I now have an approved ‘Certificate of Eligibility’ (well my mother-in-law does, it will be mailed to me soon) which is the most difficult part of the spousal visa application process. I’ll just need to fill in a short form and take it to the Japanese consulate and within a few weeks of that date I’ll have my visa!

Will wait until we’re a bit closer to our moving date before that happens though. Another weight off my shoulders!



Currently explaining surveillance capitalism to a cynical three year old who doesn’t believe that Santa can see her.



After today’s work day is finished, I’ve a break if almost two weeks and then back for my final ever eight weeks of working in IT (hopefully!), I am so ready with my tech tinkerings to be a hobby and nothing more.



Wow photo driving licence arrived just 5 days after the test.. seems like someone at DVSA didn’t get the memo about how long these things are meant to be delayed..



One more burden lifted regarding our move to Japan, I managed to get another driving test on short notice and this time managed to pass.. though I don’t anticipate doing much, if any, driving before I absolutely have to in Japan. It was a requirement of the contract offer I have so I’m happy to have ticked that box!



I can’t believe that netflix managed to snap up ‘Dune’ so soon after release.. very impressed at how young they made Jean Luc Picard look.. makes sense that Mr quantum leap is involved.. I feel a little uneasy about Scotland’s cloning technology being used to produce a young, confusingly English Kyle MacLachlan..



Just found out that Japan is closing its borders to foreigners from December due to Omicron.. hopefully they will be open again by April or at least situational enough to allow us to move over..

I also have to decline a contract extension offer this week, which I had been looking forward to but if our move ends up being delayed then the joy of handing my notice is likely to be overshadowed by concerns over being unemployed for longer than anticipated.



    Today’s brew day is my 2nd experiment with imparting chestnut flavour into beer.. this time with 1lb of chopped roasted chestnuts. Last time was with chestnut flour and I’m still a few weeks out from tasting how that went.

    I’m also taking an alternative approach to my use of cacao nibs this time.. in previous stout brews I used raw cacao nibs and was very happy with the results but I think they might be imparting an undesired bitterness in this beer style. So I’m going to try roasting them and along with a vanilla bean, make a tincture using vodka and will add post-fermentation.

    I’ve used neither of these processes before so I’m excited to see how they turn out.


    Categories:

    Very disappointed to have failed my driving test yesterday. I’m far from the most enthusiastic of drivers and wasn’t particularly excited to attain a driving licence but I was hoping to pass so that there would be a little less pressure on my shoulders regarding the planned move to Japan.

    I hope that I can get another test soon and get a better handle on my nerves during it, I don’t need this burden carrying into the new year.