I just do not have the words to say that can cover how eventful this past month has been - but I can say one thing for sure: the wait is over.
The absolute highlight of this month was the last week, when after 11 months apart, I got to see my fiancee Nicole again, she flew over to the UK to spend a week with me, both at home in the north-east and for two trips to London. This was Nicole's first time getting to visit the capital, and we had a hectic but brilliant time seeing the city's sights, including Buckingham Palace, London Zoo, Regent's Park, Baker Street, Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus, as well as also having a skate on an ice rink down on the South Bank, and seeing the night lights of the London skyline from the top of the London Eye. Both the hotels we stayed at were great too, especially the Doubletree on the second visit (minibar and iMac in the room, anyone?)
We also combined the London trip with another DeviantArt meet-up, it was great getting to hang out with Dracorum-Order, Granitoons, TopperHay and LaptopGeek again, not forgetting meeting Qwertypictures (aka Chris Signore) for the first time. There was much walking, food, chat and drawing involved, and though it flew by, it was still something neither me or Nicole will forget for a long time.
However, spending timt together in London wasn't the only reason Nicole flew over, there was another very important reason for her being here - on 23 November, I had my visa interview at the US Embassy. It was a lengthy process, which involved waiting for two hours in between being called to a booth to have documents and fingerprints taken, the staff were very pleasant however. The actual interview consisted of questions about me and Nicole's relationship, and it was very quick, but also informal, it was more like a conversation than an interview, which made us feel at ease.
And now for the big announcement - how did the interview go? I can now finally say it after all these months...the embassy told me there and then that my US visa had been approved. It is finally happening after all this time, I can scarcely believe it - but needless to say both me and Nicole were overjoyed on hearing the news.
So this means December will be my last month living in my home country, because I've decided that I will be flying out to the US in the last week of December. This is because I want to spend one more Christmas with my family, before starting the New Year and a new life with Nicole. We both have a lot to do between now and then, that goes without saying.
Changing subject, the other highlight of this month was attending the Lumiere Festival in Durham for the third time - for those needing to know, it's an outdoor art festival that's been held in Durham every 2 years, and all the exhibits are themed around light - it was very crowded, but as always the exhibits were impressive. Some of the highlights included two flying fish creatures, mist across the River Wear, a projection of a whale swimming on the Wear and a dramatic projection on Durham Cathedral. Lumiere also saw another DA meetup, I hung out with DragonRichard for the event, which was nice.
I can't even imagine how December is going to be...but it's going to be a very important and very likely an emotional time - a lot of changes are happening, and I just hope I'm ready for them.
As always, I'll leave you with some artwork - a homage/parody of the B-movies from the 1950s that I drew for CowboyCrocket's 1950s art jam this month.
Till next time.
P.S. - Click the links below if you want to see pics and videos from my visit to the Lumiere Festival.
Videos:
Durham Lumiere 2015 #1
Durham Lumiere 2015 #2
Photos:
Durham Lumiere 2015 - Photos
