US Embassy

We were told by my HR department that we needed to go to the US Consulate to obtain a Certificate of Non-Marriage in order to process our visas. Apparently we are the first non-married couple that they have moved over from the States. Matthew and I were honestly a little excited to walk over to the Embassy and see what it was like. It's on the other side of town in the Museumplein, a very beautiful part of the city. We woke up early and headed off not really knowing exactly where it was, but found it easily enough by the big American flag. I guess in the recent past there have been some protests around the building so they have constructed these huge iron gates all around it with police presence. Pretty intimidating. We rang an intercom and needed to wait to be escorted in, bags searched and got the metal detector wand. The guard then walked us into the this little tiny vestibule where we had to claim our phones, camera, bags etc... Both of us took a peek inside and saw the crowds of people thinking this was worse than the Secretary of State or the DMV at lunchtime. Thankfully enough we got to go to a different line for our information. It didn't take long, basically paid $60 to fill out a form stating neither of us has ever been married and took an oath saying all of the information was true.
Moving into the apartment on Monday. Can't wait!

I'll just add my 2 or 3 cents, to Maureen's post:
-Approaching the US Consulate, we noticed the flag was at half-mass, is that for James Brown or Gerald Ford?
I'd like to think it was for the "Godfather", but I have my doubts.

-In the waiting area, there were some interesting posters.
One was for "Explore West Virginia".
Not to offend anyone from the great state of West Virginia.
I was just like, is this poster really going to drum up tourism, placed in Amsterdam?

Another poster caught our eye, the text read "Catch The Spirit", and the picture was of an Native American.
You can connect the dots, just seemed strange to me.

-Continuing on the American theme for the day.
I had lunch at McDonald's.
No a "Royale with Cheese" was not on the menu. Regardless of what "Pulp Fiction" has lead us to believe.
It tasted like the same crap as back home, but hey I had to try.

Tonight we are going to our first European art opening!
Its at a place called Foam, and they are showing crime scene photos from the Amsterdam police department.
Damn, I should have done something with the crime photos from my photo lab days.

One other item of note,
I've got a job interview already. Its at another ad agency in town, started by former W+K employees.
If I get it, Maureen and I will be working at rival agencies. Let the fireworks begin!
Kidding, they have a very good relationship with each other.