Wednesday, 30 July 2014
July 30, 2014
Veenitha just saved me from a 5"scorpion. We saw that the side gate was open. As I went to close it, she grabbed me and pulled me back. Just where my foot was, a scorpion was moving among the leaves. She promptly killed it with a piece of firewood. My heart is still pounding.
Tuesday, 22 July 2014
July 22, 2014
Mission accomplished! I have a new residence visa. Only until November 28, but the Controller has said he will renew if for a year at that time. That is if I can believe him. He will likely have forgotten by that time or have changed his mind. In any event, I now know what to do and can handle it myself the next time.
I had to get up at 0200 yesterday morning to catch the bus down to Colombo. I boarded the bus just after 0300. Good thing too as just after I got on, a long queue had formed. I may not have been able to get on another bus for over an hour. Monday mornings are busy as people are going down to Colombo to work for the week.
The ride was no problem. We made it in 2.5 hours. Of course, the driver was going like a madman, but that is par for the course. I got into Colombo just after 0600. Nishantha (the wily tuktuk man) wasn't even up yet. I got a tuktuk to the Hilton where I indulged myself in their buffet breakfast. By that time, Nishantha was awake and off we went to Immigration.
The lawyer was there and as promised the Controller showed up right at 0900. We went right in to see him. He was good and authorized the visa. Then it was on to the next counter to submit the application for processing. They actually did it very quickly. I was assessed a fine of Rs. 6587.50. Don't ask me why the odd amount. They back dated the visa to its expiry and gave it to me for 6 months. The are supposed to charge a visa fee of Rs. 20,000, which they seem to have forgotten. So all is well.
The lawyers friend who is an Assistant Superintendent of Police with the President's personal security detail also joined us. He took a copy of the police complaint and said he will work on getting my Rs. 57,000 back. I will go to the police station and update my complaint as well.
After all that was over, I went and had a good visit with my friend Deveraj. He is Jayanthi's uncle and was a good friend of her father's. He thinks the ideal of my moving to Thalathuoya is great. That made me feel good.
Then I went to Paradise Road and bought a drinking glass to replace one I had broken and went across the street to my favourite clothing place and bought two dupattas (scarves). Nothing like a little retail therapy.
After I got my train ticket, reloaded my phone, had lunch and went to the train station.
While waiting for the train, I watched a couple of crows collecting stuff to build a nest. There was a piece of metal sticking up from one of the spikes. One crow started working on it, but it would not come loose. He tried quite a number of ways to get it loose. He was very clever. You could see he was thinking about it. His mate was watching and after a while came over to help. They did not succeed, but it was very interesting watching them work it out and decide in the end that there was no use.
Onto the train. By then I was really tired so I had a nice snooze. Got back to Kandy around 1830 where Nissanka was dutifully waiting for me. Picked up some supper, got home, ate, showered Colombo's filth off me and fell into bed.
End of a long day and a long saga.
I had to get up at 0200 yesterday morning to catch the bus down to Colombo. I boarded the bus just after 0300. Good thing too as just after I got on, a long queue had formed. I may not have been able to get on another bus for over an hour. Monday mornings are busy as people are going down to Colombo to work for the week.
The ride was no problem. We made it in 2.5 hours. Of course, the driver was going like a madman, but that is par for the course. I got into Colombo just after 0600. Nishantha (the wily tuktuk man) wasn't even up yet. I got a tuktuk to the Hilton where I indulged myself in their buffet breakfast. By that time, Nishantha was awake and off we went to Immigration.
The lawyer was there and as promised the Controller showed up right at 0900. We went right in to see him. He was good and authorized the visa. Then it was on to the next counter to submit the application for processing. They actually did it very quickly. I was assessed a fine of Rs. 6587.50. Don't ask me why the odd amount. They back dated the visa to its expiry and gave it to me for 6 months. The are supposed to charge a visa fee of Rs. 20,000, which they seem to have forgotten. So all is well.
The lawyers friend who is an Assistant Superintendent of Police with the President's personal security detail also joined us. He took a copy of the police complaint and said he will work on getting my Rs. 57,000 back. I will go to the police station and update my complaint as well.
After all that was over, I went and had a good visit with my friend Deveraj. He is Jayanthi's uncle and was a good friend of her father's. He thinks the ideal of my moving to Thalathuoya is great. That made me feel good.
Then I went to Paradise Road and bought a drinking glass to replace one I had broken and went across the street to my favourite clothing place and bought two dupattas (scarves). Nothing like a little retail therapy.
After I got my train ticket, reloaded my phone, had lunch and went to the train station.
While waiting for the train, I watched a couple of crows collecting stuff to build a nest. There was a piece of metal sticking up from one of the spikes. One crow started working on it, but it would not come loose. He tried quite a number of ways to get it loose. He was very clever. You could see he was thinking about it. His mate was watching and after a while came over to help. They did not succeed, but it was very interesting watching them work it out and decide in the end that there was no use.
Onto the train. By then I was really tired so I had a nice snooze. Got back to Kandy around 1830 where Nissanka was dutifully waiting for me. Picked up some supper, got home, ate, showered Colombo's filth off me and fell into bed.
End of a long day and a long saga.
Saturday, 19 July 2014
July 19, 2014
On Wednesday past, I went to Thalathuoya with Veenitha to show her around. We took the Victoria Dam road. When we hit the big roundabout junction to Katugastota, there were a whole bunch of people and an army of police. We made it through with no problem, but then we saw hundreds of large dump trucks lined up on either side of the road for about 2 kms. I swear every dump truck in Sri Lanka must have been parked there. Nissanka explained that the trucks were on their way to Colombo and were trying to go through the town centre. That would have been a disaster and the town centre is already a huge traffic mess. The police were ticketing them and redirecting them to a more circular route. God only knows how long it took to sort out.
The visa saga continues.
Mr. Tuna could not deliver anything except the possibility of an illegally obtained visa for Rs.250,000. A bit steep.
I finally went to the lawyer whose name I had obtained from some British friends. I sent him reams of documents and he went to immigration in the company of some senior police officer friend of his. They talked to someone who said the case was severe and would get a sympathetic hearing. All this blew up while was in Thalathuoya with Veenitha. The lawyer told me to get an updated Ayurvedic certificate from Kandy. So on Thursday, Nissanka, my tuktuk man, went running all over the place to find someone who would do it. He finally found someone and we went. Yet another experience.
We went to the Kandy Auyrvedic Pharmacy which has a good reputation. I pay Rs.150 and we are sent upstairs to the doctor. The space is very small but fairly clean. We go into a cubicle where a very old man is sitting behind a desk with a blood pressure gauge on it. He has yellowy white hair. He is dressed in the traditional shirt and lungi which are the same colour as his hair. He doesn't speak a word of English. So Nissanka is doing all the talking. Finally, I get a certificate that is just a piece of paper with some letterhead on it torn from a pad book. I get both Jayanthi and Sonali to translate it for me. It says something about 1 year's leave. Not knowing exactly what it says, I assume it is OK. It costs Rs.1200.
So yesterday, I took the 0610 train to Colombo. That meant I had to get up at 0415. I met the lawyer at the immigration office which is the usual zoo. We go to see the guy in room 2 who has been recommended by the lawyer's immigration contact as being someone who will be sympathetic. He is anything but. He says I have been here long enough and I should go home. He then peremptorily dismisses me saying I should see the more senior officer in the next room. This is Mr. Bribe with whom I have had previous dealings. I go out and meet the lawyer. We see that the most senior guy, the Controller is in his office, so we barge in, which is how you do it.
He is not interested in hearing the whole story. He just wants to see the papers which I produce. He says the doctor's thing is just a note in support of leave from work and will not do. He tells me to go and get a proper certificate and he will grant the visa for 1 year. We tell him I have overstayed. This does not bother him at all. He says I have to pay a fine which turns out to be only Rs.6500. So far good news.
Next step is to get a proper medical certificate. The lawyer is at a loss saying he does not believe in Ayurveda and therefore does not know anyone. After a bunch of phone calls, still no luck. Finally, I say, why don't we try the woman who gave the last certificate. The lawyer pounces on this like it is the best idea since sliced bread, telling me what a sharp cookie I am. Apart from his lack of ability to think on his feet, he seems to be quite alright, however. God knows how he litigates when he is not that quick. But I don't need him for that.
Off we go to the doctor's "office". It turns out to a hole in the wall off a busy street in Borella, a large slum/working class area of Colombo. The doctor is not there, but her daughter is. We try to persuade the daughter to give the certificate, but she is afraid of the mother and won't do it. The mother is not due back until 1400, so in the meantime, we drive all over the place trying someone else to do it without any luck. Meanwhile, I have called my friend Devaraj who is also trying to unearth an Ayurved who will do it. Amazingly, all these people have suddenly grown ethics, and won't do it. We go to some interesting places: a clinic just for women which seems to be a teaching facility as a bunch of nurses squeeze into the cubicle with us without even asking permission, an Ayurveda spa run by Siddalepa who makes the best herbal balm known to man, and the hole in the wall. Interestingly all the Auyerveds are women.
In the end, we have no choice but to go back to the hole in the wall where the mother has agreed to issue the certificate. The best joke is that she is out of the "office" because she is appearing in court for having issued a false certificate in an insurance case. This does not seem to deter her, however.
Finally, after being told she would be back at 1330, she arrives at 1430, which is right on time per Sri Lanka time. She is a real battleaxe. No wonder her daughter is afraid of her. Hard as nails. As she sits down behind her desk, I am reminded of a spider spinning her web.
The lawyer starts to work on her. She remembers when the last certificate was issued. Apparently, Yvonne came in with her father and told her she was an immigration officer. More trouble for Yvonne. I have no idea what Yvonne paid for the last certificate and the lawyer tells Dr. Battleaxe that it cost Rs.1500. She is too shrewd for that and says that she was paid Rs.7500. No matter. It is still cheap. So after more machinations like there is no original letter head available and the stationer that has them has gone out for lunch, we locate a photocopied letter head which will do, and we proceed. As the lawyer is dictating the letter, she decides that is price is now Rs.10,000. That is not really that much, but I am tired for being ripped off, so I put my foot down. Now, the tuktuk man who is with us and has really gotten into the spirit of the thing gets involved. He talks her back to Rs.7500.
As an aside, the tuktuk guy, Nishantha, is Jez's man in Colombo and is great. He is the one who retrieved my passport and yesterday went to the Canadian High Commission and got my citizenship certificate. By the end of yesterday's adventure, he had distinguished himself not only by negotiating Dr. Battleaxe back to the original price but also by obtaining a blank letter headed paper with her original seal on it without her looking. Sneaky but effective.
So after about 30 minutes of dictation, Dr. Battleaxe painstakingly writes out the certificate in a very wobbly hand. She is not more an auyrved than I am. The letter is actually prepared by a lawyer and a tuktuk driver. Here they are:
Now we have the certificate and a spare for next time, but the Controller of Immigration has gone for the afternoon, so I have to go back on Monday.
Meanwhile, the lawyer's police friend is a senior office who is on the President's personal detail. He is incensed at Yvonne's behaviour. He wants to see her prosecuted as a terrorist. That will mean big trouble for her. At this point, I don't care. She has put me in such a precarious position, I don't even care if she ends up in jail. To be continued.
It is Friday afternoon and all the train tickets are sold out, so I have to take the AC bus back to Kandy. Nishantha drops me off at the bus depot in the Petta, which is fairly well organized considering. I find the Kandy bus right off and even manage to get on the first one that comes despite the long queue. It is very crowded though with all the jump seats that block the entire aisle occupied with the conductor and three passengers standing in the entry well. Almost 4 hours later, we make it to Kandy. Traffic is very heavy on a Friday afternoon and there is also road work in progress that makes it even more difficult. By the time I get home, I am exhausted and dehydrated. I drink a bunch of water, take a shower and fall into bed with a back ache. 10 hours of sleep have cured the exhaustion, but not the back ache.
Monday will be fun as well as I have to catch the 0400 bus needing to be at immigration by 0830. So I have to get up at 0230. The only good news is that I have a train ticket for the return journey.
On the home front:
The visa saga continues.
Mr. Tuna could not deliver anything except the possibility of an illegally obtained visa for Rs.250,000. A bit steep.
I finally went to the lawyer whose name I had obtained from some British friends. I sent him reams of documents and he went to immigration in the company of some senior police officer friend of his. They talked to someone who said the case was severe and would get a sympathetic hearing. All this blew up while was in Thalathuoya with Veenitha. The lawyer told me to get an updated Ayurvedic certificate from Kandy. So on Thursday, Nissanka, my tuktuk man, went running all over the place to find someone who would do it. He finally found someone and we went. Yet another experience.
We went to the Kandy Auyrvedic Pharmacy which has a good reputation. I pay Rs.150 and we are sent upstairs to the doctor. The space is very small but fairly clean. We go into a cubicle where a very old man is sitting behind a desk with a blood pressure gauge on it. He has yellowy white hair. He is dressed in the traditional shirt and lungi which are the same colour as his hair. He doesn't speak a word of English. So Nissanka is doing all the talking. Finally, I get a certificate that is just a piece of paper with some letterhead on it torn from a pad book. I get both Jayanthi and Sonali to translate it for me. It says something about 1 year's leave. Not knowing exactly what it says, I assume it is OK. It costs Rs.1200.
So yesterday, I took the 0610 train to Colombo. That meant I had to get up at 0415. I met the lawyer at the immigration office which is the usual zoo. We go to see the guy in room 2 who has been recommended by the lawyer's immigration contact as being someone who will be sympathetic. He is anything but. He says I have been here long enough and I should go home. He then peremptorily dismisses me saying I should see the more senior officer in the next room. This is Mr. Bribe with whom I have had previous dealings. I go out and meet the lawyer. We see that the most senior guy, the Controller is in his office, so we barge in, which is how you do it.
He is not interested in hearing the whole story. He just wants to see the papers which I produce. He says the doctor's thing is just a note in support of leave from work and will not do. He tells me to go and get a proper certificate and he will grant the visa for 1 year. We tell him I have overstayed. This does not bother him at all. He says I have to pay a fine which turns out to be only Rs.6500. So far good news.
Next step is to get a proper medical certificate. The lawyer is at a loss saying he does not believe in Ayurveda and therefore does not know anyone. After a bunch of phone calls, still no luck. Finally, I say, why don't we try the woman who gave the last certificate. The lawyer pounces on this like it is the best idea since sliced bread, telling me what a sharp cookie I am. Apart from his lack of ability to think on his feet, he seems to be quite alright, however. God knows how he litigates when he is not that quick. But I don't need him for that.
Off we go to the doctor's "office". It turns out to a hole in the wall off a busy street in Borella, a large slum/working class area of Colombo. The doctor is not there, but her daughter is. We try to persuade the daughter to give the certificate, but she is afraid of the mother and won't do it. The mother is not due back until 1400, so in the meantime, we drive all over the place trying someone else to do it without any luck. Meanwhile, I have called my friend Devaraj who is also trying to unearth an Ayurved who will do it. Amazingly, all these people have suddenly grown ethics, and won't do it. We go to some interesting places: a clinic just for women which seems to be a teaching facility as a bunch of nurses squeeze into the cubicle with us without even asking permission, an Ayurveda spa run by Siddalepa who makes the best herbal balm known to man, and the hole in the wall. Interestingly all the Auyerveds are women.
In the end, we have no choice but to go back to the hole in the wall where the mother has agreed to issue the certificate. The best joke is that she is out of the "office" because she is appearing in court for having issued a false certificate in an insurance case. This does not seem to deter her, however.
Finally, after being told she would be back at 1330, she arrives at 1430, which is right on time per Sri Lanka time. She is a real battleaxe. No wonder her daughter is afraid of her. Hard as nails. As she sits down behind her desk, I am reminded of a spider spinning her web.
The lawyer starts to work on her. She remembers when the last certificate was issued. Apparently, Yvonne came in with her father and told her she was an immigration officer. More trouble for Yvonne. I have no idea what Yvonne paid for the last certificate and the lawyer tells Dr. Battleaxe that it cost Rs.1500. She is too shrewd for that and says that she was paid Rs.7500. No matter. It is still cheap. So after more machinations like there is no original letter head available and the stationer that has them has gone out for lunch, we locate a photocopied letter head which will do, and we proceed. As the lawyer is dictating the letter, she decides that is price is now Rs.10,000. That is not really that much, but I am tired for being ripped off, so I put my foot down. Now, the tuktuk man who is with us and has really gotten into the spirit of the thing gets involved. He talks her back to Rs.7500.
As an aside, the tuktuk guy, Nishantha, is Jez's man in Colombo and is great. He is the one who retrieved my passport and yesterday went to the Canadian High Commission and got my citizenship certificate. By the end of yesterday's adventure, he had distinguished himself not only by negotiating Dr. Battleaxe back to the original price but also by obtaining a blank letter headed paper with her original seal on it without her looking. Sneaky but effective.
So after about 30 minutes of dictation, Dr. Battleaxe painstakingly writes out the certificate in a very wobbly hand. She is not more an auyrved than I am. The letter is actually prepared by a lawyer and a tuktuk driver. Here they are:
 | |
| I got this shot while they were all occupied. Left is lawyer, middle Dr. Battleaxe, right Nishantha, the tuktuk man. |
Meanwhile, the lawyer's police friend is a senior office who is on the President's personal detail. He is incensed at Yvonne's behaviour. He wants to see her prosecuted as a terrorist. That will mean big trouble for her. At this point, I don't care. She has put me in such a precarious position, I don't even care if she ends up in jail. To be continued.
It is Friday afternoon and all the train tickets are sold out, so I have to take the AC bus back to Kandy. Nishantha drops me off at the bus depot in the Petta, which is fairly well organized considering. I find the Kandy bus right off and even manage to get on the first one that comes despite the long queue. It is very crowded though with all the jump seats that block the entire aisle occupied with the conductor and three passengers standing in the entry well. Almost 4 hours later, we make it to Kandy. Traffic is very heavy on a Friday afternoon and there is also road work in progress that makes it even more difficult. By the time I get home, I am exhausted and dehydrated. I drink a bunch of water, take a shower and fall into bed with a back ache. 10 hours of sleep have cured the exhaustion, but not the back ache.
Monday will be fun as well as I have to catch the 0400 bus needing to be at immigration by 0830. So I have to get up at 0230. The only good news is that I have a train ticket for the return journey.
On the home front:
 |
| A lovely almost transparent grasshopper like bug on the pantry window |
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| Lovely anthurium that Veenitha has brought from her garden |
Tuesday, 8 July 2014
July 8, 2014
Still no visa. But at least my passport has been returned.
I am going to write a script for a B grade detective movie when this is all over.
Firstly, what really hurts is being betrayed by someone who you have known since she was a child. Maybe that whole family has gone crazy. Given that her father is hitting on my via telephone, I suppose anything is possible.
Everything would have been OK if she had only communicated. From the beginning, I gave her a choice. I asked her if she could handle the matter, because if she couldn't, I had the name of a lawyer who could do it. She said no problem. Now I realize that she had been lying from the beginning. I should have taken action when just at the time my visa expired, she buggered off out of the country and couldn't be reached. Only after desperate phone calls to her mother did she contact me. Then she told me that there was a grace period given after visas expire. That is BS, I am sure.
Then she said that the visa had been issued but she hadn't been able to pick up the passport as the wife of the officer who was handling it had died. I am sure that was more twaddle. What added to the problem was that she would never phone. When she did communicate it was either through e-mail or text. That should have made me suspicious as well.
Even after pleading that I was without a passport, a visa and eventually a bank account, she refused to phone me. She only called after I threatened to file a complaint with the police. During that phone conversation, she said that the problem lay with the one year visa; which had earlier stated had already been obtained. She said that it would have been no problem to get a 6 month visa. I told her to get the 6 month visa then but in any event to get the passport back. After having given her another week before I actually made the complaint with the police, there was still no news.
The experience with the police was good. This is the second time I have had to deal with the Kandy police station, and both have been good. They were very helpful and efficient. I dealt with two Chief Inspectors both of whom were extremely suspicious that the passport had been sold. They said that you can sell an EU passport through Jaffna for Rs. 1M or even 2M. The immediately recognized her name as Jaffna Tamil. That is a lot of money here. So, they are issuing a summons for her to appear in Kandy to respond to the complaint.
While all of this was going on, Yvonne had apparently gone to Galle to retrieve the passport. What it was doing in Galle, I have no idea. There is no immigration office there, so something fishy was afoot.
In the meantime, Jez found out about the problem through Amal. I had not told him, as he is so busy with his other work. He called saying what was going on and why had I not told him. After I filled him in, he took immediate action. He was in Colombo, so he got some unsavoury acquaintances to accompany him to Yvonne's place of business. He said she was very nervous, gulping all the time, but she did not have the passport and although he called from there and I demanded to talk to her, she would not get on the phone. She even sent me a text saying I was threatening her and she would take legal action. I have to give her credit for nerve, as she is going to be in a lot of glue over this.
Jez's hoodlum buddies confirmed what the police had said about sale of the passport, as they have done it themselves. Then she texted me saying she would hand over the passport the next day at Majestic City, which is a huge shopping and cinema complex. More cloak and dagger. She refused to hand over the passport to Jez.
The next day after another 4 texts, she finally handed over the passport to Jez's driver who took it to Jez's business manager in Borrella, a suburb of Colombo. She checked it over and reported that there was no visa extension in it.
The next step was to text Yvonne telling her to repay the Rs. 57,000. Her response to that was "I need a break". From what? I have given her until Friday to repay the Rs. 57,000. The CID officer has told me to amend the complaint to include the Rs. 57,000. Plus, I have not withdrawn the original complaint despite the fact that the passport has been returned, because I want them to investigate. I think she is up to more than the usual no good in league with some unusually shady immigration type.
Now, Sonali's beau, Mr. Tuna, has stepped in and is trying to get the visa. At least, he seems to be on the ball.
One of the many lessons that I have learned is who my friends really are. Sonali has been a huge help and so has Jez. The tea leaf reader at the Calico Cat in Nanaimo did say that I would have some visa problems, but that they would be sorted and that I would become good friends with the people who helped me. I guess that is coming true.
On the home front, packing continues unabated. The usual battle with cockroaches and such continues. Yesterday, we had a rat snake laying in wait from a small hole in the retaining wall. We could only see his head. I must say that without seeing the rest of his body, he was quite cute. However, I did not want to make acquaintance with the rest of him, so when he ducked down into the hole, I slammed a broom down over it to scare him off. We then put moth balls down the hole and filled it with pebbles. Hopefully, he has moved on. I have not seen him today.
I have a lovely family of small lizards living in my mailbox. They have laid their eggs. Hundreds of them. The eggs were attacked by an army of ants who were carting them off one at a time. I have no idea if any of them survived.
The mynas have had babies. Veenitha saw the parents taking papaya from our feeding plank being taken back to the nest and being regurgitated for the fledglings.
Will update of the visa saga as it unfolds.
I am going to write a script for a B grade detective movie when this is all over.
Firstly, what really hurts is being betrayed by someone who you have known since she was a child. Maybe that whole family has gone crazy. Given that her father is hitting on my via telephone, I suppose anything is possible.
Everything would have been OK if she had only communicated. From the beginning, I gave her a choice. I asked her if she could handle the matter, because if she couldn't, I had the name of a lawyer who could do it. She said no problem. Now I realize that she had been lying from the beginning. I should have taken action when just at the time my visa expired, she buggered off out of the country and couldn't be reached. Only after desperate phone calls to her mother did she contact me. Then she told me that there was a grace period given after visas expire. That is BS, I am sure.
Then she said that the visa had been issued but she hadn't been able to pick up the passport as the wife of the officer who was handling it had died. I am sure that was more twaddle. What added to the problem was that she would never phone. When she did communicate it was either through e-mail or text. That should have made me suspicious as well.
Even after pleading that I was without a passport, a visa and eventually a bank account, she refused to phone me. She only called after I threatened to file a complaint with the police. During that phone conversation, she said that the problem lay with the one year visa; which had earlier stated had already been obtained. She said that it would have been no problem to get a 6 month visa. I told her to get the 6 month visa then but in any event to get the passport back. After having given her another week before I actually made the complaint with the police, there was still no news.
The experience with the police was good. This is the second time I have had to deal with the Kandy police station, and both have been good. They were very helpful and efficient. I dealt with two Chief Inspectors both of whom were extremely suspicious that the passport had been sold. They said that you can sell an EU passport through Jaffna for Rs. 1M or even 2M. The immediately recognized her name as Jaffna Tamil. That is a lot of money here. So, they are issuing a summons for her to appear in Kandy to respond to the complaint.
While all of this was going on, Yvonne had apparently gone to Galle to retrieve the passport. What it was doing in Galle, I have no idea. There is no immigration office there, so something fishy was afoot.
In the meantime, Jez found out about the problem through Amal. I had not told him, as he is so busy with his other work. He called saying what was going on and why had I not told him. After I filled him in, he took immediate action. He was in Colombo, so he got some unsavoury acquaintances to accompany him to Yvonne's place of business. He said she was very nervous, gulping all the time, but she did not have the passport and although he called from there and I demanded to talk to her, she would not get on the phone. She even sent me a text saying I was threatening her and she would take legal action. I have to give her credit for nerve, as she is going to be in a lot of glue over this.
Jez's hoodlum buddies confirmed what the police had said about sale of the passport, as they have done it themselves. Then she texted me saying she would hand over the passport the next day at Majestic City, which is a huge shopping and cinema complex. More cloak and dagger. She refused to hand over the passport to Jez.
The next day after another 4 texts, she finally handed over the passport to Jez's driver who took it to Jez's business manager in Borrella, a suburb of Colombo. She checked it over and reported that there was no visa extension in it.
The next step was to text Yvonne telling her to repay the Rs. 57,000. Her response to that was "I need a break". From what? I have given her until Friday to repay the Rs. 57,000. The CID officer has told me to amend the complaint to include the Rs. 57,000. Plus, I have not withdrawn the original complaint despite the fact that the passport has been returned, because I want them to investigate. I think she is up to more than the usual no good in league with some unusually shady immigration type.
Now, Sonali's beau, Mr. Tuna, has stepped in and is trying to get the visa. At least, he seems to be on the ball.
One of the many lessons that I have learned is who my friends really are. Sonali has been a huge help and so has Jez. The tea leaf reader at the Calico Cat in Nanaimo did say that I would have some visa problems, but that they would be sorted and that I would become good friends with the people who helped me. I guess that is coming true.
On the home front, packing continues unabated. The usual battle with cockroaches and such continues. Yesterday, we had a rat snake laying in wait from a small hole in the retaining wall. We could only see his head. I must say that without seeing the rest of his body, he was quite cute. However, I did not want to make acquaintance with the rest of him, so when he ducked down into the hole, I slammed a broom down over it to scare him off. We then put moth balls down the hole and filled it with pebbles. Hopefully, he has moved on. I have not seen him today.
I have a lovely family of small lizards living in my mailbox. They have laid their eggs. Hundreds of them. The eggs were attacked by an army of ants who were carting them off one at a time. I have no idea if any of them survived.
The mynas have had babies. Veenitha saw the parents taking papaya from our feeding plank being taken back to the nest and being regurgitated for the fledglings.
Will update of the visa saga as it unfolds.
Tuesday, 1 July 2014
July 1, 2014
Happy Canada Day. This is the 8th or 9th( I think) Canada Day that I have spent outside of Canada. It seems when I am away, I appreciate Canada even more. Thank you Canada and Canadians for everything.
No visa yet. Wednesday is d-day. The dogs of war have been unleashed and I managed to scare Yvonne into at least phoning me. She is supposed to get the passport, with or without a visa back by Wednesday, or Thursday morning I file a police report. I am getting tired of thinking about this.
Went to the new hairdresser yesterday. Fabulous! She did a great job cutting my hair. She speaks great English, so I can again gab with my hairdresser again, which is what you are supposed to do when you go to get your hair cut. That and read gossip magazines. She has spent a lot of time in the Seattle area, so we have that in common as well.
The pedicure was far better than the ones I was getting at the other place, and all this for less than one treatment was costing before. I've died and gone to heaven.
I am heading out today to bring the first load of things to Thalathuoya. Very exciting! Not much as I am just going out with a tuktuk, but Anand (Jayanthi's husband) has nothing to cook with, so I am taking out a spare gas cylinder, some clay cooking pots, cooking spoons, a few utensils, the spare water filter, and my big griddle. Not much, but it is a first step to a dream.
No visa yet. Wednesday is d-day. The dogs of war have been unleashed and I managed to scare Yvonne into at least phoning me. She is supposed to get the passport, with or without a visa back by Wednesday, or Thursday morning I file a police report. I am getting tired of thinking about this.
Went to the new hairdresser yesterday. Fabulous! She did a great job cutting my hair. She speaks great English, so I can again gab with my hairdresser again, which is what you are supposed to do when you go to get your hair cut. That and read gossip magazines. She has spent a lot of time in the Seattle area, so we have that in common as well.
The pedicure was far better than the ones I was getting at the other place, and all this for less than one treatment was costing before. I've died and gone to heaven.
I am heading out today to bring the first load of things to Thalathuoya. Very exciting! Not much as I am just going out with a tuktuk, but Anand (Jayanthi's husband) has nothing to cook with, so I am taking out a spare gas cylinder, some clay cooking pots, cooking spoons, a few utensils, the spare water filter, and my big griddle. Not much, but it is a first step to a dream.
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