MeghanIsMe

Someone in a group I'm in, asking about joining a subgroup specifically for Canada, posted "I requested to join Canada some time ago, is there something else I need to do?"

I read that and originally thought it was actually a post, possibly a joke one, in an immigration community, and just thought "Yeah, you and me both, my friend!"

I have no news on immigration since early September, when I got a notice that I was qualified to use certain pre-arrival services, which I actually mostly can't use because they are intended for people outside of Canada. I submitted my application for permanent residency in April and typical processing time exceeds a year, so I'm not worried. Just...impatient to have little things like medical coverage and the legal right to work.

My Canadian therapist didn't realize that there isn't a system in place to cover medical expenses for people who aren't covered by provincial healthcare systems. This seems like a big thing to not be aware of, but I suppose if you've never dealt with anyone in that position, it wouldn't come up? I talked about concern over the financial repercussions of hospitalization being one of the reasons I continue to isolate myself, though I wasn't actually sure how much something like that would end up costing me.

As a means to reduce uncertainty, she suggested I look into that this week, so I did. In SK, an out patient hospital visit would run $1350, a day surgery visit $4500, and further charges would be applicable if admission is necessary. Those prices are in CAD, so it's still probably cheaper than the US, but still not something we need to deal with.

I got my blood drawn, urine sampled, and chest x-rayed for immigration today. That's the last of the medical stuff if I understand correctly. Unless they need to follow up on something.

I felt really positive about the x-ray tech. I don't know if she went by the earrings and trans flag button on my purse, or if she just asks everyone, but she asked if I was ok taking my shirt off for the x-ray. That little bit of care really makes a difference.

We've decided the best thing for me to do at my immigration medical exam tomorrow is to fully disclose that I am on HRT as an mtf person. It is not supposed to cause any problems with the processing of the application, and if it somehow comes out later that I did not fully disclose my prescription meds, that definitely could be an issue.

But I don't like it, and I am pretty scared about tomorrow. And beyond the fear of the actual interaction, I'm scared that transphobes in the bureaucracy will find excuses to disqualify applications from people like me.
Some information on immigration for queer folks here: https://dfimmigration.ca/2021/06/07/a-guide-to-the-unique-challenges-of-lgbtq-spousal-or-common-law-sponsorship-applications/

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I took a 10 mile ride today and am pretty wiped out. I decided to go out half an hour and turn around. Coincidentally, getting to the dog park took right around 29:20. I stopped there to catch my breath and look at cute dogs playing, then came home.

https://www.strava.com/activities/7606265240

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Danae told me today that our mortgage broker wants proof that we paid our rent for the last year. "Well we're still living here," I said. "We haven't been evicted." Danae observed that that probably won't be sufficient. And I realize that people can basically squat in homes and it's legally *really* hard to get them out sometimes. But more generally, I don't understand why the mortgage broker needs all this additional stuff (she asked for cell phone contracts, for example, which neither of us have) now. She needed a letter from the UofR stating Danae's employment information as well, even though she had originally said the offer letter was fine. Shouldn't she have gotten all our information before deciding we couldn't get pre-approved?

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On the plus side, all of today was made better this morning. I laid down and Ella spontaneously nestled into the crook of my arm and looked up at me, and it just made my whole day, which was starting on kind of a down note, so much better.