Worry Warts

Generally I think I am a pretty healthy worrier. I worry when it is productive; I find it helpful to worry when it makes you get things done, prepares you better for a test or propels you to ask the right questions. I would even say that I tend to not be cautious enough at times, as countless friends of mine and family members find me to lean a bit too much on the trusting side, or the forgiving side.

But to be honest, I like that about myself. I like that my free time is not consumed by worries, grief and stress. I like that my first reaction is to trust someone and accept them rather than assume they are out to get me. I like that the majority of the time I am propelled by my instincts and not so much by a systematic analysis of a given situation. I am not sure if this is something I have learned or if it is something that was already instilled in me, but over all, I am really happy with the lack of fretting that goes on in my life. Que será, será.

But this work permit situation seems to be getting the best of me. I feel like the longer I wait to hear from Utlendingsdirektoratet (UDI), or The Norwegian Directorate of Immigration, the more worried I become about the result of my work application results. There are a few things in particular that really worry me:

1. There is this nasty little paragraph on the UDI website that explicitly says that those that are looking to work in Norway that are NOT members of the EU or of EU affiliated countries, have to apply to the Norwegian consulate within their country of origin first. Lars clued me into this before I left the States, but I thought that it was best to apply that way--that it was recommended, not obligatory. And honestly, I would have had to go to San Francisco which wasn't really in the pre-moving across the world budget, if you know what I mean.

2. There is another, and almost equally as nasty snippet, that details that workers from outside the EU will only be employed if they are bringing something to the table that no one else is offering. It basically implies that unless you have some kind of unique trade or intellectual skill, there is no need for UDI to grant you a work permit. Do we think working in a cafe with minimal Norwegian skills meets these requirements? Hmmm....maybe in my dreams.

3. I have already been working, and quite a bit actually. I need the money from all these hours that I have earned! I have probably earned almost $4,000 so far and haven't seen one penny. And next week I am scheduled to work 5 days, and will most likely be working 6! Don't get me wrong--so far so great with this job--but how the heck am I going to get paid if my application gets denied? I am sure that I will be able to work something out, but here it is just the unknown that is feeling heavy on my shoulders. And my boss has also been asking me when I expect to hear something because he also needs the permit to go through so he can properly pay taxes.

Blegh. There are a lot of things that I am anxious about. Everyday I am checking the mailbox like a fool hoping and hoping and hoping that there will be some news in there to settle my mind.
I really got my hopes up the other day when I saw an official envelope with my name on it!

But guess who it was from? My loan collector! Ain't that a bitch?