This is just a blogpost to say

I'M SO BORED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Monday morning

1st update:  our medicals have been delivered to Sydney to be processed, after which they'll get sent to Adelaide (immi dept), and then we wait to hear what the verdict is.  The case officer might request further information, but judging from everyone on the forums' impressions, it's unlikely that they'd ask for anything after they've requested PCCs and medicals.
SO WE WAIT!!
In other news, our river rafting trip has been postponed/put on hold due to a bit of a hiccup with people's leave etc.  So we are waiting to hear when we can go.
And in other news:  I'm happily racing down to the finish line with Golden Ice.  I have about 4 colours left to do (I've put them in order of quantity of stitches left).  I've run out of thread of the 4th last of the colours and can't finish it until I've bought more, other than that I'm about halfway through what is left of the 3rd last colour.  He's looking good.  This evening, most probably, we're going to the mall that has a thread-shop so I'll pick up the colour then.  Then I'm safely on the homestretch!  Wow, can't believe it.  I'm so amped, cos he's looking so good, AND I'm super-amped to start Wedding Blessing.  It looks so fun and 'light' compared to Golden Ice as it is a design as opposed to a picture (less of the fabric is covered compared to Warpony, Heremia and Golden Ice).  It'll be a good break before tackling Gentle Strength, whose ENTIRE expanse of fabric will be covered with stitches!
There is something that I'm hesitant to get excited about, but I feel it is worthy of blogging:
It might or might not be, but for now, it seems like THE HABSBURGS HAVE MOVED OUT!!  We saw the brat+his mother with a van+trailer (and accompanying guys), loading their couches and other items like breadbin, laundry basket, etc.  They drove away, and it's been silent since.  Their security gate is locked (they never lock it if they're home), and the neighbour on the OTHER side has been parking their car in the Habsburgs' bay... so!  We're HOPING AND PRAYING that it's true.  Who knows.  So, yesterday I MADE THE MOST of the fact and sat stitching with the window right next to me wide open, the bedroom windows were open ALL DAY (can you believe it!), and it was BLISSFUL!  I'm not getting my hopes up or counting the chickens and all that, but jeepers, it'd be amazing if it were the case!

Transition and thoughts

It's time for a ramble-pamble blogpost!

Our medicals were couriered off yesterday, they should arrive in a few days (Fridayish), and then it should take a few days for processing and sending to DIAC, and then we are completely at their mercy!

Time is slow.  It's a transition time.  G and I were chatting Monday about 'waiting' for a change in circumstances.  My point is that since we cannot enjoy where we are now (as in, living and working, and basically 'where' in life generally), we should wait and tolerate until we are in a better situation.  He says not to think of it as waiting.  My only consolation is that we're waiting and that this isn't how it'll be forever.
I recently discovered a new flavour of a type of chips we have here.  Simba Twistees - chicken flavour.  They taste EXACTLY THE SAME as Willards Flings did in the late 80s/early 90s.  The taste brought such a rush of memories!  Back in those days, when my sis and I were small, we'd go visit Gran.  In those days, it seemed like a long trip, but in reality it isn't far at all.  The skewing of distance-perception is perhaps caused by being small (when even the shortest wait is an eternity), having a very slow and sluggish diesel merc, and a father who did not believe in driving fast anyway even if the car was capable of high speeds (we never drove over about 100kmph, even on the freeway).
Anyway, we used to visit Gran, and on some occasions, we'd take Gran with us to the shopping mall near to her house.  In those days, it was more 'respectable' than it is now.  The place is very dingy and dirty nowadays.  In those days, however, it was exciting and we looked forward to going there.  There used to be a centre-court on the ground floor, with the floor above being opened above, and all the way around the railings above they used to have a racehorse themed display - the mall is close to a racecourse.  There used to be an amazing toy shop there, with EVERY kind of toy you could imagine, it even had a model-train set running in the window, if I recall correctly.
There also used to be a sweetshop there, a proper sweetshop, not a 'kaffee' like those we had at home.  When we went there, we usually got a prepacked selection of treats:  an animal-shaped plastic bottle of cooldrink, a straw filled with sugar (or was it sherbet?), a lollipop, a small bar of chocolate, a small packet of chips, and a few odd sweets in a little packet.  The chips were usually Willards Flings, and the flavour was so distinctive.  They are not flavoured now as they were then, but these Simba Twistees - wow!
Talking about those chips though, I am considering emailing the company that makes them, addressing their marketing department:  stereotyping IS NOT CUTE!
Putting messages on the packaging of products addressing MOMS! and telling them how, since they know how important it is that their family eats right/has clean clothing, they know how good the product is, IS NOT AMUSING!  It goes for any company, in fact, not merely food/cleaning products.  Do they not CARE that the world doesn't necessarily work in the archaic way that they picture it does?  There ARE in fact single men out there who eat breakfast too, and sometimes (gasp!) wash their own clothes!  Cooking and cleaning is not the exclusive domain of mothers.
There is a sauce we used on Friday - Knorr something or other.  On the back of each sachet (they were the same flavour - the other flavours had a different one) was an insipid 'tale', supposedly penned by a mother who was delighted when her kid came and showed her his tooth which had fallen out, while she was preparing sauce for supper.  Seriously, that sort of story is relevant to what percentage of the population exactly?  What has it got to do with cook-in sauce?  Would the packaging lose anything by NOT having a stereotyping message printed on it?  I doubt it.  Nestle earns my thanks (at least on a box of Multi-Grain Cheerios), because although they mention 'caring about your family's health', they don't imply that it is a mother's responsibility by addressing their packaging messages to mothers.  I am SURE that G and I are not alien in that he usually cooks and we both clean.  Seriously, can the world not move beyond stereotypes?  Isn't it a bit propagandaist?  A subversive way of normalising, by sending messages via a low-profile (and unmonitored?) sub-section of the media, the view that women are the ones who should be responsible for cooking and cleaning and looking after children?  It is perhaps time for a world-wide campaign against it...

Golden Ice progress

I've been working steadily over the past few days/weeks. There are only 4 colours remaining!

In other news: on Friday we went for our medicals and xrays. Xrays done in the morning, which get sent over to the panel doctors (for inclusion with the medical reports) and then medicals in the afternoon. I took the day off work. The medical exam was fine, even the blood test was alright, even though the needle hurt like hell when it was removed. But it all went fine, and the reports will be couriered off on Monday, I believe. They should reach Aus by Friday (or so), and then it takes approximately 2 weeks being processed by the health assessors, after which they get passed on to the Immigration Department for processing. So, any time AFTER the end of January will be 'wait and see' time. Eeeek!! Now the wait will be long!

PCCs etc

And.........
We now have our PCCs!!  The date on them is 07/01/2010, which means when (not if, WHEN!! heheh) we get the visas, we'll have until 6 January 2011 to activate them.
Medicals & xrays tomorrow, the reports of which should get to Aus by the end of the month.  THEN we wait!  WAIT WAIT WAIT!!  Eeek!!

It's been stinking hot the past few days, which has seriously been trying my patience.  I'm trying HARD not to be pissed off that we're essentially locked in like prisoners, but this heat is really making it difficult.  If it's cold, there's no need to have windows open, but with this heat, it's intolerable being locked inside with the windows shut.  I really am reaching the end of my tether.  I'm trying very hard.  I don't know how long I can keep trying.  I hate looking out our upstairs window, seeing everyone else in the complex with windows and doors open, and the back-yard of our neighbour on the other side all pretty and welcoming with fairy-lights and ground-level lighting and table+chairs and outdoorsy set-up.  Seeing it all is like a slap in the face.The fact that we are UNABLE TO enjoy just ONE window on that side open? ... I just... resent it.    Maybe I sound petty and jealous.  But the 'liberties' that are supposedly available to residents in our complex are not afforded to us.  What PISSES ME OFF about the whole damn thing is that A PERSON CANNOT COMPLAIN ABOUT A FUCKING SMOKER!!  Sorry, ma'am, your smoke is INTRUDING into our HOME!  How would a person be able to back up such a claim?  Preposterous!!  Sorry ma'am, your smoke ruins our enjoyment of our garden - haha seriously?  HAHAHAHAH.  Where are they, POOR PERSECUTED SMOKERS, supposed to smoke then... inside?  Seriously?!?  And endanger their child, and themselves, by suffocating themselves in a room of smoke?  Don't be ridiculous!!
So... I wish for cold weather, when it does not matter that we are unable to open windows.

Visa News part 2

Just an update, how awesome today has been:
Our PCCs are ready!!
Gonna organise for them to be collected, then YEEHAAA!
So, we'll have to enter Aus and activate our visas (when we get them.........................I'm not thinking 'if') by the end of this year - we don't know the date on the PCCs yet!

VISA NEWS!

We have a case officer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OMGOMGOMGOMG!!!!!!!!!!!!

G got the email this morning, and I've already made an appointment to go for medicals.  We can go for the xrays the same day, I'm going to put in leave so that I don't have questions about why I'm late in the morning and leaving early in the afternoon on a Friday.

OMG!!

I really am so damn excited I can hardly sit still.

So... all that we'll be waiting for, once we've done medicals, is our police clearance certificates.  They should be ready by the end of Jan... hopefully!  Omg!  That means we'll have to enter Aus to activate our visa before 1 year after the date of the Medicals (which is probably going to be the earlier of the 2, between medicals and PCCs) - so before Jan 2011.  G's gotta get a letter from his specialist... oh eek we have to have blood tests... yucky poo but EEEEK YAY!!!!

Yeehaaa!!!!!  A holiday to Aus!  Omg we're going to have a lot to do, gotta open bank accounts, etc etc etc.

Omg it's happening!!

Back at the saltmine

It is Wednesday today, part of a very dull week back at work.  Monday I got to work nice and before 8:30, and went to check hbbm's emails, only for the typist to come in and say "hi, happy new year! welcome back... the receptionist is on leave today".

Yayyyyyy!!
At least I survived, it was so boring and quiet I think only 2 phonecalls came in the entire day.  All 3 bosses are away and only back on Monday.
Yesterday was HOT!!!  Went out at lunch, met up with KW for burger+chips and OMG IT WAS SO HOT walking back to the office!
The evening was hot too, indoors downstairs at home was cooler but upstairs was an oven.  But we couldn't open the windows after it got dark because our lovely c*nt neighbours are HOME and FULLY BACK INTO THEIR USUAL.  Stinking the entire place out.
I KNOW I keep ranting about this, but seriously, we're locked in because of them.  I still wish they'd just die and emancipate the entire world from their presence.  It would be a better place.
It was nearly impossible to sleep last night, too, not because of the heat (we eventually were able to have the windows open, oh, at about midnight!!), but because someone's car/house alarm kept going off.  Loud, clear, and repeatedly.  And then, once that had shut up, the neighbours on the other side decided it's time to dismantle their umbrellas and deckchairs and put them away, at 2am.
Can't just stand at the upstairs window, with the windows open, elbows on the window-sill because they're there having supper/picnic/drinks out in their garden and it's like I'm spying on them.  Can't during the afternoon because of the Habsburgs and their stink.  Can't sit in the garden and enjoy the cool and quiet of the evening.  Can't sit indoors with the doors/windows open to let the cooler air IN.  Now, oh joy, we can't even have the OTHER side windows open without getting stink from the guy living on the OTHER side of the Habsburgs smoking outside his front door (the 'father' of the clan of runts who like playing around everyone's cars).
Can we ever enjoy living in our place?
Can we move out now, please?  Into a freestanding HOUSE with a GARDEN between us and everyone else?  With a GARAGE and fence so if there are people in our garden we CAN yell at them to sod off?  Is it really unrealistic to expect to enjoy your own home?  I don't think so.  Hopefully the visa hurries up so we can make plans and get started on our journey so that we can know in Aus what the outlook will be like so as to find a house-house instead of a flat/unit/townhouse blah.
ANYWAY!
I tried to stitch last night but wasn't in a great mood to get very far.

On an unrelated note, I have an idea, something to consider once in Aus.  A venture of sorts, but I won't go into detail now.  It's quite exciting, but something I'll have to be brave about - courageous, brave and determined.  I have to do research first, but it sounds cool.

GAWWWDDDD I'M SO BORED!!  I'm still sorting these damn drawings, I'm nearly done with the 1st job, then the guy whose filing I do has left me a SERIOUS PILE of filing.  Woot.  Then it's onto the 2nd job's drawings.  I cannot wait.

42 working days til the river rafting trip!!

Happy new year

It is, today, 2 January 2010. I wanted to blog yesterday, seeing as it was 01/01/2010 but got sidetracked by Gumtree.

A whole new year has begun. Our visa should happen sometime in the later half of the year... hope it all goes smoothly. Other than that, we have a river-rafting trip in March, which I CAN'T WAIT for. And we've got tickets to see Kelly Clarkson, also in March! What a month it's going to be!

And my work-plans... I can't really give notice (end Feb) and then take a week off in my notice-month, nor can I find a new job and start and straight away take a week off in my first month. So although I'm going to keep looking for a job, I'm not going to take a job which I'd have to start beginning of March... I'm hoping to give notice end of March and then start at a new place beginning of May.

The bonus of my having a new job is that I can then (hopefully) work until we are nearer to moving. I'd been 'holding out' for a full work period, ie 6 years, or 6.5 years (at my current company) but if I finish with them I'd still have about a year with another company, so I'd still be working (ie, no large span of 'unemployment' to explain to prospective employers in Aus), and still earning money (to go towards savings, for the move, etc).

I know things don't always work out how we'd like, but that's what I'm hoping for.

That's the plans-y things, now for 'news' etc: the past couple of weeks, I've been seeing a large, bright-green grasshopper in our garden. Then, one day, he* disappeared - I found the exoskeleton which he'd shed, but couldn't find him. I thought he'd been eaten or left our garden, until I found him again - he's now a large, brown locust.



The difference between grasshoppers and locusts, if I understand correctly, is that some species of grasshoppers have the ability to 'transform' in certain circumstances and form swarms, others do not; the 'swarming' species are called locusts. So we have a locust in our garden, but as far as I can tell, he's in a 'solitary' phase, and hopefully he won't go into the 'gregarious' stage and find swarm-mates!

We've made a step in the 'media-centre' direction by removing our TV from its cavity in the wall-unit. We've put G's computer (the same one I used for scanning all the photos) into that cavity and hooked it up to my hifi. We now have a music centre! All of our CDs are now ripped to that machine, so we have DAYS AND DAYS of music at our fingertips, ready to be enqueued in Winamp. Yeehaa!

I've also been stitching a lot, and I've been getting a very stiff shoulder. Golden Ice is coming along wonderfully and the end is in sight, sorta. I'm nearly done with the top-left quarter of the design, then all I have left is the bottom-left quarter!

Thankfully the Wedding Blessing kit is smaller than Golden Ice, so I should have it a bit easier by not having to hold up this massive Q-Snap-framed piece of work. J (in the US) reminded me that there ARE actually stitching frames out there which allow you to sit on the couch and stitch, which sounds super-blissful right about now! I'm thinking that it'll be something to pursue once we're in Aus. No point forking out $$$ to get a frame shipped out to SA only to have to cart it over with us when we move. And hopefully I'll manage the Wedding Blessing cross-stitch without it, and won't have the time to start a new cross-stitch until we're in Aus... let's see!

In other news, in Diablo 2 (LOD expansion, in case anyone is wondering) I managed (finally!) to kill Mephisto! Once I'd upped my lightning resistance kit, I was able to catch him across a canal and bash him with my psychic-hammer skill.

Then I raced through Act 4, battling with the 'fallen angel' guy (who was dreadful and super-life-powered so it took a LOT of clicking to kill him)... then I got into the 'Chaos room' where there were 5 seals to activate (to release Diablo), and 3 semi-bosses to kill. They were ok except for one, who ran so quickly I hardly stood a chance - only by running around and around the outside of a room, isolating his minions and killing them one by one, was I able to get him by himself and kill him. Then, Diablo appeared... it took a few attempts but I managed!! My assistant-chickie died about a hundred times, costing me 7200 gold coins each time to resurrect her, but in the end, I managed to kill Diablo rather easily compared to the fallen-angel-guy. I'm now in Act 5, waiting to start off on my first quest there.

Bleh, work starts on Monday. I haven't missed it. The only good thing about is that the bosses are all (apparently) on leave until the following Monday!

Anyway, let me leave y'all with a message for the new year: this one is going to be an interesting, eventful year (not even including the Soccer World Cup)! Bring it on! Here's to a fulfilling year, with everything working out how it should, or even better!

~*~

* He/she. Insects and other 'weird' critters seem to gain the male gender. Not sure why, but millipedes, grasshoppers, snakes, caterpillars, flies, etc, all seem to get the pronoun 'he'. He's quite large, about 8 or so centimetres... so he might well be a female!

Golden Ice update

Golden Ice progress!

I haven't blogged for a long time, well, long for me. I've been on leave and ENJOYING MYSELF for a change!!

I don't feel like talking about work now, just that it's boring and I don't feel like going back!! I've been chilling, stitching, playing Diablo, just chilling :)

Anyway, let me leave it at that... here's Golden Ice!

3 working days left

I have 3 working days left until I'm on 3 weeks' leave. God I can't wait. This miserable fucking place is driving me to distraction.

Today I was receptionist the whole day cos Madam was off sick - it gave me a brief respite from those damn drawings (still got about 100 to fold).

I'm just so tired of the place, the misery that sinks in after so long without actually having fun. There's hardly ever a 'light moment', everyone's so bored and autopilot if not busy-to-death.

2 colleagues' wives had babies recently (as in, last week/this week). The one guy was off from work today, and I heard the 1 director talking to hbbm about it, apparently the guy had taken the rest of the week off and would only be back on Monday. The typist informed me after I overheard the bosses that BOTH of the guys had TOLD the bosses of the probability of the birth/s happening ahead of time or after the holidays. But, boss(-turd)'s response (talking to hbbm)? OOZING SARCASM 'didn't you know, it's now the norm to take a week off paternity leave' and 'what's he staying home for? She's going to have to look after both of them (this is colleague's second baby) at SOME stage!'. Utter, despicable OOZING SLIMY SARCASM. I felt so angry I wanted to stand up and yell 'WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU, ASSHOLE! Just because YOU hate YOUR wife and don't LIKE YOUR KIDS doesn't mean this colleague's in the same pity-boat as you!!!!'. Just because HE doesn't particularly enjoy HIS life doesn't mean the rest of us HAVE NO LIVES!!!

Jesus Christ in a Handbasket! I seriously don't know what is wrong with that guy! The utter lack of compassion, no, not even compassion, just the acknowledgement that the people working here are actual living beings with existence OUTSIDE of this morgue!!

I really need to get out of here!!! God I'm trying! I've been browsing the online job ads, applied for some, no results yet. I seriously (yes I've said it before many times) need to get out of here.

Travelbug!!

How is it possible that something like a travelbug can grab you so forcefully?

 

IT'S CRAZY!

 

Just browsing the tiny bit of internet we're allowed (our mailboxes), I saw a banner ad for viewing celebs' travel-wear.  And OMG I WANT TO GO ON HOLIDAY!!!!

 

I guess it's partly because of the 'eagerness' to actually move to Aus (or at least, to have some movement on our application so we can start prepping ourselves for the move), but mostly I think it's the 'without-a-care-in-the-world-apart-from-me-and-my-destination' feeling.

When you travel, you really are relieved of all mundane responsibility, and get to be responsible merely for your own travel, experiences, plans, purchases.  It's like a cocoon, of selfishness, I suppose, where nothing else matters and you feel cameraderie towards other travellers because they also are in their own cocoon, enjoying their own travel-holiday too, and you're all free to explore and experience.  The motives are the same:  experiencing something new/different.

And of course it's the newness of everything, the perspective and just plain FUN you have, exploring and learning about a place (like how things are done), and the orientation you learn, being in a new place with no inner-map to guide you.

 

OK THIS BLOGPOST HASN'T HELPED!!!! %-) WANT TO TRAVEL MORE NOW!!!!!!!!

Unearthings

I've been sorting papers (no, not QUITE how Mom does it), and I'm happy to report that I don't have a roomful of paper.  But boy oh boy I have a whole pile of hoss drawings, mostly mine through the years, but some of my sister's too.  And a 'journal' from our holiday when I was 8.  I'm so pleased to know (to actually, really KNOW, not just 'have the impression') that I don't have lots of stuff.  Growing up, being aware of all our stuff stored in the roof, and in cupboards, and in the garage, and wendyhouses, and every nook and cranny, left me thinking I had a colossal amount of things that belonged to me, but now, going through everything and actually organising it, I DON'T!  YAYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!

I found the old letters from my uncle... I was about 9, and there are only 3.  I had the impression that there were more, but I guess they were so cherished that they seemed like a whole pile.  But I'm glad - they've been found and I'm going to make a copy (scan them).

All this discovery makes me feel very melancholy.  So many people, that I've 'missed out on', because of the age-gap  (Dad was 60 when I was born, and his siblings were all around that age too).  Because of the age-gap, I really don't have a large 'family' at all.  I'm sad that there was such an age-gap, as had things been different, I'd have known my uncles and aunts for a lot longer!  But, things cannot be changed, and they were still precious family, much loved by Dad... and by my sis and me too.

It has made me think a lot lately about Dad, and the whole life-time he'd already had before my sis and I were born.  I wish he was around for me to ask about things, to talk to him about his brothers and sisters, about where they lived, what they did, where they worked... I wonder now, too, whether his youngest sister (my aunt!) is still alive... if I would be able to email her and say hi.  Before it is too late, as Dad, and his other siblings, are gone.  Completely gone.  Although it would be comforting to think that they are 'somewhere else', I cannot bring myself to believe that, and have to face the loss.

On another archivey tack, my aunt has arranged to have film reels, belonging to Mom's and her uncle, put onto disk.  It shows Mom's side of the family, until now far less documented than Dad's side of the family.  I can't wait to see them.

Completely unrelated news is that I've updated and put out my CV.  Despite the pending visa, I feel, once again, compelled to make a change.  Get out of this rut, even though staying in it would tide me over until we move.

The only news, at the moment, regarding the visa is that the PCC applications have been sent off.  Once again, any merit Postnet has garnered by 'knowing all about' PCC applications, they have LOST by charging R400 ONE WAY just to get an envelope there.  Another R400 to get it BACK!  Milk, the, market, assholes!!

I'm going to try make another arrangement, see if someone else can fetch it for us, because Postnet's *usual* price to courier something up to Pta is R120.

I haven't stitched for a long time, again.  I've been slowly but surely ticking off gross 'to-do' tasks.  The current one is the sorting of the papers.  After that, I just have gmailbox to sort out, my laptop to backup, and then voila.  Stitch and scrapbooking will get my attention!  Yes, I STILL haven't scrapbooked the wedding+honeymoon!  I'll probably sit and do that before resuming cross-stitch.

I'm going to sign off for now.  That's about all news I have right now.

Having a fantastic day

Today is being a real bitch.

Yesterday, and today, the typist 'informed/confided in me' that the
bosses have been talking. Hbbm in particular, saying to them that I'm
doing nothing and the typist has to teach me her work.

Hbbm says I'm not busy enough... so the typist says she told them I
also do filing, and they basically brushed off that bit of info and
now think I do buggerall all day. Ok it seems that way, because I do
FILING! Hellooo!!!

No, filing is LAST PRIORITY! RAH RAH Hbbm rants, blablabla!!! She
must learn everything the typist does!!

Nevermind that the dude whose filing I do bitches whenever there's 'a
pile' for me to do. That guy generates a full-time job's worth of
filing. And nevermind that I actually FINISH his filing and keep it
up to date. And also nevermind that I actually get jobsatisfaction
from it, however puny and 'inconsequential' it may be. But no, it's
last priority. I am going to joint-do typist's job.

I don't WANT to do her damn job. I am, after all, a measly fucking
ADMIN ASSISTANT, not PA, not TYPIST, not SECRETARY, ADMIN ASSISTANT,
which mean I get to do some of EVERYONE'S JOB!! YAYYYYYYYYYYYYY

Typist's take on the scenario: she thinks Hbbm is 'starting to think
about' retiring, and the bosses are considering when SHE is going to
retire, and they want me taught so that they will have someone to
'seamlessly' take up her job.

LIKE HELL. Her (cement-) shoes are too big to fill. R10k pay (I have
a suspicion that's all she gets :-S) for her job, no thanks. I do NOT
want her job of being a lifeless drone, with no out-of-office life and
no chance EVER to take lunch, and being abused and taken for granted
because she has to do eveything anyway.

To add to my happy mood today, I'm receptionist moron all day. Madam
put in leave for today (only put her form in yesterday morning -
lovely)... so yay here I sit.

To EXTRA add to this rather charming day, I can't find my phone. I am
hoping that I left it at home.

Man I hope this visa happens fast so that I can resign! Give them the
virtual finger and LEAVE!

Police clearance

Yesterday we went to the Police Station and had our fingerprints taken etc for police clearance certificate.  We now have to send the forms to the head office for processing (they do the certificates there).  It seems all fine and dandy, just a matter of waiting and hoping they don't make any mistakes because they are similar to Home Affairs who deals with passports/IDs/birth certificates who are dreadful.

We're going to courier the forms up tomorrow, they should get there by Friday.  Then we have at least a 28 working days wait.

Apart from the PCCs, all we now still have to do is go for medicals.  G's going to have to get letters etc from the specialist so that his condition is brought to attention but explained so as to avoid any hassles.

And if the CO asks for anything else, obviously, that we will have to still do.

Then it's just waiting some more!  Too exciting, how straightforward (touch-wood) it's been so far.  DIAC are in the process of reviewing the skills criteria and may completely restructure the system, but we're sincerely hoping that IT professions won't be affected.

This weekend looks to be a very busy one!  Sat morning we're going to meet up with M&J, sis&herG and have a Pony Party!  We haven't seen M's hoss for AGES, it'll be good to see him again and give him scritches and apples.

Sat evening we're going to a house-warming party/braai, looking forward to it!

And Sunday afternoon we're having a 'meeting' to discuss river-rafting plans!!  I won't give too much detail now, but in about March 2010, we're going to have a serious adventure!!  Can't wait.  Finally something completely out of our 'usual' world!

The video clip of G as a kid is very cute.  It's so nice to see, in moving picture and with sound, the scenes that I scanned from photos!  Really special to have a copy... we're going to try make a copy or if it doesn't work, get his uncle to make a copy for us.

I have 12 working days left til I'm on leave!  And, excluding these puny little working weeks until the end of the year, I have 8 months left!!!!  I really hope and pray that the visa process doesn't take forever, because I REALLY REALLY REALLY don't want to REadjust my countdown AGAIN!!  Enough already!!  Gimme a break!

And I've just heard *YAY BREAKING NEWS* that receptionist (*%&*$@) has put in for leave on Friday.  YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY I just CANNOT WAIT TO DO HER JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Sorry, this calls for an announcement!

 

YAY I CANNOT WAIT TO BE RECEPTIONIST ALL DAY ON FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I AM ELATED AND BESIDE MYSELF WITH JOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Please can I survive this week and make it to the weekend... alive... please?

 

Uhh.

Play it again, Sam

I haven't listened to my ipod yet today.  It's about time!  I'm just 'standing in' again, so when she's back I'll plug and play.

I'm sure my sentiment is echoed by many, but I'M SO SICK OF HAYFEVER!!  Yesterday G and I hacked at the honeysuckle plant in our garden.  It was busy growing merrily over the fence, and I rather wanted it hacked back than risk having dumbasses pointing fingers saying 'but look at THEIR plants, growing everywhere'.  And I pulled out a strand of grass daring to grow near to the fence, trying to get into the Cancer-Clan's yard.  I'm thinking of nicknaming them the Habsburgs, seeing how 'weird' they are and how they look like sisters but maybe living together as not-sisters and there's a guy and another kid and a mother and it's all like some weird scenario but I couldn't really care less etc.... so it's a toss up between "Cancer-Clan" and "The Habsburgs".

But back to hayfever - OH MY WORD did I sneeze while cutting the honeysuckle.  And not because of the actual flowers, either.  Each time I broke branches, dust would be sprayed up into the air.  I'm not sure if it's just dust dust or mold or what, but it made G and me sneeze.

Now that the plant is cut, we can actually see that the chap in the unit in front of ours has a back door+window - we'd forgotten, it's been so long since we saw it last!  And now we don't have to worry about the plant and fence blowing over in a storm.  I just hope it doesn't decide to be mean and die now!

At one point while we were hacking at the plant, I realised G was still wearing his wedding ring.  I suggested he take it off and pop it into my pocket so that there's no risk of it coming off and getting lost.  Grand suggestion and all that, except somehow in being taken off, it dropped!  My well-intentioned suggestion came to nought as it took an age to find it.  We were both on our knees scrabbling around in the garden-debris-littered plant bed, trying to find it.  It was taking so long, so I fetched the leaf-blower/vac and vacuumed all around where it was likely to have fallen.  I reckoned rather to have a damaged ring than no ring at all... but after vacuuming twice and searching again I found it.  I'm not sure what we would have done if we couldn't find it... hire a metal-detector maybe?  Thankfully we found it though!!

G's uncle has apparently dug out an old family video from the 80s... he's sent a copy to G's parents, and we're going to get a copy too.  Can't wait to see it - footage of G as a kid, all blond haired and tiny!  As far as I am aware, there're only 3 videos with me as a child.  The first one was taken at a family friend's wedding... the cameraman panned the camera across the hall and voila!  There's me and my sis.  It'd be nice to have a clip from that, just to see us capsuled in time.  Second one was in primary school, when our class was corresponding with a family in the US.  We sent a short video of the class, with each of us giving a wave and saying hi.  I don't know if she still has it, maybe I'll ask her and if she does, if we can have a copy.  I just remember being excrutiatingly shy in it and waving like a dork without saying much.  The third video of me is at my aunt's wedding.  I wonder if we could have a copy of that too... I'll ask!  Such fun - apparently Mom's uncle has a whole box of video reels that Aunt is wanting to get put onto DVD - I'll ask her about it when we see them again.  Yay, so exciting - a new mission.

In other news, our visa application's status has progressed from:  "processing commenced" to "application being processed further".  I've asked on the forum what EXACTLY this means, because rumour has it we now have a CO, but G hasn't received any email yet giving instruction to go for medicals and/or supply other documentation.  It's been what, 3 weeks?  Our 28 days in which to upload stuff hasn't even lapsed yet!  Everything is uploaded alraedy, all that remains is to apply for PCCs and go for medicals/xrays, when asked.  If we *do* have a CO already, all we'll be waiting for (before they can click 'approve'!) is for PCCs (because SAPS is a slow govt dept) as medicals won't take long because the results get couriered.

The only OTHER concern is G's newly diagnosed condition.  CIDP, a chronic neurological condition, which in essence is confused antibodies attacking the nerve's outer coating and damaging it, much like tooth decay damaging the tooth enamel.  The nerve outer coating can, however, recover, if it isn't damaged too much.

G was in hospital for 4 days last week having a drip, which is supposed to flush out the rogue antibodies... but he doesn't feel any improvement yet.  And the treatment can last anything from 2 months to 15 years.  For visa sake (and for G's quality of life sake, obviously!), we're hoping for 15 years!  It hopefully won't cause any hassle with the medical exam, G will just need to get letters etc from the neurologist stating the scenario and hopefully Aus immigration won't go 'HEYYYY you're gonna cost us megabucks' and refuse our application.  I did some poking around reading up and found info for the panel doctors to assist them in assessing people, and the criteria for a person with a neurological condition seems easy to reach for us as G isn't incapacitated and unable to look after himself.  Apart from pain, there isn't much effect.  Hopefully this will all come out in the wash and the application will go smoothly...

Nothing else is news that I can think of right now.  I've been busy today and yesterday - helping the typist with a large complicated document.  Finally actually doing some word processing, tables and the like, the stuff I learnt at college!  It's now lunch time though, so time to go make my toast!

EULA

Good LORD but what a bloated, wordy IRRELEVANT EULA Windows Live Messenger now has!!

I just updated WLM... and had to read through the EULA before clicking next. I have NEVER read such a load of bollocks in my life. All talk about contracts and payments and if you reside in x territory your contract is with y company, etc blablabla, which is TOTALLY IRRELEVANT for a free chat application!!

I dunno, surely they can afford for someone to write a more specific EULA for their various programs? Jeepers!!

Finally, some progress!!

Progress!!

News and such

No major news since my last blogpost.  HBBM is on leave now.  It's been excrutiatingly dull at work, I've had nothing to do apart from folding drawings and reading Time/FM magazines.

G's off to hospital next week... I'm so glad I've got leave!  I have 22 working days left this year.  If I've counted correctly, there are 180 left til I'm done.

The visa documentation is going ok... we haven't done the PCCs yet, probably only will after G's out of hospital.  We're currently waiting for G's contacts in Aus to send him their contact details so that we can fill in a form each.  Apart from that, we're waiting for certain documents as proof of G's specific work experience, and then we're going to scrape together documentation to prove our ongoing marriage.  We may or may not be asked for proof, but better to be prepared and have already uploaded it than have to scramble around for it if/when asked.  Not much left to do, then we're READY to get a CO, and to get the instruction to do medicals!

 

OH YES!  News:  I got my LR hat!!!!!!!  It has upped the Awesomeness rating of the entire continent just by being here!

 

That's all for now, back to folding these lovely drawings!  At least I have music to keep me from going berserk!