On the 17th of May things really got real, like for real. Ladies and gentlemen, behold my O1B visa. I feel like it should be prettier and shinier, perhaps scented like rose macarons and embellished with Swarovski, but here it is: a tiny piece of paper with life changing powers. And ever since everything got official, my to-do list became a little more endless as more moving-to-another-country stuff was added to it. First one: booking a plane ticket. So here it is: a week from now, on May 30th, I will move to Los Angeles!
In the meantime I’ve been pretty busy with said to-do list, mainly going through the stuff that I had in storage and a variety of other places. It’s unbelievable, the amount of crap a human being collects in just a few years. I must have thrown at least 80% away. And by throwing away I mean taking it to the salvation army of course. It feels good though, having all your belongings fit in three suitcases. But now all of that’s done, there’s time for reflection… Continue reading
First of all, thank you all so much for the sweet comments to the approval of my O1B! It’s really awesome to know that actual people with thoughts and not dry visitor numbers read this blog. Keeps me going! So yes, on May 2nd my O1B visa petition was approved after a long process that ensured the premature death of many trees and nerve cells alike. But the massacre doesn’t quite end there. There are several official things that have to be done after the approval, not to mention personal things. So for anyone that’s interested in what happens after the O1 approval – or what should happen – I thought I’d give a little look in my current to do list, starting with the official stuff… 
After years of blood, sweat and tears and about two weeks of nerves getting fried waiting to hear from immigration, I can now finally announce that my O1 visa has been approved! I cried for about half an hour when I found out, and in fact I’m crying again right now…. I’m an actress, what do you expect? Them is happy tears though, with maybe a pinch of bittersweetness. This has been my dream for as long as I can remember and I can’t wait to finally move on with my life and start this adventure!
Here’s something awesome: I filmed a short last week where I got to wear an 
First things first: my visa application has been sent off! That means within three weeks my fate will be decided. Hopefully anyway. If there’s anything I learned from the visa process it’s that things always take longer than anticipated. Or maybe I’m overly optimistic in my planning. Either way, within the next month I will surely know a lot more about what my future looks like than I do now. In the meantime, I’ve been thinking a lot about “image.”
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: despite rumours of everyone being fake and out for themselves in Los Angeles, I’ve met some of the most genuine, kind and giving people there. Samba Schutte is one of them. (Yup, that’s Samba and not Thriller era Michael Jackson.) Samba is a Dutch-Mauritanian Actor who moved to Los Angeles on an O-1B visa a few years ago. He is now a regular at The World Famous Comedy Store and recently played the lead in the film Haleema that premiered at the Berlinale Film Festival.
Newsflash: there’s been this financial crisis going on in the world. A recession. I’m sure you’re aware as not even children in the slums of India could avoid gaining this little piece of knowledge. I don’t personally join the doom and gloom apocalyptic attitude about it but I do notice its effects in my daily life. Obviously there are people losing jobs and struggling to keep businesses. However, as an actress I can’t help but notice something that while sad, also puts things in a refreshing perspective.
