For Better or For Worse.....

..... the deed has been done!

Earlier this afternoon, I went along to the UK visa application site here in the T Dot and submitted my paperwork and supporting documentation for a Tier 5 Youth Mobility Scheme visa.

If I get this visa, I will be able to live and work in the UK for up to 2 years. And of course, I will be closer - much closer - to Beans.

I had actually been thinking about going to live/work in the UK for a while now. My initial choice was London, primarily because of a uni friend who lives there and assured me of (rent free) accommodation for as long as I wanted it and also because at the time it seemed a natural choice as I'd been to the city before and enjoyed it and wanted to know more about it. My primary focus was of course the proximity to half a dozen (and more) European destinations that I was just dying to explore.

Enter Beans, and suddenly living and working in the UK isn't a nice day dream anymore, it is a reality that springs from the need to find a viable way to build on and sustain our relationship. In between all the touring and sightseeing (and the oodles of making out) that we did when he was here, we also did a lot of talking.
About what we both wanted - short and long term.
About how we viewed this relationship.
About our personal and life goals.

One thing was clear. We both wanted to have a REAL shot at "us". And we both knew that it wasn't going to really work unless we were together. And I knew that the person who would have to move - for now at least - would have to be me. Beans works in a highly specialized field and moving here would mean him having to give up a very lucrative post. On the other hand, I LOVE my job. I love the people I work with, the industry and the opportunities that I get every day to MAKE A BLOODY DIFFERENCE in a number of areas that I feel strongly about.

BUT I also love Beans. Very Very Much. And it didn't take me long to decide that in a tug-of-war between a great job and a great man, the man would win. Hands down.

And so, for second time since meeting Beans I followed an impulse and went ahead with the online application last week. Had to wait until I got some supporting documents from my bank and just as soon as they came though, I made an appointment with the visa centre for today.

And now I wait.

Which is the most agonizing part of this entire process as those of you who know me will attest that patience is at the very bottom of the list of my (many) virtues. But, wait I must; 5-15 business days.

And then, it will either be the dizzying happiness of endless possibility when the visa arrives, or the bitter heart crushing disappointment of failure and the reality of an endless time away from my love.