green light

It's here! The visa is here! Well, ok, the USPS slip saying a delivery from the Syrian Embassy was attempted is here. But I think this is enough cause for celebration. The trip is a go!

UPDATE: visa successfully retrieved from the local post office. It's remarkably non-descript for something that's been causing me so much worry. But who cares about aesthetics, I've got it and can now say for (insh'allah) certain that I'm going to Syria a week from Monday.