheaper than my COBRA payments, but it will not include dental and vision (COBRA does). After 16 months I will be eligible for Medicare.
Spring/Summer Update
Well, in a few days it will be July already! I spent the end of May and the first half of June with Malen and the kids in the Philippines. As always, it was great being together. Every time I visit, being with the family feels more and more natural and right. Malen and I are very well matched, and destined to be together. I was in the Philippines for 22 days, which turned out to be one day past the limit! Ooops! Luckily, the immigration officer at the airport let me slide!
Malen's annulment is still dragging on! She had her "last" court appearance while I was there - twice! It turned out that the May appointment was not for her, but for the psychiatrist instead! They wanted to schedule her last appearance for July!! After much hemming and hawing, Malen finally got the appearance scheduled for just before I was leaving in mid-June. So, we had two bus trips to Zambalas, one with the kids and one without. After I returned to Sequim, Malen found out that the judge wanted to meet with the "witness" (Malen's oldest daughter - Yeng). That was scheduled for the end of June, but was cancelled because the judge was in the hospital! It is now scheduled for July 8th. Malen's lawyers claim that the time period for the judge to make her decision started with Malen's last appearance in June, and was not extended because of Yeng's appearance. We shall see!
Meanwhile, back in Sequim.... The wet and cool weather has caused the grass and weeds to go wild! While I was away, the yard went from freshly mowed to wild and woolly! It was hard to see the dividing line between the maintained yard and the wild wetlands! I have been working almost every day on the mowing, raking, and disposal of the mowed grass, and I am still not done! Wow, this stuff grows fast when the weather is right in the spring! I finally broke down and purchased a riding mower. Pushing around the trimmer-mower, and then raking and disposing of the cut weeds and grass, just takes too much time and effort.
Because of the constant yard work, I have had to neglect things like my two blogs and processing and uploading pictures to our album, but look for that to be done in the near future.
Time Drags On!
Well, it seems like we have been waiting forever, but we are approaching the end of Malen's Annulment process. Reportedly, the final court date is the 25th of May. After that we are hoping the final decision happens quickly. Then we can finally jump into the next process - the K1 fiancee visa for Malen and the kids. That will take another several months! Malen and I are dedicated to each other, and to having the entire family here in the US, no matter how long it takes!
In other news, I will be spending another three weeks with the family in the Philippines at the end of this month. We will visit Camaya Coast again and see how the construction is progressing. Malen and I will also spend a few days either in Baguio (in the Philippines), or possibly Singapore. If the annulment progresses rapidly, I may be able to bring the final documents back with me so I can include them in the K1 visa packet that I send in.
On the Sequim front, I feel like my mowing duties here have turned into one of those tasks that have to be started again as soon as you finish! Like painting the Golden Gate bridge! Everything grows so fast this time of year that it is difficult to keep up! This is especially true when the weather is great for growing, but not so good for mowing. We have had rain, clouds, and a whole lot of very strong wind.
On the health front, I am feeling pretty good. I do have a problem with an encapsulated (frozen) shoulder, and I am doing some physical therapy. However, this condition is one that just happens, and then goes away on it's own. But it can take up to three years. I have not been doing much running lately because the yard work has been extensive and very physical. My weight is up a couple of pounds from where I want it, and up about 8 pounds from a low I reached last year. The good news is that it is still down almost 20 pounds from a high I reached a few years ago!
Still Waiting!
Malen and I found out recently that the final court date in her annulment will be near the end of May instead of April. Yet another month we have to wait before we can start the US visa process. It seems like we have been waiting forever. Of course, it will be worth it. A future together with myself, Malen, and the kids is a future worth waiting for, and something we will not give up on - ever. But the waiting is hard. Thank goodness for the Internet and programs like Skype!
On another front, I have finally uploaded all of my pictures from the most recent trip to the Philippines (January/February, 2010) and the three weeks Malen and I spent together. The first week was spent in Hong Kong and Macau, China. Yeng was with Malen and I, and we also visited Malen's cousin. Then we spent two weeks at Malen's place in Quezon City, near Manila. We also went on another day trip to Camaya Coast, this time with the entire family.
Use the "Our Pictures" link on the main menu at the left. All the pictures that do not contain people (Malen, myself, and the kids) are in a new main album called "Philippines3". As usual, the pictures of family are in a sub-album under the "Dave, Malen & Family" main album, and the new sub-album is on the left, called "The Third Meeting!"
