Yesterday I embarked on the next step of post-marital bliss...the name change. :-) For most of you this process is simply taking your marriage certificate to everyone who would care whether you're a Le or a Yee. To me this presented an opportunity to get "me" reorganized. You see, when my parents came to Canada they didn't know the traditions here and gave Immigration the Viet version of my name. This meant that I'm legally known as "Hoang Dang Kim Le". I'll bet not many of you knew that Kim is actually my second-middle name. :-) Through frustration in early grade school from people not being able to pronounce my first name, I adopted a "known as" name. So unofficially I slowly changed my name to Kim Hoang Dang Le. This presented a problem because I ended up with not one ID with the same sequence of names. I was only able to rearrage the sequence on some IDs but not others. On the bright side I might be spared identity theft because no one really knows what my "real" name is. On the other hand - I can never prove that I'm really ME! A real pain in the ass when you have to show someone your drivers licence and a credit card for ID...I always have to explain why the names are all jumbled up. Did you know that your DL is probably the most secure piece of document you own? Next to your birth certificate or citizenship card that is. It's more secure than a passport as you cannot use your passport as a primary piece of document to obtain a DL.
I took the day off to go downtown to Vital Statistics to pick up my fingerprint, criminal record check and immigration papers. I rolled my eyes as the clerk informed me that after I get the cops to fingerprint me, run the criminal records check and the notary to stamp the rest of the documents, I would have to return to the office with the package and pay another $200 processing fee. That almost made me want to say "forget it". :-) Hoang isn't such a bad first name afterall! Lol...but Kim Anh reminds me that it's better in the long run to have one official name that is on all documents. So at the end of the long process I will become "Kim Hoang Yee" in the eyes of the Government of Canada. I have an appointment with the notary next week.
I've discovered that some agencies are easy (just need the marriage certificate) to change your name while others are much more difficult (need tons of supporting documents).
Easy = work, credit cards, banks, carecard, passport (you can basically be whoever you want on your passport!)
Hard = citizenship card, drivers licence, SIN
Just wanted to say that I love my Snoogle. Chicky got it for me for my birthday. It's an overly priced body pillow but who cares. What makes mommy happy makes daddy happy right? With my expanding belly - I'm finding it challenging at night to find a comfy position. I cuddle Snoogle and it cuddles me back. What a perfect relationship we have - I drag it around the condo and it never complains. It's quite a big pillow so it takes up a lot of room on the bed - I think Chicky is getting jealous of how much time Snoogle and I spend together. :-)
Attended Joshua's birthday party and had a great time catching up with friends and seeing how big the kids have grown. I can't believe he's 2 already - where does time fly?
My baby bump is getting more noticeable. I've finally told my coworkers so its public knowledge, which is a relief as I can wear my maternity clothes in freedom. On the downside - sleeping is getting difficult with the growing belly and my stuffed up nose. I find that my allergies have worsened ever since the pregnancy. This only sucks because I can't take any medication for it. So I have to suffer - boo!
On the weekend I stopped by the house and took some pictures of Tyson and Lily. Those 2 are growing up so fast too! I see Tyson often (as they live close) but Lily comes down once every other week so she's full of surprises when she's here.
Hallelujah! I've got a working cell phone now. Yesterday I bought a used Blackberry 8830WE phone off of some kid. I found his ad on Craigslist and decided that it was the cheapest deal on the market. I was a bit uncertain about buying a device from a kid (as I just don't trust them) so I had him meet me at the Telus store in the mall so that I could double check that the phone was legit before forking over the cash. Luckily for me (and him) - the phone was functional and ready to be activated.
We wish you a very MERRY Christmas and a Happy New Year too! Stay safe out there! See you in 2009.
We woke up this morning to a beautiful white winter wonderland. The flakes are fluffy and sticking to the ground. I've got 104.3FM playing while I blog. This station plays "12 days of Christmas music" around the clock. It's so festive! I think I'm killing Chicky with my merry-ment. :-) I even brought home my santa bag of christmas hats so that we can take a family picture in them on the 24th. Yah! Lol - I think I'm the only one excited about it.
Christmas it a time for giving. In my case it's time to give ME something nice for all the stress I put myself through during the year. :-) This year's XMas gift to myself is a new camera. Thanks me!!!! *** pat myself on the back ***
