Transferred from my old blog: Pre-Christmas stuff

December 15, 2003

I'm going to Arizona tomorrow! I started to pack a few things last night, after the Survivor grand finale (and what an exciting conclusion it was!). I decided to get out my passport and put it somewhere obvious so I will remember to take it with me tomorrow. Customs is so much more efficient and enjoyable when you take your passport with you.
For those of you who don't know, I'm in Canada on a one year work permit. I don't have a visa as such, or a permanent residence status, just the work permit. I looked at the work permit last night, and happened to notice in big bold black letters at the bottom "Does not authorise re-entry". I hadn't noticed that before. Oh dear.
So I've been trying to call Immigration Canada all morning to see if they have anything to offer me along the lines of "Of course you'll be welcomed back into Canada with open arms. Have fun in Arizona". But nobody is answering the phone.....
So if you don't hear from me again, I'm probably stuck in a holding cell on the USA/Canada border, waiting to be deported back to Australia. I thought I'd update you on what's happening with me right now, just in case....

1) I still have not received the perfect silver bangle
2) I still have not figured out where the chocolates came from that were in my mailbox last week.
3) If the chocolates weren't from my Secret Santa, then Secret Santa has not yet visited me.
4) I tried eggnog for the first time last night. We mixed it with a little rum and it was delicious. I was so filled with Christmas spirit, that I burst out into a chorus of Christmas carols!


December 15, 2003 (later)

Well there have been several important developments in my day to report.

1) The perfect silver bangle was waiting in my mailbox today. It is indeed very lovely. It is quite thick and solid silver, so I know that its definitely worth quite a bit more than the $19.98 USD that I paid for it. However, because it is solid, it is difficult to adjust the size to put it on my wrist. I tried putting it on over my wrist and my wrist wouldn't fit through the gap. And it hurt to try. I tried for a while, and was starting to think that the perfect silver bangle couldn't be perfect if it doesn't fit. Then I tried putting it on over my forearm, where there is less bone and more flesh. I got it on much more easily. And it fits well. So I'm a happy little vegemite about that.

2) My Secret Santa left a gift outside my door. It was a wooden Santa Claus Christmas ornament. It was a very nice gift Secret Santa. Thank you!!

3) The fact that I have received a gift from Secret Santa today, means that the mystery of the chocolates in my mailbox remains unsolved. Who put them there? And why? Is it a secret admirer? Was it the food fairy?

I suspect it wasn't the food fairy. Erwin knows the food fairy quite well. He told me that if the food fairy hears people talking about food that they don't like or they haven't tried before, the food fairy will bring them some of that particular food. However I'm pretty sure that the food fairy must know that I love chocolate, and that I have tried it plenty of times before. Actually I'm expecting the food fairy to bring me some chickens feet any day now, since I decided to continue my resistance to eating them when we went for Dim Sum/Yum Cha yesterday. Erwin was horrified that I didn't like the idea of eating bone, mushy cartilage, and skin. Have you ever seen a chicken wash its feet before going to bed at night? I didn't think so. Food fairy, if you're reading this. I don't think that I need you to bring me chickens' feet, because I'm going to be away for then next 10 days, and maybe someone else would like them better. Someone like Erwin maybe. So anyway, back to the chocolates...All my friends and Bryan have denied putting the chocolates in my mailbox. I don't know of anybody else who has received chocolates. So the conclusion that I have come to is that I have a secret admirer. Yes!!!

I don't know if I'll have a chance to post updates while I'm in Arizona. So just in case this is my last post, have a fabulous Christmas, and look out for photos from our trip when I get back.