- Joined
- Aug 30, 2019
- Messages
- 183
- Reaction score
- 274
Hi everyone, I just got back on this platform again recently after a bit of a hiatus. I'm wondering if anyone else has some stories about how COVID has messed things up for them?
I'll share first...(yes, I'm having a bit of a whinge, but fuck, I kind of need to at this point).
I got told back in January I had to relocate myself and my family to the company's office in Sydney, Australia. Totally out of the blue, with no timeline other than "ASAP" given. My wife freaked out, spiraled into full blown clinical depression, needing medicine to function and everthing. On top of that my boss, the co-owner of the company, who USED TO be my mate, dropped my salary about $25kAUD, citing the most bullshit excuses you've ever heard. Anyway, I took it, as they were paying for the move, and it was a chance to take my kids home to live in AUS for at least a while, although I envision us going back to Japan as some point in the future.
Anyway, COVID fucked me and I had 2 cancelled flights, and now 8 months after those cancelled flights I'm still waiting for the refund for one of them. I finally managed to get all the citizenship application paperwork together for my 2 kids, got that sorted, then had to get their passports. Got them, ok great, next I had to get my wife's visa. Oh and by the way, she wouldn't go to Tokyo to a specialist centre to check out her thyroid condition that the mental doc discovered because she was scared of COVID, so I had to wait for that shit to get sorted too.
So, I applied for her visa, and was told it would be a 1-2 month processing time. After submitting, I was told it'd be a 5-6 month processing time. Multiple calls to the immigration department, bunch of fucktards who can't help with anything. Then ANA cancelled their flight that would have got them here and out of quarantine in time for Christmas, so I had to rebook with JAL for another $7000 while waiting 4 months for the $6500 refund from ANA.
Dept of Immigration were useless, so I got in touch with my local Member of Parliament to help me out, his team did great, and they found out in their reply from the Dept that I needed to apply for a travel exemption first for my wife before they'd prioritise her application. I was like "Why didn't these fuckwits tell me that 2 months ago?!" I'd been freaking out about having to delay her and the kids' flight another few months due to no visa.
Anyway, finally all the ducks seems to have lined up in a row - kids' AUS citizenships and passports OK, wife's visa OK, now I just have to wait and hope that JAL doesn't cancel their Dec 19th flight.
All that shit went on while also getting evicted illegally by my landlord here in Sydney because she's a control freak (i rented a room in her house that she lived in too - she kicked me out because I didn't close my curtains while I watched TV, and I put the ironing board back in the wrong place - 4 inches to the left of where it should have gone).
Mentally it's been pretty tough not getting to see my kids for 6 months. I've missed a third of my daughter's life (she's only 1 and a half), and my son's English ability and behaviour have gone down the toilet since I've been gone because his mother and grandparents are useless and too random with their discipline, so the poor boy doesn't know when they're serious about saying "no" or not, then he gets exploded at for what he thinks is no reason. I've got a lot of work to do to get him secure again in his boundaries and to create a proper routine for him again.
Anyway guys, that's my rant and story for this fucked up year. I know there are WAY worse stories out there than me, obviously including the people who've actually contracted the disease, or their loved ones have, and they've died from it. But it hasn't been easy for me, that I know, and I thought maybe I could have a rant and also give others a place to do it on this forum too. It's always seemed a pretty welcoming place to me.
Peace, everyone.
I'll share first...(yes, I'm having a bit of a whinge, but fuck, I kind of need to at this point).
I got told back in January I had to relocate myself and my family to the company's office in Sydney, Australia. Totally out of the blue, with no timeline other than "ASAP" given. My wife freaked out, spiraled into full blown clinical depression, needing medicine to function and everthing. On top of that my boss, the co-owner of the company, who USED TO be my mate, dropped my salary about $25kAUD, citing the most bullshit excuses you've ever heard. Anyway, I took it, as they were paying for the move, and it was a chance to take my kids home to live in AUS for at least a while, although I envision us going back to Japan as some point in the future.
Anyway, COVID fucked me and I had 2 cancelled flights, and now 8 months after those cancelled flights I'm still waiting for the refund for one of them. I finally managed to get all the citizenship application paperwork together for my 2 kids, got that sorted, then had to get their passports. Got them, ok great, next I had to get my wife's visa. Oh and by the way, she wouldn't go to Tokyo to a specialist centre to check out her thyroid condition that the mental doc discovered because she was scared of COVID, so I had to wait for that shit to get sorted too.
So, I applied for her visa, and was told it would be a 1-2 month processing time. After submitting, I was told it'd be a 5-6 month processing time. Multiple calls to the immigration department, bunch of fucktards who can't help with anything. Then ANA cancelled their flight that would have got them here and out of quarantine in time for Christmas, so I had to rebook with JAL for another $7000 while waiting 4 months for the $6500 refund from ANA.
Dept of Immigration were useless, so I got in touch with my local Member of Parliament to help me out, his team did great, and they found out in their reply from the Dept that I needed to apply for a travel exemption first for my wife before they'd prioritise her application. I was like "Why didn't these fuckwits tell me that 2 months ago?!" I'd been freaking out about having to delay her and the kids' flight another few months due to no visa.
Anyway, finally all the ducks seems to have lined up in a row - kids' AUS citizenships and passports OK, wife's visa OK, now I just have to wait and hope that JAL doesn't cancel their Dec 19th flight.
All that shit went on while also getting evicted illegally by my landlord here in Sydney because she's a control freak (i rented a room in her house that she lived in too - she kicked me out because I didn't close my curtains while I watched TV, and I put the ironing board back in the wrong place - 4 inches to the left of where it should have gone).
Mentally it's been pretty tough not getting to see my kids for 6 months. I've missed a third of my daughter's life (she's only 1 and a half), and my son's English ability and behaviour have gone down the toilet since I've been gone because his mother and grandparents are useless and too random with their discipline, so the poor boy doesn't know when they're serious about saying "no" or not, then he gets exploded at for what he thinks is no reason. I've got a lot of work to do to get him secure again in his boundaries and to create a proper routine for him again.
Anyway guys, that's my rant and story for this fucked up year. I know there are WAY worse stories out there than me, obviously including the people who've actually contracted the disease, or their loved ones have, and they've died from it. But it hasn't been easy for me, that I know, and I thought maybe I could have a rant and also give others a place to do it on this forum too. It's always seemed a pretty welcoming place to me.
Peace, everyone.