A Day in My Life.

Hmmmm..
We were suppose to have our US visa interviews this afternoon. So I got dressed up the small one and left home early wanting to make sure that there are no last minute rushes for the interview at 1pm.
Managed to get through the early morning rush and almost made it to the office around 8.30am when a man with horns got pissed off with me for trying to turn into office premises with the signal lights on. Apparently, he had wanted to overtake my vehicle even as I had the signals on from the very second I had turned into Flower rd from Royal College junction and was in the right side lane;) At least the security people in the office were there to tell the brain-dead moron behind the wheels, to take notice of the signals lights that were blinking. The sheer numbers of these kinds that you get to share the roads with everyday, is just mind boggling.
Anyways..
Having made it to the office, I quickly got myself to start on the paper work to make sure everything is in perfect order for the afternoon interview. This being my first trip to US, a country for a long time I wanted to discover myself, I didn't want any confusion during the interviews. I know my Aus residency and WSO2 credibility will take me far, but nevertheless, I wasn't going to take any risk at all.
Having collected everything together (I had actually kept all my docs in the admin room from y'day to ensure that I don't end up turning up in office today with some documentation missing or anything:), I was downstairs in the front office pasting my photograph on the form when I received a call from the TTS office saying that all afternoon interviews for the day are canceled and re-scheduled for Friday (tomorrow being a public holiday in SL)! Reason: security measures for the upcoming SAARC summit.
This means, I will be going for the interviews on Friday morning and collecting the passport only on Monday, after the weekend.
I mean, that's just great. Because the plan was to leave Colombo on Sunday to arrive in Portland by Monday to prepare for the demonstrations.. and now, I wouldn't even know the outcome of my visa interview (which apparently can end up with a negative response for no apparent reason at all..). Now, am I not just delighted? (Ask Azeez if you want to know why you might not get your visa until 4 months later- even when you have traveled before and your records are straight!!)
So I've been thinking.., did I do the right thing by deciding to stay back in SL even after I got my Aus residency? Or was is down right foolish to have made that decision. I still cannot come to a conclusion..
It seems that if I leave the country, I will be leaving behind my mom who we usually see every week-end, the least, and Randhiv's parents who he sees everyday! There are many days that I find myself driving back home and feeling that urgency to go and see her least for a few minutes. I see my father once in 6 months when he is down on holiday from Oman. Then there are my cousins and friends who I've known for a life time, whom I will miss if I leave.
Not to mention the fact that baby spends her time after school with one set of her grandparents and gets to see the other set, during weekends. If you ask her I'm sure she'd say that that means more to her than spend time in some day care joint in Australia (or in heaven)..
So, there are other concerns too.. like I have no idea of the secondary education system in Aus or schools there. So obviously I feel comfortable with Eve going to school in SL, where I know I could guide her better. After school is a different story all together as I don't see Eve going to uni here at all and that I'll leave for a later discussion in another post. Its bad enough, already, this one is turning up to be a white paper.. almost!!
So, I see it everyday and hear about it everyday.. the young ones get their education and get residency.. US, UK, Canada, Australia.. where ever.. oh and even Italy (all the best Sanka:). And you know that they will not come back unless for a short holiday. They say there is brain drain in the country. I mean who wants them to tell you that? You only need to drive down our roads and you know its true!!
So what do you do. Do you stay or do you go? Do you settle for better standards of living or do you stay with the familiar, closer to the heart? Or is there a third alternative?
'Cause right now I feel funny. I mean who knows what happens in the days to come.. and then they might cancel our Friday appointments too. Or the roads could be closed. Or the embassy might close down. In fact, even as I was preparing myself for today's interview, I was quite nervous not knowing what to expect and made sure that I had my bank drafts and all much earlier since you'll never know when the banks would close? or the roads?!!
So never mind educating the child in the familiar, will we have schools left to educate them at all?
I mean, for how many things can you be prepared for? And for how long do you still try - to make it in your own country? There is this kind of sadness that I feel deep down inside.. that tells me that your own country is trying to kick you out. Or am I just imagining things..?