What is it about passport photos?
Posted on January 23, 2008
Filed Under Life is funny, Australia, Life, Travel, Comedy, Perth, Stupidity, immigration, Canada | 5 Comments
Well Murphy, you’ve done it again.
I pulled out my passport for the first time since my trip to Canada, almost 2 years ago, last week. I knew that I needed to get the sticker proclaiming my permanent resident status in it just in case.
When your passport is scanned at the airport, all your details are available to the staff member doing the scanning, including any visa statuses. However, should they be unable to scan it, the sticker acts as a fail-safe…indicating your status and thus, allowing you back into the country where the visa was issued.
After rushing from work to DIMIA (The Department of Immigration and Multi-Cultural Affairs) and waiting in the queue to get a ticket (Baaaaa) and then waiting for the ticket number to be called. I had finally accomplished what should have been done right after getting PR. The woman at the counter failed to notice that I had been granted PR 11 months ago and offered a flat “Congratulations.” as she passed me ticket number Q432.
Satisfied that I would be allowed to return to Australia after my Japan holiday, I booked the flight. HOORAY!
Only then, did I really LOOK at my passport.
CRAP! I only have 4 months left on it on my return to Oz. They don’t like that, you see. There should be at least 6 months left on it on return. Stupid really. How does my status change 6 months BEFORE it expires? It should be valid right up until the last day.
So now, I am faced with another challenge. Apply for a new Canadian passport 8 weeks before I fly and hope against hope that they don’t find anything wrong with it or the photos. I sent it off today, fingers crossed.
Which brings me to the photo. The last time I had passport photos done, I had just had my hair done, make-up was perfect and I was allowed to smile (the act banning this came into effect one month later) so for the last 5 years I’ve had a pretty decent looking passport photo. This time, it’s been months since I had my hair done so it is long, lifeless and mouse-shit brown. My hair appointment is on Friday but I really didn’t want to risk waiting too long just for vanity’s sake. Also… I look 5 years older!!
The nerve of those photo people. I mean really, can’t they work the photo magic and miraculously shed the extra 20 pounds I’ve put on in 5 years?? (All flatteringly located in my second chin apparently.) Not to mention remove the crows feet and mad look on my face which was a direct result of me laughing immediately before the picture was taken then over correcting so as not to smile?
I’ll be amazed if anybody lets me into their country after looking at that picture! I’d post it here but I’ve already sent it off to Canberra. And by that I mean, I wouldn’t post that god-awful picture if somebody was shoving bamboo under my fingernails.
I might however post a new pic once the hair is done and I’ve carefully applied make-up and taken 50 pictures of me by candle-light and can choose one that doesn’t make me feel like seeing my lunch again.
Watch this space!!
Look who hopped in for tea
Posted on January 13, 2008
Filed Under Australia | 6 Comments
OK, well maybe a bottle of milk. Introducing …Lily!
This is her exiting her make-shift pouch… a pillowcase.
“Oh, hello everybody!”
Exploring the games room…
Tomi was so excited when Lily came in that I was afraid he’d overwhelm her, so I put him outside for a while. This didn’t stop them from checking each other out through the glass of the games room door. It looks like he’s barking but he’s actually crying to get at her. When he finally calmed down, I took Lily (back in her pouch - where she feels safest) outside to meet with Tomi. Now that she was comfortably wrapped in my arms she wasn’t the least bit afraid and happily sucked on my finger (much like a baby) while Tomi licked her ears and head.
Lily is an orphaned kangaroo and she is being looked after by one of Connors’ friends (J) and his family. Her mother was mistakenly shot by a hunter who thought she was male. J has some family friends that run a farm and regularly take in orphaned kangaroos and then integrate them back into the wild when they are old enough to fend for themselves. They happen to be on holiday at the moment and J’s mum (who’s done this a few times) offered to watch Lily for the week.
Unlike most animals, kangaroo babies nurse for about a year and spend most of that time in Mum’s pouch. If Lily had been left alone, at 6 months, she would have surely died.
She may look fairly big but she’s light as a feather and that tail, young as she is, is SOLID muscle.
I never would have dreamed that I might one day have a baby kangaroo roaming my house!
Welcome back!
Posted on January 10, 2008
Filed Under Australia, Life, Travel, Family, Perth, Work | 1 Comment
I hope everyone out there enjoyed their holidays as much as I did!
Twas the season (not) to be posting..lol. It was hot and the kids are home for the summer holidays and we’ve spent a lot of time together. And now, sadly… I have returned to work.
We moved offices over the holidays. Now we’re in Nedlands and it makes the drive to work SO much easier. Not necessarily shorter but a lot more pleasant than doing the stop-start thing on the Mitchell Freeway. There’s something about driving along the coast that still makes me really happy to be here.
In fact, there is on spot in particular on Marmion Ave where you’re approaching Scarborough and the ocean just appears and seems to magically swell to encompass the whole horizon that is still breathtaking to me.
If you live in Perth, I’m sure you know the spot. 
Plans for Japan are moving along (thank you to everybody that replied to that post - everything was really helpful) and we’ve booked our accommodation and will be purchasing a JP Rail Pass for transit once we’re there. Sandy has just bought her ticket!! Eep! No turning back now…lol
I’ll be following her lead this weekend. I’ve called the travel agent I normally use and I’m waiting for my options now. I need to decided whether a direct flight is more important or if I want to have a stopover that will get me into Tokyo a bit later. Sandy’s flight arrives at 3:30pm and my direct flight arrives at 9:00am. So I’m looking at sitting around the airport for 6 hours waiting for her. It might be better to have a layover somewhere else to break up the flight and that way I’m only waiting for Sandy a few hours.
It’s all very exciting!!
Procrastination,… I’ll tell you about it later
Posted on December 11, 2007
Filed Under Life is funny, Australia, Travel, Family, Irony Anyone?, Perth, Canada | 8 Comments
Ok, so I’ll tell you about it now.
I’ve not written a post in some time as you may well have noticed. This was my attempt (obviously in vain) to leave my Japan post in the top spot as long as possible so as to attract some comments.
Though I did get one comment, my efforts in getting advice on Japan in my blog were, evidently, fruitless. I did however, get an email from a friend who has a friend who’s sister lives there… or something like that. LOL In any case, I have a contact in Japan now which I am very grateful for. (Thanks, Gillian!)
Speaking of travelling, I’ve just found out that I have a distant relation (we have an aunt in common) who is travelling around the world for a year and just happens to be in Australia at the moment. She also happens to be blogging the experience here.
Said aunt alerted me to this and I promptly read her blog - tres amusant - and offered a BBQ dinner if she made it to Western Australia during her time in Oz. Perhaps I should have offered her a poutine?
Mmmmmmmmmmmm poutine *drool drool*
I realize those of you not from Quebec will be a little puzzled by that last comment and I will explain it….
…later. 
Holiday in Japan - help needed!
Posted on November 23, 2007
Filed Under Australia, Life, Travel, Family | 5 Comments
For the past couple of months, my sister and I have been tentatively planning to meet in Japan for a two week holiday together. It seems a bit more interesting that either one of us visiting the others home. If I got to Montreal, I’d …
a) feel like I had to bring the kids too ( tripling the cost)
b) Would spend most of the time hanging around doing nothing - watching DVD’s or the like
c) March - April in Canada is still COLD!
If Sandy came here we’d…
a) double the cost of her ticket and double the flying time
b) spend most of the time hanging around doing nothing - watching DVD’s or the like
c) watch Sandy slowly melt away in the March heat
So it seemed a good idea to meet somewhere in the middle, in a place we’d both like to visit and have a holiday together. This way, we get to spend time together but we also get to see new things and do interesting activities. Japan is one of those places that is about halfway, and Sandy has ALWAYS wanted to go there. I would love to go too, so, destination settled. The end of March is cherry blossom season, something I have always wanted to see for myself so the timing is a bonus as well.
Though I’ve passed through Narita airport a few times, I’ve never had enough time to leave and see anything so I have very limited knowledge of Tokyo or the surrounds. All of my information is gleaned online and there is SO MUCH INFO that I find myself a little overwhelmed by the process of creating an itinerary that we can organize accomodation around.
Sandy and I would like to experience as much as we can in the 2 weeks we’ll be there but obviously have to be realistic about dragging our luggage from one ryokan (hotel) to another. Here’s my dilemna… I don’t know what a central location might be!! We’re not sure about each place we’d like to see, though there are a few we have had picked out for a while. We’ll split the trip into three - 4 or 5 night stays in different areas to allow access to more places and not limit ourselves to the Tokyo area.
So, calling all world-travellers out there!! I would LOVE to hear from people who’ve been to visit or live in Japan to get some suggestions on things not to miss and places to stay that are central to a lot of places of interest. As you can imagine, we’ll be doing a LOT of sightseeing so anything of interest within walking, bussing or training distance from a central point would be ideal.
Anyone?
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