Thursday, May 24, 2007

Off to Paris!

Sorry not to be writing here more...especially when I have so much to write about (like the fact that I now have a 20,000+ square foot studio, etc) but it looks as if I will be away from writing again for the next week or so because tomorrow hubby and I are off to Paris for a vacation! It will probably be my last chance of a break in quite some time seeing as we (Twisted Factory) have another site in the works and plenty of other good stuff going to keep me more than insanely busy upon my return!

Take care,
Chanta

Saturday, May 19, 2007

Red Tape.

A couple of months back I realised I had less than 6 months left on my passport and that it was time to renew so I went online to see how to apply for an Australian passport from the US. All in all it did not seem too difficult except for the name change section. See, I got my last passport 10 years ago, before I was ever married, thus it has my maiden name on it. In the US I go by my married name, everything here is in that name so it was desirable to me to also use my married name on my Australian proof of identity. After much reading I realize that the Australian consulate is not going to allow a name change based on my marriage certificate because I was not married in Australia and therefore my marriage was never registered with BD&M (Births, Deaths and Marriages)..so I have to do a name change...and this is going to take 8 weeks, and is a huge pain in the ass. So, you know what, I give up. I decide to just stick with my maiden name so I can get a damned passport...but then the consulate tells me I cannot use my maiden name either because my US green card is in my married name....but hold on, you just told me I can't use my married name....fucking great.

So, being the sneaky little loop hole finder I am I discover that there is no law, or requirement for me to have to use the same name on my greencard, it is just something the Australian Passport Office is trying to enforce, so now I will have to fight...but first, I wonder if I can be sneaky. See, with the application I need to include my old passport and an original ID. Now if I include a US ID I'm asking for trouble so I dig out my old Australian drivers license with my maiden name on it and send that. Now they have no record of my maried name anywhere. My backup plan, if this did not work was to simply fly to Australia and get the passport expedited there...where they would not have to ask for proof of legal residence in the US....but, no need, my plan worked and a few days I received an e-mail saying my passprt had been produced, now I just have to wait for it to arrive.

I paid extra to have it fed-ex'ed to me. On Thursday a delivery was attempted but I was out shooting so I stayed home all day Friday waiting for my prescious piece of freedom (because the delivery slip said it would arrive in the AM on the 18th) and at 4:30pm it still had not arrived so I phone DHL (yes, DHL, they sent it by fucking DHL, the most incompetent delivery company of them all) and they say they have no idea why it did not go out but it will on Monday...so I get pissed for waiting at home all day and ask them where it is, I will go and get it. They tell me, and also remind me to have photo ID...and then I realize that the package has been delivered to my maiden name, and every bit of photo ID I have with that name is in the package...great. So, off I go down to DHL with US ID in my married name, my marriage certificate that will also show my maiden name and my birth certificate....20 minutes later after having to produce as much documentation as I had to US immigration I have my passport in hand.....

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Hectic does not even come close

Just a really quick note to anyone and everyone that is waiting for a reply e-mail or a call back...or something from me. I have been so busy that I barely sleep...just checked my phone last night and had 11 messages....agh....anyway, if you know me then you also know calling me is not the best way to reach me...if possible please e-mail. Phone will be off for the next 2 days because of shoots.

take care,
Chanta

Thursday, May 03, 2007

Are you fucking kidding me....

America Bans Vegemite

Seriously....so this is what customs officials are spening their time looking for here? What a fantastic response to the "War on Terror".

Well, I will not be deprived of my vegemite. I have many jars and tubes of the stuff to keep me going for years.

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

"The United States of Depression..."

You know, I am not a fan of the book "Prozac Nation" but there are some lines in it that hold so true. Elizabeth Wurtzel writes "We live in a Prozac Nation, the United States of Depression" and if you look at the amount of anti-depressants that are prescribed in the US yearly (over 300,000) you could say she has a point.

So, why is this? I mean, this is a wealthy country. Really, it is. I grew up in Australia, I was never poor but I never knew wastefullness like I see here because people here are rich...even when they think they're not...or maybe that isn't it at all. Maybe people here are not rich, but just like to act rich so they take advantage of the multiple credit card offers sent to them daily and then worry about paying for the rich lifestyle later.

I don't know. It really is foreign to me....all of it. I have never known debt, I have never been in debt. Just 2 days ago my company leased a car for me for the next couple of years and my credit was pulled. I have a high credit score despite having only one line of credit....a credit card I set up years ago (secured) for the sole purpose of creating credit for myself here in the US. I got a call yesterday from the car dealership asking me in detail why I only have one line of credit...as if there was something wrong with that! I have one line of credit because I do not spend beyond my means...and the one line I have I do not need but have only for the purpose of the credit score.... I guess in America that makes me strange. Mmmm, being responsible makes me strange!

So, I'm rambling now....but I wonder if all the anti-depressants are in part, caused by debt. The addiction that i see here a lot is people buying things they don't need with money they don't have.

The US can be depressing. I have never known such hard times (emotionally) as what I have endured (and continue to endure) here but I also can't help but stop and think about the fact that I am lucky to live in a Western country, lucky to be alive, and very lucky to be able to live my kinky lifestyle for the most part without persecution.