Karyn
ALL the nurses?    Even the (insert non-gender preference here) ones?

probably.  I'm awful. 

Did they find Jimmy Hoffa? 

Then you ought to get a Windows computer and suffer like the rest of us.
Then you can get X3 and look at the what the heck is it that I just bought compared to Sonar 7 which is what I am used to software.
 
It has played a Sonar 7 song I was working on better than the 32 bit version it is, but then.....................
I am not sure but I may need to be docked. (and suffer some more I guess).
 
 
 

rain - went through all that myself...
 
US banks will not use a Canadian credit report.  So everything is hard to come by, credit cards mortgages etc.  Then once you are established everybody wants to give a credit card, 2nd mortgage, home equity, etc.
 
Part of me wishes I had stayed cash only  (of course buying on the inter-webs without a credit card is tough...)
 
JR

Sounds like good things are rolling your way, Rain. Happy for you. The green card means a different checkbox in your NSA file is now checked and maybe that black van will disappear from across the street.
 
But dude, really. Six cats? Oh, you think they're your friends, but you know that if you were to die there they'd eat you over the weekend.

So have you decided what you're going to do job wise?

Getting your green card is great, but in actual fact you'd be surprised how much you can do without one. I lived in the US for 3 years "in the shadows" before I got mine. But I got around a lot of stuff by setting up in business. The IRS is basically a back door into the system. You don't need a green card to get a tax ID and start paying taxes, and once you get a tax ID you can apply for an EIN (employer ID), register a business with the state, become an agent to collect sales tax, run a proper payroll and withhold employee taxes. You can open up business accounts with banks, cellphone providers etc. I was in the weird position of having to demand employees fill out an I9 to prove they were legal, even though I wasn't technically legal myself. Good old USA! Nowhere like it.

All this notwithstanding, it certainly is a great relief to get your papers and become fully legal. So much easier to rent an apartment, and for all you can do with that EIN, the one thing you can't do is get a DRIVER'S LICENSE!

Sounds like things are definitely on the up, must be exciting times! Good for you.

Sounds like all good news.  Congrats on all of it. 
 
P.S.  Whatever you do, don't get a Rhodesian Ridgeback--unless you want to get rid of the cats.   

Thanks guys and girls. :)
 
Technically, we were ready to become parents all the way back in January, but there were a couple of health related set backs for my wife. I also figured it was worth getting tested earlier than later, so we'd at least have that covered.
 
JR - Exactly. We learned it the hard way when we bought our first car (because, you NEED a car in Vegas). Fortunately this all settled down, and we've traded in the Jeep for a better one w/ much better financing options. And we have great credit now.
 
SpaceAlf - New iMac means I could technically run Windows on Bootcamp on my MacBook, though at this point, I'm not sure why I would, except to re-open a few songs which were saved as Cakewalk Bundle files. Probably not worth it.
 
Sharke - I've been working intensively on my portfolio and have made a few contacts, and that's something I'd like to pursue. Writing for film, tv, circus acts, etc... I'm lucky enough not to be under financial stress for the moment, so I can work on doing something I want to do, even though it takes a bit more time and doesn't pay big bucks immediately. Then there's the live gigs with my wife. And I've been toying with the idea of applying for Cirque myself...
 
But mostly, our life revolves around my wife's career - it always has, and I've always been the "flexible" one, even when it meant leaving a very lucrative job behind to follow her at a time where I was the one w/ the stable income. 
 
Her job is unique and very demanding - there aren't many acrobatic singers out there, and those probably aren't working 10 shows a week AND training every day. So I ended up being the housewife, making sure that she never needed worry about chores or even just prepare a cup of tea. 
 
Since I couldn't legally work, that's how things worked out, me making sure that from the minute she walked in here, she could simply relax. And as we started talking about having a family of our own, it was implicit that I'd be the stay-at-home dad, working little gigs from home here and there.
 
I guess I could have tried and find a way to make a few bucks, but it just wasn't worth it. I prefer to abide to the rules, especially when we can afford to, and since Cirque takes care of everything, I didn't want to mess things up.
 
 
 
YIKES!! Wife just walked in and said - we're off to the Mac Store!! :) :) :) Hope they have one for me there!

It's New Gear Day!