The wall says it's time to go, so today is my last day with TI,
Texas Instruments. Yup, I have lived in Tucson AZ since
June 2001. The moment I landed in Tucson, all I had in my
mind is, I want to exercise my privilege when I obtained my
Permanent Resident. Walaa.......this is it. I obtained my
"Green Card" in Oct 2004. I guess I am a valued employee
since I stayed with my employer for more than 1 yr after
getting my Green Card. A majority of employees leave their
company immediately after getting their Green Card. Am I
dumb, stoopid or what? Anyhow, I leave it to the boss above.

As a matter of fact, I have wanted to leave on my 4th month.
Things were very rough and after talking to some folks, I
stayed. I have to say, I made it thru!! Though things were
rough, the boss above guided me thru and keep me energized
and motivated. It was against all odds. There are many
occasions that it was between the boss above and me and,
of course, the 4 walls. What's next? What shall I do? What??

In addition, during my 3rd month, I totalled my car. My
98 Nissan Altima was....wrecked!! My car was flipped and
it landed on its roof on Sept 1st 2001 at 2.30pm MST. I
was on my way to LA from Tucson and that happened near
Quartzside along the 10-W freeway . I broke my collar bone
and I had bruised on my left arm. I was on a band and thus,
that makes me one handed. For 3 weeks, I drove one-handed.

During that time, I have submitted my Labor Certification
as my 1st step towards the US Permament Resident process.
Next was the Adjustment of Status aka 485. Before filing, I
need to undergo a medical exam and from there, I took
some vaccinations. Well, that was to make sure I am healthy
and I guess it makes sense.

Let me rewind a little. I was a blood donor when I was in
Malaysia. When I arrived in Tucson, I wanted to continue.
I went to this church and they had a blood drive. I filled up
some paper work and readily to save another soul.

The nurse asked me some questions and later she gave me
a notice. The notice explained that I have to be remain in
the US for 3 consecutive years in order to donate blood.
What a bummer!! I assumed by that period, my blood
would be okay to donate. Anyway, I tried but I guess I will
never donate blood over here in the US.