So, I'm pretty stoked. Tomorrow I will go get my citizenship. Yay!! I'll go do the entire ceremony of getting sworn into the country, pledging my allegiance to the flag, and all that good stuff. Let's hope there's not a problem like there was the last time tried this. Last time, Columbia, SC forgot to send my files to Greenville. This time I'm going to Columbia, so there shouldn't be an issue.

I know, I know. I should have done this sooner -- like 23 years ago sooner.

But you know, at the time, I wasn't certain I wanted change my citizenship.

-- Alright, please hold off on throwing the tomatoes until after I explain.

Most Americans don't understand how it feels to hold citizenship in another country. You are patriotic about your country, right? Well, keep in mind that maybe those of us born to another country may share that same patriotism to the country of our birth. Nothing wrong with that, is there?

But I wasn't certain I wanted to be an American citizen and make it official. It wasn't until 9/11 happened that I realized, "Damn, this is MY country." The hurt, confusion, anger, feeling of loss, fear -- all those feelings that resulted from the attack on our country made me realize what a fool I've been and how deep my feelings really run for America. I am an American. And I'll have the paperwork to prove it come tomorrow!

I actually wanted to get all this done before the elections. If Columbia had sent my files like they were supposed to, I would have gotten this over with and been able to vote. But since the elections turned out the way I wanted it to anyways . . .

Alright, I won't get into that and open up another can of worms. I'm already hiding from the tomatoes being tossed.

I'll update on my status as soon as I can.

And for the record, it's not cheap to become an American. The going rate to apply now is sitting at a cool $675. And that's with no guarantee that your application will be approved either. Yikes! And also, it's been almost 2 years since the date of my inital application for naturalization. And you thought getting your passport was a hassle!