As I was saying...

Okay, I'm going to get back to what I was saying before the giant cockroach attacked me.

Korea
I think it's fairly obvious and well known now that I haven't been the happiest camper here in Australia. Heat + No Friends + No Possessions + No Family + COCKROACHES + Expenses + No Suitable Job = Misery. Jeremy isn't quite the happiest camper either so a couple months ago we started giving some pretty serious thought to going back to Korea and we started looking for jobs. We eventually found one too but the start date wasn't until late May which meant we would have to hang around here for at least a month after my Working Holiday visa expired (which really isn't such a good option for me). Anyway, to make a long story short, we found out a few things (which I shall not disclose in such a public forum) and ultimately decided that we wouldn't be going afterall which makes me a little bit sad.

I really miss Korea. I miss the ajumas with 50 lb kids on their backs. I miss friendly kids who like to have their pictures taken. I miss students who make me laugh. I miss the delicious food and I miss the cheap accomodation. I miss traveling and I miss having friends. And I miss meeting random people who instantly become your friends! Actually, I miss all things random. I miss being surprised by life. Sydney, to me, seems like such a gaurded place... Life was simpler in Korea and I really wish I could have that back.

But for the forseeable future, we'll be remaining in Sydney. Seriously, I welcome visitors. Please. Visit me.

Visas
And on that topic, since we aren't going to Korea and will be staying in here instead, we submitted our partner visa application on Wednesday! I can't believe it has taken us so long to get all of that information together! Wow. I started this back in September and seriously, some things took months to get. Now, I'm a multi-tasker of the Multi-tasking Jedi Order and when I say there was no way to get this done quicker, I mean it. For instance, the FBI background check took 1.5 months. The South Korean background check took 1 month. The Soap Lake PD background check took an obscene 3 months because the idiot police chief refused to answer the phone when an unavailable number came up (my solution was to place calls back to back for 20 minutes until he was annoyed enough to pick up the phone). Jeremy (bless him!) is slow as sludge when it comes to getting things done. He's thourough but slow. It took him a couple months to finally finish his personal statement (you have no idea how much nagging has gone down in this place). And of course, there were a million other little things that just took time. To say the least, getting that binder off my coffee table was literally removing a huge weight from my chest.

So what now? I will go on to a bridging visa soon (maybe this week) which is just an automatic thing that happens when you're inbetween visas (obviously--bridging?) and then I have to do a health check on the 20th and wait for those results to be submitted. Let's hope the health check goes better than the last one and that the Australian immigration department processes it faster (we are paying $2,525 for it after all). Once that's approved (hopefully in a month from now but I'm being optimistic), I'll be granted my partner visa and given free healthcare! ACE! Just kidding... Sort of. No, I'll also have full working rights, lower taxes (working holiday visa holders are taxed a flat 30%), residency, and health care options. Right now, my only health care option is cash which isn't so bad since costs are kept low here but I'm looking forward to life where you don't have to worry about accidents...

Temping
I have been so lucky this week with work! I finished Wesley Private Hospital a couple weeks ago and spent a week on my own at home doing nothing, which I know you all think that sounds great but it isn't. Really. Nine hours of Facebook kills brain cells. So, I hope you can imagine my excitement when I got a call to do two days at Thomson Reuters for my old boss Alysia! It was wonderful to be back. I really missed everyone there, not to mention I missed eating lunch with Jeremy. And on Tuesday I got another job offer to do some work as a marketing assistant in Artarman (north Sydney) one day a week for a month! It's just Fridays but I love that I can actually use my brain and publishing skills in this job and no matter how short it is, it's still a great experience and an amazing opportunity to beef up the professional side of my resume. And, I get to go back to Thomson next week for three more days of work! It's so exciting to think that I'll be getting four days of work next week! This hasn't happened in months! My paycheck should be good. :)

Paychecks
And, thinking of paychecks, Jeremy got his annual bonus this week which was nearly 3x's more than he was expecting so hopefully that plus our left over visa savings will be enough to fly us home this summer!

Photography
Well, my meeting with Crown Catering was cancelled because the owner got sick and couldn't make it, so I haven't been paid yet and they haven't received their photos. I'm anxious to finalized this deal though because my camera could really use the pick-me-up. I've been seriously debating what I should buy with the money I've made--thoughts? It's a toss up between an external flash, a macro lens, and mid-length lens (mine's broken), or a new camera bag and tripod. Honestly, I need all of those things but the money isn't good enough to cover more than one (other than the bag/tripod combo). I'm definitely getting to the point where I need a new camera all together which also has me thinking about putting all of the money towards it. What I want is an Olympus E-3 but it'll take me a while before I can afford it. It's about $2,000+ in Australia... My current camera, the Olympus E-500, has been good but is starting to fail me in quality and I'm finding it's becoming less and less versatile as it's brothers and sisters keep getting more and more advanced. If you're reading this and you're a camera junky or maybe struggled with this once before too, I'd like your input. As for when this whole photo/paycheck thing is going to happen, I'm hoping for Monday. I'll keep you posted.