web-goddess

1. Hey, baby, what’s your sign? Do you think it fits you pretty well?
I’m a Pisces. My birthday’s coming up real soon! March 15, to be exact. Yeah, I think Pisces fits me well. Except for it being a fish, and me with that seafood aversion and all…

2. What’s the worst birthday gift you’ve ever received?
Ugh. One of my high school boyfriends once presented me with a cubic zirconia tennis bracelet. I’m not disparaging the cheapness; I’m disparaging the entire concept. I am the last person on the face of the world that you’d possibly imagine wearing a jeweled tennis bracelet. *shudder*

3. What’s the best birthday gift you’ve ever received?
It’s probably a tie between the car my parents got me when I turned sixteen and the bike I got when I turned seven. No, it was definitely the bike. It was beautiful: purple with rainbow streamers on the big curvy handlebars, and a painted rainbow on the banana seat. I loved it.

4. What’s the best way you’ve celebrated your birthday thus far?
Last year was pretty good. The Snook and I had a picnic at the Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens and then watched “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” out in the park. The best of my childhood was when I had my party at Showbiz Pizza. I got to sit in a throne and talk to the robotic singing animals. It was fantastic.

5. What are your plans for this weekend?
Friday was “Visa Day”, which thankfully went well. Today I’m entertaining the Snook and his friends, who are gobbling down my chocolate cake while playing “Lord of the Rings” as we speak. (Movie quote: “I feel like I’m babysitting but I’m not getting paid.”) *grin* Other than that, I’ve got a ton of internet chores I need to do. I’m also going to head up to the Op Shop (that’s “Goodwill” to you Yanks) and pick up some fabric to start making a quilt. Yeah, I’m going nuts with the crafts.

Rodd and I are heading to the Immigration Office to turn in my visa application. I’m so stressed I’m developing a cold sore. Best case scenario: they give me the permanent residency today. Probable scenario: we turn it in and they take a while to decide. Worst case scenario: I get turned down and have to leave Australia in a week. Yeah, that would really suck. So cross your fingers for us today!

Update: Well, it wasn’t as bad as I expected. Our case worker explained that my application looked great and that I would’ve been instantly approved, except that all Americans have to undergo an extensive background check. And apparently the U.S. authorities are using September 11 as an excuse to be, like, months behind in processing them. So anyway, they gave me a “bridging” visa which allows me to stay here until they can give me a final verdict. They also granted me permission to work, which means that the Snook and I are finally going to join the job hunt in earnest. So ultimately things look very good, but I’m just going to have to wait a while to get the official stamp.

We lost again. Big time. And our hated rivals won. But on the plus side, the Snook won us three free jugs of beer! Which makes for a pretty cheap night out. Questions we missed:

1. What are the three yellow properties on a Monopoly board? (Technically the question was about the English version, but I couldn’t even remember the American ones.)
2. In which book did Dale Carnegie say, “The only way to get anybody to do anything is to make him want to do it.” (Slight paraphrasing there, but you get the point.)
3. What was the real name of the “leather man” in the Village People? (He’s the one that died a year or two ago.)

Can you do any better than we did? Put your answers in the comments.

Did I mention that they’re putting in a café right below our apartment? Which is cool and all – except for the fact that every day this week, the Snook and I have been awakened at 7:00 by the sound of pneumatic jackhammers ten feet below us. I so appreciate starting the day with a headache.

Holy crap! Sickness = the best diet EVER. Screw this gym stuff; I’m gonna go hang out at the hospital. 🙂