Thinking of forming an Overthinkers Anonymous. Let the overthinking begin!
It occurred to me today, as it has occurred to me many times in the past, that much of my stress is self-inflicted. Give me the tiniest germ of a thought and I will overthink it to smithereens. And while I am overthinking, I will think of myself overthinking and overthink my overthinking. It is a mental condition, I think. One may argue that I overthink for a living, but it does make life unnecessarily difficult.
Take today. I am going to Korea for the A5N tournament that starts late May but I am going to London next week and will be away for a couple of weeks. When I get back I’d have to rush my Korean visa application. What if I don’t get it on time? Okay, I’ll get it before I go to London. But what if I don’t get it by next week, I can’t fly without a passport aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa overthink overthink.
The Korean visa takes 3 days (If you have US/UK/Aus/NZ visas and have been to Korea before. Otherwise it takes 5 days).
According to the Korean embassy website, you can only submit visa applications on weekdays from 9 to 11 am. Noooooo I’ll have to wake up early! What if I don’t wake up on time? I set every alarm in the house for 8:30 am.
I woke up at 7:30. In fact, I woke up every 3 hours to check the time, overthink overthink.
The Korean embassy is at McKinley Hill. I have no idea where that is. The maps on the net were not much help. What if the cabbie didn’t know where McKinley Hill is! It’s hard enough to get a cab when everyone is on the way to the office, but try finding a taxi driver who knows where McKinley Hill is. I live in Makati, and I’ve had to direct cabbies to Edsa! And then the crawl through traffic etc etc. . .
The cabbie knew where it was. We were there in 10 minutes. Would’ve been sooner if it weren’t so far.
According to the information I had, the visa application cost USD 30. That’s about Php 1300. Noooooo I only had P1700 in my wallet, what if the cab fare cost over P200 and the embassy uses a higher exchange rate! Aaaaaaaaaaaa would there be ATMs in the vicinity?
There are many ATMs in the area, the cab fare was P120, and the Korean visa is free.
Yes, you read it right. For a visit of less than 60 days your Korean visa is free.
As you can see, I nearly caused my own head to implode from stress. (This is an abstract by the way, I overthought many, many other non-essential details.) So on the ride home from the embassy—the entire application process took 10 minutes—I thought of forming Overthinkers Anonymous.
Membership would be full even before the formal launch—there’s a reason my friends and I are friends. First we will overthink the name “Overthinkers Anonymous”. Someone will argue that “overthink” is not a proper word, and someone else will express a dislike for compound words. Inevitably someone will wonder out loud whether forming an Overthinkers Anonymous is not in itself a form of overthinking.
April 27th, 2011 at 11:52
is it wimbledon time again? have fun in london and korea!
i do get these moments and it’s not fun when other overthinkers are not synchornized with your moments of overthinking. you end up wanting to strangle each other while waiting for each other to reach equilibrium at the Goal. does that make sense? haha.
all i can say is.. sometimes overthinking makes the journey to the goal more enjoyable.. though we wouldn’t know it while it’s happening! if goals were given to us without obstacles we wouldn’t appreciate them so much..
btw personally, i don’t think you can overthink a visa application! i’ve had several unhappy episodes about it, but once that thing is in my passport, i go out and buy halo-halo with whoever i’m with! the pain’s gone and i can leave the airport without hassle again..
April 27th, 2011 at 12:05
Count me in! No, wait. But then, I suppose I can go ahead and… Hmmm, let me think about it.
April 27th, 2011 at 13:08
I love the idea! Overthinkers Anonymous, OA for short.
April 27th, 2011 at 14:18
Is the Korean Embassy that building that looks like a giant nuclear testing facility/bunker?
I am, however, the opposite: procrastination is a way of life for me.
April 27th, 2011 at 17:14
i agree jessica. i also tend to overthink. i mull about everything i do. i suspect i have obessive compulsive behavior but will never consider drug treatments. perhaps, it will be helpful to relieve stress from overthinking by getting together with people who are in the same boat.
and yes, you are right that overthinkers cause their own stress most times. we can’t help it. cheers!
April 27th, 2011 at 17:16
oo libre lang pag 60-day visit visa. ambilis ng lodgement at ambilis din ng pag claim ng passport. at hindi OA ang mga guardia sa paligid ng embassy nila. galing ng lahi nina jumong at jang geung!
April 27th, 2011 at 17:52
hahahaha! overthinking..analysis paralysis..sometimes goes with irrationality and exaggeration..we sometimes end up doing nothing..
hi saffy! nice coat..
April 27th, 2011 at 18:08
I’ll be joining the chorus here in wishing you a great time in London and Korea! (And, hey, we’re both leaving the country next week – I’m flying out to Auckland on Monday.)
I totally hear you on the visa application process, too. I was freaked out to the max when I applied for both my NZ and Oz visas on the same day; I’d already over-thought all of the things that I was supposed to write, submit, etc., and yet I was still jumpy when I got to the processing center. Even then, I had every reason to freak out afterwards because I forgot to give them my old passports to prove that I’ve traveled before!
It’s funny, because the visa application process for those countries are actually stress-free compared to the US Embassy (where, no matter which visa you apply for, you can never over-think enough) and yet I was still jumpy for two months. It wasn’t until my passport came back to me – with both visas stamped in, one week after the other – that I stopped over-thinking everything. Surprisingly, my travel agency was easy to deal with, so even the snafus at their end did not freak me out as much.
Then I started packing, and… well, 23-kg baggage weight limit + strict customs regulations for both countries + the inevitable suitcase full of pasalubong for my cousins in Auckland, complete with dried mangoes = more overthinking! But I got over it by having a notebook full of to-do lists (what to pack, who to call, when to start my roaming charges) and taking it one step at a time, knowing that I’ll have my a$$ covered as soon as I leave for NAIA.
So yeah – have fun, and don’t forget to treat yourself to a nice cold frosty halo-halo (or any other treat of choice) once you’re finished. It can be done.
April 27th, 2011 at 18:11
Don’t get me started on overthinking.
April 27th, 2011 at 18:12
Ejia: Yes, that’s the Korean Embassy – it’s on McKinley Hill, not too far from the British Embassy. You can see both from C-5, too.
Tehanu: Same deal with the NZ visa, too – it’s free if you’re only visiting for less than 60 days. Yung Australia ang mas mabusisi. Haller, I’m only going to be in Sydney for four days, tapos hihingian pa ninyo ako ng manager’s check? At least their processing times were swift, though.
April 27th, 2011 at 19:09
Man, I’m sure it will be quite hard coming up with Overthinkers Anonymous’ Twelve Steps.
April 27th, 2011 at 20:28
hah! I can totally relate!
April 28th, 2011 at 00:30
Stellalehua:
NZ – ganun ba?!? thanks for the info. subukan ko nga. hehe nag-iipon ako ng ‘tatak’ sa passport before i apply for an entry visa to my dream destination—–RUSSIA!
OZ – na-refuse yung unang visa application ko (tourist) kase daw wala akong approved leave from work and i have very strong ties in australia (huh?) at may risk na di na’ko bumalik. sinubukan ko business visa, ayun na-grant.
April 28th, 2011 at 00:44
Enjoy your London and Korea trips!!!
I didn’t know the Korean embassy transferred from Pacific Plaza at Makati Ave to far-flung McKinley Hill?
Ooohhh an Overthinkers Anonymous support group. I like!
April 28th, 2011 at 01:28
Yeah, the Korean embassy was a LOT easier to access when it was still at Pacific Star Bldg. in Makati (where I got my first visa). Now it’s in Taguig and doesn’t make sneaking out of the office that easy anymore. :(
Where do we sign up for Overthinkers Anonymous? While I don’t over-think about visa applications, I’m OC when it comes to things to pack: weight considerations, and what sort of clothes and stuff I need to bring. (Sweater? No. Jacket? Yes. … wait… baka sobrang lamig doon. Sweater, mmmaybe… Laptop? Yes. (think weight & security issue) No. (think ease of access to the internet.) Teka…)
Uy! Can I tag along to Korea? I already have visa – my supposed trip last week got cancelled and I’m in the process of picking out a new date for my travel para hindi masayang ang visa bago mag-expire. I’d gladly join with the cheering and help with the game coverage – will photograph and video for you. :)
@stellalehua: Manager’s check?! Ngek. Para saan daw? Hay, sana hassle-free free ang application ko for Oz and NZ visas. (Nag-o-OT na rin.)
“First we will overthink the name “Overthinkers Anonymous”
– will it be just “Overthinkers Anonymous” (OA) or “Overthinkers Anonymous – Philippines” (OTAP)? How about “Philippine Overthinkers Association?” :)
April 28th, 2011 at 03:58
“Men, they think about it, thought about it, movin’ on” –Wanda Sykes
http://comedians.jokes.com/wanda-sykes/videos/wanda-sykes—additional-thoughts
:)
April 28th, 2011 at 07:21
huha! i am being paid to do this. this does not sound right at all T___T
April 28th, 2011 at 10:59
i’m glad i’m not alone!! my friends tell me that i almost always overanalyze things. “stressed ka na niyan?” “nagpapanic ka na?”
April 28th, 2011 at 11:36
Haha. Whenever I plan to purchase a new gadget, I create excel spreadsheets with comparative prices per store, with columns per feature, and whether this or that item has it.
April 28th, 2011 at 11:48
Tehanu: Yep, ganoon. My passport was brand new with no stamps on it whatsoever, so it was hard to prove to the NZ embassy that I have traveled everywhere else *and* studied in the US for quite a while. Needless to say, kumita ng katakot-takot ang Netopia sa amin because I had to email scanned copies of every single stamp and visa in my old passports. And Australia is super-strict with regards to the approved leave from work, too. If I hadn’t told my case-workers at both embassies that I was a teacher and my trip coincided with the break, I would’ve gone through the trouble for that notice as well.
bella_luna: Yep, you read that right – P4,700 ($105 in AUD) just for the processing fee alone, and it has to be paid through a manager’s check issued to the Australian Embassy. (At least the courier fees can be paid with cash!) I think it has something to do with certain agreements between countries; NZ has this deal with our government which enables them to waive the processing fee for tourists visiting for less than 60 days.
There are some plus sides, though. The NZ and Oz visas are processed through the same office of the VIA Center in Makati (www.via.ph – free plugging!) – you can drop in at any time as soon as you have all of your paperwork, and the evaluation process goes by in a flash. Plus the Filipino agents in charge of your paperwork are nice and patient, nothing like the uptight federal employees at the US Embassy. And just in case the VIA folks miss anything from your application, the embassies also have Filipino case workers who can contact you to follow up on your application.
Hehe, OTAP. Makabili nga mamaya ng otap…
April 29th, 2011 at 05:50
i definitely will not be counted as a member of this club. as a minimalist, i don’t over think. in fact, i sometimes force myself to sleep so that i don’t have time to think things through
April 30th, 2011 at 00:37
@stellalehua: omaigudness, madugo! (sigh) Anyway, thanks for the tip re: VIA. Will check that out. ;)
@Qsdn: I do that too! I also make spreadsheets of my budget in case I choose to pay for the gadget on installment basis – which often causes me to postpone the purchase.
April 30th, 2011 at 04:06
it’s a medical condition in my case.
i can’t stop overthinking.
April 30th, 2011 at 07:53
“Let it go” or “Drop it”, basic catchphrases.
On the lighter side, it’s not that bad to overanalyze on things, since sometimes, it gives us more stuff to think about it, making all the thinking process worthwhile. Anyway, as long as you don’t over worry, or being disturbed with disquieting thoughts, like the earth’s rapture together with all its gory details, it’s all good! (Defensive? Reasonable? Denial? What?!?) LOL