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| So what are the next steps |
| Saturday, June 30, 2007 |
We're probably not going to learn anything all that interesting until the online chat a week from Monday, but let me summerize what our agency has sent out based on some questions others have sent to them as well as what Jim has provided on FRUA and in his comment on our blog yesterday.
First the official accreditation process (and believe me apart from the Russians themselves there is no one with more intimate knowledge of the Russian adoption process than Jim). Just about everyone who reads his stuff on FRUA has a deep regard and respect for him. He's both fastidious and extremely unbiased. Now he has already gone through the adoption process and because of that (and unlike me) doesn't have to deal with the emotional issues right now of all these delays. But that's why his word is so valuable.
So I'm going to just try to summarize what Jim has said in posts and comments on this blog and others I read (keep in mind this is MY summary and so it may be off a bit). So Jim correct me as needed.
The whole process of reaccreditation has many many steps (NGO, accreditation application submission, review, etc.) but I'm going to start with the step after all the ancillary ministries review and have approved an accreditation application.
1. The MOE creates a "ministerial order" that specifies an agency (or actually they'll typically list a number of agencies in the document) have been accredited with accordance to the MOE's adoption regulations (the whole Government Decision #654 that was created almost a year ago). This is the official accreditation. I had thought it was when the certificate is sent to the agency but as usual Jim is correct. It clearly states in #654 that the accreditation enters into force on the date of the signing.
Although there has not be an official announcement by the MOE, we believe this step was completed on Thursday. And that our agency was one of the accredited agencies. It's unclear how many agencies there were in this initial signing (again, assuming it really has occurred). A guess would be meaningless because it could anywhere from 5 to 50.
2. After the document is signed the MOE has 10 working days to deliver an accreditation certificate to agency's representative (our agency has their Russian head person in Moscow). Additionally the MOE sends the information out to the regional offices.
We believe this will happen on Wednesday. Or at least the certificate is going to be in our agency's Moscow HQ on Wednesday, I'm not really sure how long it will take the MOE regional offices to get the word.
3. Our agency must than apply and be registered in each region they are working in. For our agency this is started by the Moscow staff getting the certificate copies out to the staff they have in each of the different regions they work in (which is about 9). This whole step isn't expected to take too long (like a couple of weeks) but the summer is a very big vacation time in Russia and if a key official is on vacation it's a bit unclear what happens. Meaning it could take several weeks.
And based on the track record, I think this is a real possibility. And if you've followed this whole accreditation delay, I think you'll agree with me. So I'm thinking this step is like a 2-6 week thing.
4. After they are registered the agencies, it is believed, will just working again as if there was no delay at all. As I've said before, though, we don't really know where we are in the queue and what's more, don't know how many other agencies work in our region. So it may take several weeks before the lucky day arrives and we get a referral.
Some major stuff we need to do ASAP
Because this whole process from the time we started has been over a year we have to get our homestudy updated. It's not a big deal (all the information is basically the same) but it will entail yet another plethora of documents that will need to be both notarized and then apostilled.
Oh Boy! I get to take another jaunt to Sacramento! And I get to fork over some cash! Wow, this is going to be great!
Thankfully Stef is so on top of this whole process that we have been planning over the past couple of months for this situation and we should be able to have our homestudy updated before our agency even completes Step 3 above. |
posted by Steveg @ 7:56 PM  |
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| The 4th of July is still key |
| Friday, June 29, 2007 |
I just got some more news on the hotline and want to clarify a few things. First, the signing of the accreditation certificate appears to have actually already occurred (the way I figure it that happened yesterday, June 28th). The importance of July 4th is that is the actual date that our agency expects to have their certificate in hand. Their Moscow office will get it, but since that's a holiday here there won't be anyone to update a hotline or post it on their website or whatever. So our agency won't be officially announcing their accreditation until Thursday July 5th.
And who knows how long it will be before the MOE posts information about it on their official website. Although strangely enough they (the MOE) seem to move pretty fast sometimes when it comes to their website. The information back in the end of December about accreditations starting up made it to the website in truly "internet speed" if I recall.
Our agency's next online chat is a week from Monday which of course is after all this stuff becomes officially official so I will be able to post a lot more information at that time. Although there still will be some major unknowns (timing of referrals, etc.) simply because everything is starting up again and we just don't know where exactly we are in the queue, how many other agencies will be working in our region, etc. In fact, it is still possible that our agency may suggest to us to move to a different region if they feel it will be easier to get us a referral somewhere else.
But I really hope not. We've learned quite a bit about Omsk and are quite excited about being able to go there. It's a very big city which fits us well, their baby homes have great reputations which is extremely important to us, and their judges have a reputation of not being too bizarre (some places are known to have extremely picky judges).
Important Note for folks like us still in the process. Of course by now you've read on FRUA about this news. It was actually reported by someone who posted the name of their agency. And she had posted almost identical information to what I mentioned. However, the key point here is that the agency mentioned in FRUA is not our agency. What that means is that there are at least two agencies (and I think it's going to be like 15-20) that have been told they've been reaccredited.
So even if you haven't heard anything from your agency, don't start worrying. As I've said for awhile now I believe the MOE will do a mass accreditation signing (or actually have done). So there will most likely be a large number of agencies who will have their certificates next week. And even if your agency is not within this first round of signings, keep in mind that during the last major delay back in 2005, there was a first round followed very quickly (it was only about 3 weeks later) with a second round of accreditations. |
| posted by Steveg @ 9:29 AM |
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| Okay, something new |
| Thursday, June 28, 2007 |
Now I know I said I didn't want to discuss the rumor, partly because I didn't want to jinx anything and also because I found out that there are officials in Russia that had been monitoring the FRUA forum and found out what was being said. Our agency let us know about this on the hotline this week and was sort of hoping the whole rumor thing would go away for fear that someone at the MOE might get pissed that some unofficial information was being leaked to those terrible Americans.
So I had planned to remain somewhat silent on the whole thing.
However, there appears to be some buzzing about a few agencies, perhaps even an agency that we might, perhaps, in a way, be associated with. And the scuttlebutt seems to be that accreditations are very very imminent.
How imminent?
Boy, you know next week is the Fourth of July. What a great holiday that is. The picnics, the fireworks, the celebrating the colonials statement of independence from England. What a wonderful date that will be.
Now I grant you I'm being a bit cryptic here, but come on, this isn't a Fellini film so you all should be able to figure out when the signing of accreditations is going to happen. Although it may take a day after that for those certificates to find their way to the respective agencies.
Needless to say, we are highly intoxicated with this news and once it becomes official the official suspension of buying toys in advance is going right out the window.
But as I've said before we are still most likely a couple of months away from a referral and thus first trip to Russia. However now we truly can see the light at the end of the tunnel. |
| posted by Steveg @ 9:14 PM |
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| Nothing new |
| Wednesday, June 27, 2007 |
Nothing new on the rumor front. I also don't want to talk too much about it for fear of jinxing it somehow. I did find out however that once accreditations do happen it is likely that the regions will start working with the agencies within a couple of weeks. I had feared that it might be a month or more from the time accreditation certificates were signed to when regional offices of the MOE got going processing adoptions.
But supposedly it's much faster of a ramp up, although it still will take a little time before we get going just because of the backlog of other couples who were, in essence, ahead of us in the queue. While it is true that a number of the regions have been processing court dates even without accreditations (basically a semi-independent adoption I guess you could call it), there are some regions that have done absolutely nothing and of course our agency will first work with those families to get their court dates.
Some of those families have been waiting now for well over a year after meeting with their child. And that certainly has to be very tough to handle. With us the little one to be is still a mystery child.
In fact if you think about it our child was probably not even born at the time we started the process. It's actually kind of cool. It's almost like this delay had to happen in order for our kid to be born (or at least, to be born in order to join our family). |
| posted by Steveg @ 2:26 PM |
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| Another very nice weekend |
| Sunday, June 24, 2007 |
We had a really fantastic weekend. First it really looks like accreditation is right around the corner. And second, our friends who adopted their little girl from Samara last year (that's both a region and a major city in Russia in case you don't know) came over Sunday afternoon.
I am just in love with their little girl. She is just so energetic, so happy, so fun to be with. It's like her mantra is Have Fun, Enjoy Live, and Have More Fun (in that order),
It's also kinda of interesting because we've had a number of friends over who have toddlers and the reaction they all seem to have is quite interesting (because of course we don't yet have our family completed). Most of the parents are a bit, well not exactly embarrassed, but lets just say a little apologetic in terms of how the toddlers behave (because we don't have kids yet). I should point out that all the kids we've had over to our place are just great, they all are by our definition very well behaved. But I think most parents feel that people without kids expect almost mini-adults. Of course, we're the opposite and enjoy the whole "terrible-two's" (of course that's because we only get to see the terrible-two's for a few hours at a time).
But in all seriousness, we've had 14 years of peace and quiet. We've had 14 years of spending time with just ourselves. We've had 14 years of adult conversation and contemplation. And now, quite frankly, we both are just fine with chasing around a two year old with enough energy to light up a small city.
Anyway, today little "A" (I don't want to publish her name with out her parents approval but let's just say she's an "Angel") was a typical toddler. Although wanting to have fun all the time, she did adhere to her mom's "No, you can't do that, let's read your book". The thing that is so impressive about this kid is her personality. She is truly special (I know many parents feel that way about their kids but from an outsiders viewpoint, this kid is really special).
We are not requesting a specific gender for our child and as as a result we feel it will most likely be a boy since that is what the odds are (most often when a gender is requested it's a girl which is why we think it will be a boy), however if we do get a girl, "A" is exactly the girl I would want to have as my own.
Even at such a young age you can easily tell that she has the personality to be able to achieve anything she wants to out of life: A doctor, lawyer, astronaut, president (well, okay she can't really be president since she's not a U.S. born citizen, but hopefully our great governor here in California can help to amend that constitutional oversight).
Anyway, here are some snapshots of the us having some fun on a Sunday afternoon.
Here's little "A" trying to walk around in my slippers (she made sure she tried to walk around in everyone shoes, her momma says she can and does walk in high heals at home, there's a major shoe buyer being groomed here which delighted Stef to no end).
Having fun with her papa.
Enjoying the oh so comfortable couch at our house (after all, comfort is our Karma).
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| posted by Steveg @ 10:34 PM |
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| Updating some of the stale blog stuff |
| Friday, June 22, 2007 |
I noticed that my "Purchase of the Week" has been the same damn toy for a couple of months now. Of course for those who read the blog regularly you know that the accreditation delay perturbed me to such an extent that I really had no desire to update the blog much less things we've bought.
By the way, no major updates on the accreditation rumors but every now and then another person will post on one of the adoption forums that their agency heard they too have gotten all the ministries to sign off. So it certainly looks as though there will be a very large accreditation announcement by the MOE soon. Oh, that's soon in Russian terms which loosely translated means "some time before the end of the next century...maybe."
Hey, as long as they're on the track and moving I'm actually happy.
But back to new toys. We have actually been buying a few things, although I must confess that a good portion of them were "toys" for us. It's amazing how new clothes or TVs can make you feel so much better when the Adoption Gods are working against you.
I will highlight a big purchase that technically is for the kid (even though we get most of the fun of it). We got rid of our SUV and bought (dare I say) a minivan.
WHAT?
Yes, it's true a minivan.
Keep in mind that we use to think the SUV was a bit of a drag on our performance minded automotive creed (we both drive Bimmers). So a minivan is something that historically we laughed at.
However, a few months ago Stef kept dropping hints that maybe a minivan would be more practical with the kid coming and all. Then one night I decided to look into it and see what the top models had in terms of the bells & whistles we really wanted. We typically used our SUV as "hauler", after all it's kinda hard to toss lumber or flats of flowers into the back of Stef's little BMW convertible (aka the Princess Car).
I eventually zeroed in on the Honda Odyssey and I must say I was really impressed with everything that it has going for it. We've been very happy in the past with the Honda's we've own. So we ending up getting it and it's been quite a treat to cruise around in. Now we did go with the Touring model which has just about everything you could possibly think of including auto opening and closing side doors, auto tailgate, DVD entertainment system, navigation system, park distance sensor and a backup camera, satellite radio, enough cup holders to keep a football team happy, etc. etc. etc.
So I'm reinitiating the Purchase of the Week with our new...(spoken at a whisper level) minivan. |
| posted by Steveg @ 1:47 PM |
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| Rethinking my estimated time frames |
| Wednesday, June 20, 2007 |
I was looking back at the posts I did right around the whole NGO delay, and I think my current guesstimate on timing is a bit on the optimistic side. It's hard to remain logical and unbiased on this.
I'm going to have to relabel the July/August estimate for a referral from Best Case to This will happen if God comes down and places Her right hand on the back on the officials to help move them along Case. Then move Most Likely Case to Best Case.
So what does that mean for a Most Likely Case?
Probably a referral in the very late October to December range. |
| posted by Steveg @ 11:16 AM |
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| So let's see what the next steps look like |
| Tuesday, June 19, 2007 |
Stef and were trying to analyze the next steps in accreditation (and when they would most likely occur). This is no easy task because little is known of what goes on behind the scenes at the MOE.
It really stems from a culture that has been heavily influenced by years under communist rule. In the U.S. if you get an unfavorable answer from a government official (or anyone else for that matter) you often ask to talk to the person's supervisor. Well, that's not exactly how you handle yourself living in a communist ruled country (or any totalitarian rule). If they say the answer is "No", that's it, it's no and please get out of my office.
Also Americans are...well how shall I put this...somewhat a pestering arrogant people who are determined to get their way. And if they can't get their way, they will certainly let you hear about it. If we hear "No" we want to know "Why Not!!!" and in detail. In Russia, the answer is the answer and you should not be interested in knowing why. I've been told that this is partly due to very random way Russian officials make decisions and often they don't wish anyone to know why they did something because it will open up a can of worms. There would be questions to which they don't have answers (or even worse, the answers would highlight some incompetence on their part).
So it's pretty hard to figure out what all the details are for the next steps in accreditation and how long they will take. However, we can look at the last major delay which happened in 2004 to 2005. At that time a mass of agencies (like 40!!!) all got reaccredited at once (on May 17, 2005). Our agency was one of those, but it's been hard for me to find out when agencies at that time had learned about the impending accreditations.
I have learned that our agency had their certificate a day after it was signed. The big question is how long will it take the MOE to get all documents ready for signing. My guess and it's only that since I have literally no information to back it up, would be three to four weeks. Now, that may seem slow but based on what I've seen in the past, I'd say that's a "Moscow Minute" (a very slim play on the "New York Minute"). What I mean is that the MOE IS going to move fast, but fast by Russian standards and that could mean a month.
Then will come the communication from the federal MOE out to the regional MOE offices. And that's not going to be shot out in an email. Now I don't know about the Russian postal service but I suspect it's in line with ours (which is a really bad sign). So it could take another three to four weeks (six to eight weeks in total) till the regions start allowing agencies to start working again on adoptions. We're not the first people in line at our agency and there are other agencies which work in the same region we're headed to, so a referral could come very fast or take a bit of time. And that range could be a mere two weeks to a lengthly eight weeks or more.
Rolling that altogether, and again this is with very little historical evidence so my guesstimate here is more of a "guess" than an "estimate", is the following scenarios:
Best Case
Accreditations are signed by end of June
Regions begin working with agencies mid July
We see a referral end of July/early August
Most Likely Case
Accreditations are signed mid/late July
Regions begin working with agencies late August
We see a referral September/October
Ironically this is the exact timing we had thought we would be headed to Russia...of course that was a year ago!!! But it's nice to see that the Russians are being considerate enough in trying to stay within my original estimate even if it is a year behind. |
| posted by Steveg @ 9:53 AM |
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| Gentlemen...Start your engines |
| Monday, June 18, 2007 |
Yep, the rumor appears to be true.
Our agency has also learned that their application has been signed off by the required ministries and now only awaits the MOE issuing the official accreditation certificate.
Because of the massive delay both Stef and I had taken a very dim view of this latest rumor (not to mention the fact that we had no desire to continue to ride the rollercoaster of emotions). But now we can't help ourselves from feeling that indeed there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Now before everyone starts asking when is our flight to Russia keep in mind that the official accreditations have not yet been issued and by some reports it could take from two weeks to another month before they are. Very much like the title of this post, we are just starting our engines. The race has yet to begin.
The MOE needs to officially announce the accreditations and then send those documents to the respective agencies and then communicate all that to all the regional MOE offices in Russia. As I said, just the first two things alone could take a month. So we are still, most likely, several months away from a referral.
However, this is certainly the best news we have heard in a long long long long time and we're going to enjoy it. Plus this could mean we won't be traveling to Russia during the winter!!!
Remember I'm from Los Angeles, went to college in Arizona, and now live near San Francisco. You can read that to mean..."This dude does not know anything about the cold."
And you'd be right.
Now you may know based on some of the obscure quotes I often post here that I'm somewhat of a history enthusiast. So now for some pontification.
If indeed the sign offs occurred on June 15th (when the rumor first hit), that would quite nicely match up with one of the most famous document signings of all time. No, sorry not the U.S. Constitution, I meant something really important. I was referring to the signing of the Magna Carta in 1215 by King John of England. Which was the one of the most significant steps in the establishment of the rule of law.
An interesting side note. He gave away so many powers of the Crown in that document that to this day the English monarchy never name any of their heirs "John". And he is thought of as the worst King in English history. |
| posted by Steveg @ 5:55 PM |
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| More on the rumor |
| Sunday, June 17, 2007 |
There is one fairly hopeful sign in this current rumor. It does come from a very reputable agency. Stef says that in the past they've been pretty accurate with stuff they say, of course we don't see everything since they're not our agency. We can only judge on what others (this agency's clients) have posted.
It will be interesting next week to see if any other agency comes out with similar news. I'm sure our agency will be on the phone to their Moscow staff to see if they can dig up any confirmation.
It's just my opinion, but once the accreditations are dished out I think they'll be in one massive bunch, rather than one agency at a time. That's what happened the last time there was a major delay and it's reasonable to assume it will occur again. However, it would still be a huge positive step even if it's just this one agency who gets accredited now. Once one has it, the others are sure to follow.
Needless to say, this should be an interesting week. |
| posted by Steveg @ 2:38 PM |
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| Hot off the presses, another rumor |
| Friday, June 15, 2007 |
A rumor that really has the ability to spread like a wildfire is one that either has some outlandish plot but would be exciting for it to be real or one that makes sense and provides something that those who are hearing it want it to be true.
I think the current rumor falls into the second category.
Basically it was reported that one agency sent out a newsletter to their clients that states that all the required ministries have approved their stuff and that the MOE only needs to issue their accreditation certificate which will just take a week or two.
Unfortunately, this is only coming from one agency and that does not seem likely. What I mean is that the last time there was a huge delay in the accreditation process a bunch of agencies all got reaccredited at the same time. And since a large group of agencies got their applications done back in December and have been waiting since March (which is when the MOE's own law says they have to provide an answer back on the applications of accreditation!!!), it's logical to assume there would be a bunch of agencies saying this and not just one.
That is not to say that this news is not based on fact and that indeed accreditations are very imminent. "Very imminent"? I think I made a diction error there, okay whatever, you get the point.
Anyway, after a long delay which is so nonsensical it makes it clear to me as to why the Russians lost he cold war. Keeping in mind I certainly knock our system. I mean I believe the American system (political/economic) has as many problems as Paris Hilton's psychological makeup, but the Russian bureaucracy is just amazing.
And with the track record they've created it's hard for me to get too excited about something that may or may not be real. But we'll see, I'll post anything I hear about. For now, it's back to the pool.
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| posted by Steveg @ 12:56 PM |
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| Global Warming, time to hit the pool |
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We're having a bit of a heat wave, got up to 99 degrees here on Wednesday. Actually I don't mean to joke about Global Warming which as Stef can tell you I take very seriously (she's way tired of hearing me voice my concerns). But it is something that if you don't believe (and I think I read something like 50% of Americans don't) you're going to be in for one hell of a nightmare. Course we brought this onto ourselves so it's sort of poetic justice.
In the meantime, waiting for the next natural disaster to claim a few thousand lives, it's time for me to relax at the pool. Oh yes, I am pretty twisted, but you all should know that by now. Sitting by the pool with a cold beer on a hot day. Yep, this is why I wanted to retire. Actually it was to get out of the corporate political mess which rarely if ever works in the favor of shareholders, but the pool thing sounds so much cooler.
It was so hot that our dog Chianti who really doesn't like the pool at all, allowed me to set him on the steps so he could at least get a little cooler. |
| posted by Steveg @ 12:27 PM |
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| Back to my old self (though not quite physically) |
| Tuesday, June 12, 2007 |
If you haven't noticed I'm over the funk I've been in recently. Still pissed at the delay but going on with my normal routine of having fun with life. After all, you only have one life so you better enjoy it. Or as I often say life is too short...and so am I.
The joke there being that I'm 5'6". Of course Joe Morgan is that short and he won 2 MVP awards for the Cincinnati Reds in the 70's, not to mention a Hall of Famer. Speaking of great short baseball stars, if you look up the record for most RBIs in a single season you'll find the name Hack Wilson who was also 5'6" and who in 1930 set the record with 190 RBI (yep more than Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, or even Barry Bonds ever got). Of course Hack was 5'6" and 190 pounds!!!
Holy crap, what a porker. I feel fat when I go over 150 pounds, which unfortunately due to my state of mind over the past few weeks I ate myself up to (and past). But not to worry, Stef and I are back to our daily exercise walks and I'm curtailing the lunches at Togo's so I should be back to my slim and trim 140 in no time. I mean, I owe it to all the women out there. As Woody Allen said, "Some men have it and some men don't, fortunately I'm full of it." Yep, that's me...Full of it. |
| posted by Steveg @ 5:55 PM |
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| Cell Phone Etiquette |
| Monday, June 11, 2007 |
Since my last post on the adventures of describing the hygiene habits of fellow drivers during my daily commute was fairly successful, here's another one for you all. I'd love your opinion on this happening in my daily life.
What is proper cell phone etiquette when you are in a public restroom, specifically at work? Personally, I don't even take the phone with me at work as I have absolutely no intention of using the phone while I'm in the restroom.
However, my experience earlier today had me baffled. The woman in the stall next to mine made an outgoing phone call. This brought up a couple of issues. Couldn't the call have waited a few more minutes? What is so urgent that the call has to be placed right that minute? Couldn't you plan your bio break around mandatory phone calls? Isn't that part of being a professional - managing your time?
This brings up my second point, she's just started her phone call and I was ready to leave. Do you flush and say to heck with it? Do you hang out for a while and see if it's a quick phone call? Does it make a difference that I know her fairly well? |
| posted by yorkiemom @ 3:43 PM |
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| I'll be a good parent, I can prove it! |
| Friday, June 08, 2007 |
I just did one of those little survey sites that then tells you "How old you act" or "What president you most resemble" or other stupid crap. Anyway, the stupid crap I had chosen to do was "Would You Be a Cool Parent?"
After seeing the results (which are below along with a link to the site) I should send this to the Russian Ministry of Education just to show them that I'll be a good parent, well okay, a cool parent.
You Will Be a Cool Parent
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You seem to naturally know a lot about parenting, and you know what kids need.
You can tell when it's time to let kids off the hook, and when it's time to lay down the law.
While your parenting is modern and hip, it's not over the top.
You know that there's nothing cool about a parent who acts like a teenager... or a drill sergeant!
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| posted by Steveg @ 2:50 PM |
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| Russian TV |
| Thursday, June 07, 2007 |
There was a TV show in Russia this week which highlighted their current adoption situation. Evidentially it was fairly different than shows done there in the past. This one was accurate.
They didn't bash international adoptions and instead talked about how many Americans adopt children that have special needs (medical, etc.) which is rarely done by Russians. It also talked about the fact that all the agencies are being held up and that the children are suffering as a result.
Don't know if this will help but it certainly won't hurt. |
| posted by Steveg @ 3:23 PM |
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| A clever ploy |
| Saturday, June 02, 2007 |
I've figured out this whole Russian adoption delay.
It came to me in a dream, well not exactly a dream more like an induced state of transcendental contemplation. Actually I was sitting outside by the pool drinking a Corona when I noticed our dog Chianti was doing his business on the lawn I just mowed.
And of course this display reminded me immediately of the outstanding quality, detail, and alacrity the Russian government workers exhibit.
But you see, the concept is that this delay is actually meant to improve the waiting parents-to-be ability to be good parents. This whole thing is a clever ploy by the Russians to make us all better at being patient and thus better at being parents.
After all, patience is a virtue. Although in practice patience is more like a nuisance. |
| posted by Steveg @ 9:55 AM |
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| Some Friday humor |
| Friday, June 01, 2007 |
Stef sent me a funny series about online forums. I think someone had posted this on the FRUA forum, regardless it certainly is exactly how that, and all the other, forums seem to operate.
How many Group members does it take
to change a light bulb?
One to change the light bulb and to post
that the light bulb has been changed.
Fourteen to share similar experiences
of changing light bulbs and how the light bulb
could have been changed differently.
Seven to caution about the dangers
of changing light bulbs.
Seven more to point out spelling/grammar errors
in posts about changing light bulbs.
Three to correct spelling/grammar errors.
Six to argue over whether it's
"lightbulb" or "light bulb".
Another six to condemn those six as stupid.
Fifteen to claim experience in
the lighting industry and give
the correct spelling.
Nineteen to post that this group is not
about light bulbs and to please take
this discussion to a light bulb
(or lightbulb) forum.
Eleven to defend the posting to the group
saying that we all use light bulbs
and therefore the posts are relevant
to this group.
Thirty six to debate which method
of changing light bulbs is superior,
where to buy the best light bulbs,
what brand of light bulbs work best
for this technique and what brands
are faulty.
Seven to post URLs where one can see
examples of different light bulbs.
Four to post that the URLs were posted
incorrectly and then post the corrected URL.
Three to post about links they found
from the URLs that are relevant
to this group which makes light bulbs
relevant to this group.
Thirteen to link all posts to date,
quote them in their entirety
including all headers and signatures,
and add "Me too".
Five to post to the group that they will
no longer post because they cannot handle
the light bulb controversy.
Four to say "didn't we go through this
already a short time ago?"
Thirteen to say "do a Google search
on light bulbs before posting
questions about light bulbs."
Three to tell a funny story about
their cat and a light bulb.
AND
One group lurker to respond to
the original post 6 months from now
with something unrelated and start it
all over again. |
| posted by Steveg @ 9:22 AM |
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I'm Steve and this is my wife Stefanie. This is our story, mostly seen through my eyes, of the journey to create our family by adopting a child from Russia.
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