Hey, it’s Barb.

If you’re not sure how you got here, I don’t know what to tell you—but the exit can be found via CTRL + W or CMD + W.

I’m just another Canadian who has called New York home for the past decade.

During the day, I work to provide business intelligence on the advertising market to large media and tech companies the unbiased expertise they need to make strategic sales and marketing decisions. Before that, I’ve handled digital marketing and sales for the likes of N.Y.U., National Geographic, and Disney.

During my off hours, I handle good chunk of operations and marketing for the century-old NYC mainstay Nom Wah.

What’s with the interest in US immigration policy?

With what I’ve told you (or from what you’ve gleaned on my LinkedIn), it’s pretty apparent why I’m so vested in the hospitality and tech/media industries.

But immigration? Not so clear until you understand my personal experiences with US immigration in the 21st century . I’ll write more on my experiences and the topic at large over time, but in gist, here are a few examples of my run-ins with the system:

• Got passed over on jobs because so many US companies are not interested in the additional paperwork (never mind the expenses)

• Lost the H-1B lottery 3x (including a bonus round: Masters cap edition)—do not let me pick your Powerball numbers

• Have a Masters degree only because it was a Hail Mary shot to stay in the country without having to leave and start over

• Spent time talking through at least three lawyers to take me on, hammering hard my case for TN status after losing the the H-1B lottery for the 3rd time

• Been kept outside the US border at one point because CBP wasn’t thrilled with something being in the wrong place for my TN application

• Finagled a path to permanent residency without getting married, but with a TN status

• Wrote to my local congressperson (yes, it really works) because I was about to lapse in status while waiting on parole, which was incredibly backlogged due to USCIS’ 2017 move to mandate interviews for employment-base green cards

What is a chortle?

I’ve been asked by quite a few people and always respond in excitement when I get to tell someone the definition of the word: a chortle is a hearty and gleeful chuckle.

My use of the word stems from me wanting to make an Instagram account for the stuffed animal that I bring on all my travel adventures. I just thought it sounded good at the time with the dental consonants. Thanks to grade eleven English for hammering these literary devices into my brain.

And the extra chortle? It’s my self-deprecating humour, chuckling at myself for hoping that you, dear potential reader, will subscribe to hear what I have to say.

What can I expect from reading your newsletter?

Chortle Chortle comes out biweekly or monthly (depends on how much extra time I have), mostly after I gather all the digital Post-Its (AKA tweets) and turn it into something semi-coherent.

Anything else?

I try to get into online fights here, take terrible pictures here, and document my rigs for you to purchase via affiliate links here.

(Photo credit: An Rong Xu)