Post #481

Back in America

27th August 2004, lunch time | Comments (24)

Well, well, I have some catching up to do here, don’t I? No-one seems to know where I am, or what I’m doing, so here’s a quick recap before I go on to post some more technical stuff.

Back to the UK for a wedding

The first of my three month visas expired on the 20th of August so I was forced to leave the States for a while. I’d planned my temporary return to the UK so it coincided with my friends’ wedding at the end of August, for which I was the official photographer.

The day went very well, with fabulous weather, excellent speeches, and a great group of friends rallying ’round to help whenever they were needed. The photos came out pretty well, but since the sun was so bright they all require quite a lot of tweaking to counteract the harsh lighting conditions. Here’s a few I’ve already played with:

The family Italiano come to England

My brother, his wife, and their son came over from Italy to see me for a couple of weeks. Lucas is about three and a quarter at the moment and is even more adorable than the last time I saw him. He speaks in a delightful mixture of English and Italian, combining the two whenever he can:

Becomes:

Here are a few photos of him, and the lego we all played with:

Grandad Crawford

The worst part of the trip back to the UK was that my Scottish grandad (Mum’s dad) died. I’ll write more on this another time because his life, and his last week in hospital, demand more than just the brief mention I could give him here.

It’s odd, because apart from the chap who lived across the road from us, he’s the first person I ever knew who died. I didn’t entirely know how to react.

The Brighton Boys

The penultimate act of my month-long trip home was to visit the fellas down in Brighton for four days. Richard Rutter kindly put me up, Andy Budd organised the events, and Jeremy Keith chipped in whenever the Andy Budd Organisational Train hit a bump.

Jon Hicks, Patrick Griffiths, Drew McLellan, Rachael Andrew (and her midget sidekick, Bethany) all travelled down as well. A very nice, relaxing time, I must say.

Getting back in to America

I got a bit of a grilling at US immigration this time, and for a while I didn’t think I was going to be let in. I was eventually allowed to pass, but on the understanding that this would be my last visit of the year; 6 months out of 12 is apparently the limit, after which they presume you’re living here illegally, and then you’re in trouble.

That means I have three months to find a permanent job here, or The Girlfriend and I will be reduced to daily “Argh, I miss you!” calls across the Atlantic. I have some amazing offers so far, but it all comes down to the visa applications, so keep your fingers crossed for me.

And that’s about it really. Nice to be back with you all. I’ll write more very soon, but for now I think I’m going to go get some lunch.

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Comments (24)

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  1. Trent:

    Dude, welcome back. :)

    Posted 21 minutes after the fact
  2. Shade:

    That rocks! Next time you go, stuff me in your suitcase, aye?

    -Shade

    Posted 25 minutes after the fact
  3. Geof:

    Dunstan: Having that first person you know and love die is painful. You're in my thoughts.

    Posted 46 minutes after the fact
  4. Chris Vincent:

    Welcome back, Dunstan! That picture of the fireworks is just fantastic!

    Posted 1 hour, 10 minutes after the fact
  5. Scott:

    Welcome back Dunstan. I can't wait for more of your secrets to be revealed ;o)

    Posted 1 hour, 12 minutes after the fact
  6. Chad:

    Welcome back! Sorry about your Grandfather, losses are always hard. Lucas looks like my kinda guy, he has Legos, the coolest toy ever!

    Posted 1 hour, 27 minutes after the fact
  7. Danithew:

    Good to see you back Dunstan! Good luck with finding that job you need. :)

    Posted 1 hour, 57 minutes after the fact
  8. Michael Wilcox:

    Sorry to hear about your grandpa. I look forward to the post about his life.

    A nicely framed print of that black and white photo of Lucas will make a good gift for your brother and his wife.

    Posted 2 hours, 15 minutes after the fact
  9. [m]:

    *fingers crossed*

    Posted 2 hours, 19 minutes after the fact
  10. Rob Mientjes:

    It's good to read something after the silence.

    And Lucas looks like you. A lot.

    Really!

    Posted 4 hours, 8 minutes after the fact
  11. Tink:

    Just wanted you to know you're hot. Haha. I saw your picture on Matt's blog site and then found a link to your blog from his page of links. Wa-la! Magic.

    Posted 8 hours, 2 minutes after the fact
  12. Ethan:

    Hey, man. Just wanted to let you know if there's anything you need during the job search -- you know, references, letters of recommendation, anything at all -- I'm sure Dave Shea would be love to help out.

    ;)

    Seriously though: good luck, Dunstan. Hope the search is a brief and successful one.

    Posted 9 hours after the fact
  13. Jesper Christiansen:

    Sorry to hear about your grandfather.. But I hope he'll stay in your minds as a nice and warm memory..

    I have been following your blogging skills for quite some time now.. Actually from around the week I got home from the states (stayed in Sacramento but spent quite some time in San Fran also..). I have been wondering, what exactly are you doing over there? business? or just traveling for 3 months at a time? Or what exactly?! :)

    Another question I have is, what did you do to correct what the bright sun did to your pictures? Just normal level adjusting or more than that? They all look awesome! And the fireworks pic is just, amazing!

    Posted 11 hours, 53 minutes after the fact
  14. Jesper Christiansen:

    Oh yeah! And another thing! Good luck with finding a job I hope you succeed! :) So you don't have to make those "I miss you calls" - I've just tried that for a year, and it's definitely a this-suck-so-badly situation..

    Posted 11 hours, 56 minutes after the fact
  15. Lord Conway:

    Cracking pics D, and bon chance with the visa applications. I might have to deal with them in the not-so-distant future. Think we might have to hire you for my wedding (you'll be better than fordy). ;-)

    Posted 14 hours, 31 minutes after the fact
  16. Rahul:

    "Ungul Dunan" sounds like something from Lord of the Rings.

    I might be looking at a job in San Francisco once I graduate, so yeah... not looking forward to the bureaucracy. Blah.

    Posted 15 hours, 40 minutes after the fact
  17. MaThIbUs:

    No one Ever Really Dies. I'm sure your granddaddy will continue living in your and others' thoughts.

    I love the fireworks photo!

    Posted 16 hours, 15 minutes after the fact
  18. Fatalcure:

    What he is doing is top secret

    Posted 19 hours, 57 minutes after the fact
  19. Fatalcure:

    In the photos, who is the guy in the tux? Oh wait thats the fat controller.

    Posted 20 hours, 13 minutes after the fact
  20. Matt Wilcox:

    *crosses fingers for you and your girlfriend*

    Posted 1 day, 3 hours after the fact
  21. Christian Machmeier:

    That's a kinda compressed blog post. Many topics within the shortest possible number of lines. Summarily: I hope you make it in the Stakes!

    BTW: That Space Buggy is mine! I'm so happy that you found it, I lost about 25 years ago! Buhuuu... ;-)

    Posted 1 day, 21 hours after the fact
  22. Karl Bedingfiels:

    Good to hear from you again.

    I live in Cambridgeshire and my girl is in Ocean Springs, M.S. and it really is tough!

    I have not seen here in a year now though work commitments but we speak on the phone about 3/4 times a day.

    The sad thing is we have been doing this for around 9 years!!

    But as mentioned getting a work visa is almost impossible when you do not have formal qualifications.

    We survive though :)

    Karl

    Posted 2 days, 16 hours after the fact
  23. Nick Foster:

    Brilliant wedding photos Dunstan. Can't wait to see the rest. I think Daisy's Steve is planning on creating a website for all to up/download their photos.

    There's also some super video around (especially the fireworks!).

    Hope you get your visa sorted.

    Thanks again for doing such a great job for Pol and James.

    Posted 1 week, 6 days after the fact
  24. Noel:

    Best of luck to you Dunstan; I'll be sure to pester you if you do end up living in America ;-)

    Posted 1 week, 6 days after the fact

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