Monday, May 21, 2007

The Waiting Game

3.5 hours. That was the total number of hours I spent staring at nothing, simply waiting for the three different counters at the UK Visa Application Centre (UKVACS) to decide if I submitted all the requirements needed and if there were any other gaps I needed to fill. I couldn't even fiddle with my cellphone since every person who comes in has to surrender their handbag and extra stuff to the guard at the entrance.

By the second hour, I could feel a pounding headache coming...probably because I came in with an empty stomach. I stupidly assumed that the whole submission business (since it was just submitting papers) would take at most an hour and a half, so I opted to skip breakfast and have a good brunch when I get out of the UKVACS office. At 1:30 in the afternoon, I came out with my head full of pounding hammers and a stomach empty of anything except probably for acid hissing for something to burn.

Whether I came in well-armed for the waiting game or not, I suspect I would still be ticked off when I was done.

You see, like most (all?) people, waiting is not exactly my favorite hobby. I have done my share of waiting…whether it is for a delayed flight to take off, for a friend to show up for an appointment, for results from whatever tests, for decisions to be made by higher-ups, for problems to be resolved, for prayers to be answered…ad naseum.

There are certain things/situations when I find waiting senseless—and other times when I find waiting worth it. Whatever the case, one thing is for certain: the reason we have to play the waiting game is because much of life is beyond our control.

I once stumbled on a verse in the Bible that says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick." (Proverbs 13:12). How true! How true!

The wait is especially unbearable if it is something that you have pinned your hopes on. And the letdown that sometimes come after a long wait (with baited breath) can be shattering.

Another time, I saw a signboard at the front of a cinema-turned-church building that announced the pastor’s message for that Sunday and it said, “Delayed by Design.” That time I saw the sign, I was actually waiting for something and somehow the sign was comforting. It tells me that though I was not in control, Somebody far wiser, way more powerful was. He knows what is best and He knows when is best.

I realize how true this is since I found out that because I couldn’t submit my applications earlier (before May), I found out that the agency (UKVACS) that handles the visa submission has waived its processing fee starting May. Then after submission, I went to check my visa status on line through a reference number, and found out that by end of May, the visa processing will change again and become more complicated. I submitted my application at just the right time!

As I wait for the results of my visa application. I keep the above truth in my heart: God, who knows best, delays by design.

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My dear Wordpress friends, I don't seem to be able to get my comments uploaded in your blogs!! Mon suggests to ask you to de-spam my comments (if that's the problem.) Thanks, Mon for the tip!!

12 comments:

vernaloo said...

ahhhh..waiting! story of my life lol :)

But you are right..there are things that are worth the wait.

Wishing you all the best on your UK VISA mare..hope things turn out the way we want it :)

uhhmmm checked my Spam folder...wala pa naman hehe :)but yeah..mostly doon napupunta.

Abaniko said...

That's why magazines and pocketbooks (and iPod Video too) were invented. Hehe.


Hey, here's hoping you'll have your UK Visa soon. Gypsy ka ngang talaga! All the best for you. :)

Anonymous said...

miss you girl! I miss chatting with my tukayo, and passing notes to each other when the teacher wasn't looking. do you know i kept in touch with Fr. Ning Puentevella once? And do you know that Jinky O. R. won a Best Teacher award??? So proud. Will email you link.

glad to see you're up and about in your own adventures. i read about your haggling for the camera. very good. bought my DSLR Canon from the brother of that owner's shop.

Now keep clicking away. it's good therapy. that's how i came about taking photos of bad signs. THE WAITING for anything becomes tolerable (wink). linked you up to my dabawenya.com blogsite na rin.

ipanema said...

It's never been my virtue. I'm a very impatient person. :)

Forever59er said...

Waiting -- that's only my problem. Why, I can't even wait for this comment box to open!!

I alawys bring pocketbooks too, as abaniko suggests when I know I'd be falling in line. And of course the cellphone, if allowed, also crunches time. And what about a small notebook and a pen to write the beginning of a blogpiece?

But as you say, a delay is sometimes a disguised blessing.

Congrats ... kailan na ang lakad mo to see the Queen?

Anonymous said...

I hate waiting. But most of all, I hate (with a passion) sadistic people who enjoy making people wait...

Hope you get your UK visa soon... :-)

Anonymous said...

I've been playing Soduku puzzle during times that I have to wait longer than an hour. It just keeps my mind occupied.

Hope you get your VISA soon.


About the de-spamming your comments: Hope Askimet unflag your ISP as spam source so that you can comment freely on our blogs. It didn't used to be like that. I've looked at your previous comments and you we're using the same ISP. Go Figure :(

Gypsy said...

Verns,
Thanks, mare. Wag ka mag-alala--darating din siya..and he will indeed be worth the wait! :)

Abaniko,
Di ko rin kasi na-anticipate na super long pala ang waiting time...kung alam ko lang eh di hiniram ko na iPod mo! Hehe.

Jojie Girl!
Yeah, miss all our chitchat and kabuang! Great to touch base with you again. Sige day, pag-uli nako karong July, kitakits ta ha. :) Thanks for the link!

Ipanema,
Same here! But I am guessing thats true with most of us--the "virtue" of impatience, I mean. :)

Anna,
Haha! Ako din minsan, na-iinip sa pagbukas ng comment box. Aba, malala na kaya yan! Hey I can't seem to upload comments on your blog as well...eh di ka naman wordpress...hmm, somethings not right these days. I visit Da Queen in September first week!!

Snglguy,
Ngek, didnt mean to make your blood boil! Hehe. Cool ka lang...Yes, hope to get the visa soon. Thanks!

Mon,
You just reminded me, I need to get myself another Soduku booklet, nawala ko yong isa. Yeah, it comes in handy while waiting. Kahit nga walang hinihintay eh..hehe. Hey thanks for helping me on this de-spamming thingie, super ninja!! :)

Anonymous said...

Di ba nga? Patience is a virtue.

I am a patient person. Something I learned from being a mother. My husband is the opposite though.

Here's another saying - Good things come to those who wait. I do believe in that, too.

Btw, I retrieved one of your comments from my blog. I sometimes get lazy kasi to check all the spam comments because they come in thousands now. Pero mabuti na rin yung may spam filter. Otherwise, I would be deleting thousands of comments. :)

Jen said...

waiting can make a monster out of me : - ) really, i know what you mean. I should have warned you about the embassy waiting. it can really take ages! Update us with the result. I really pray that you will get a positive result! Soon! ( i dream of going to UK someday!)

Anonymous said...

uy good luck :)
saya sya naman nyan magpupunta ka na ng UK

yeah madalas nga yung comment mo napupunta sa SPAM, pero wag ka alala dinde spam ko sya madalas :)
ako naman madalas hindi makapagcomment sa blogspot ewan ko kung bakit :(

Anonymous said...

I don't like to wait. I'm actually impatient but I don't show it.

I walk around, read a magazine, take out a pen and paper and scribble some lines, etc... Or sometimes, i just close my eyes and sleep.