Stressed

I don't always make the smartest decisions.

As you (hopefully) have read, Chris and I will be extending our stay in Australia for an extra 5 weeks or so. Unfortunately, this means dealing with the Department of Immigration and Citizenship. Is it just me, or do all beauracratic, red tape cutting, government offices sound ominous? Why not choose a more upbeat name like...We Really Like You and Want to Help You Stay in Our Country for as Long as You'd Like Because the Awesomeness Factor Rises About 10 Points When You Step on Our Soil Department. I'll admit it's a tad long, but doesn't it just ring with optimism? That's all I'm looking for, a little optimism if you please.

Soooo....as I was saying, some necessary paperwork is required for me not to be booted out of the country on February 11th. I really needed these few extra weeks of work to fund my UK adventure before making my way home. Chris has it easy enough, because he's not a hated American, he can easily extend his visa for another year. Me? Well that's a different story. I have to lodge a formal request in person with an immigration officer to extend my visa for a further visit period. Now what would usually be a pain in the butt application/meeting is a bit more complicated than you'd expect. Why you might ask? Well because Shivonne is a corner cutting dumb ass who can't meet all legal requirements. Here's the rub: During my stay in Melbourne, I've been working cash in hand which didn't strike me as all that odd (Chris is doing the same thing-seems to be typical of restaurants around here). This means my last documented source of income using my tax file number was back in June. Now I have to show proof of funds to prove I can finance my extended stay and I'm very nervous all those cash deposits on my statement will raise more than just eyebrows. To make matters worse, I didn't file a tax return in October for my work in Queensland. Normally I don't avoid the tax man, but after doing an online return, my estimated payment to the government was around $1000 (apparently our bosses in Alpha cut corners on their tax info to, meaning we would have to pay out for it). Bottom line: my whole working income situation is way past dodgy, and I'm freaking out. Do I disclose my cash in hand situation (I mean the whole of the staff I work with gets paid this way) or will that royally screw me? For goodness sakes I just want five more weeks!

Whew! Needless to say, I'm a wee bit worried. Hopefully I'm blowing this all out of proportion, and the immigration meeting will be more like a formality. As long as I turn in the right paperwork/documents, they can't deny a teeny overstay can they? I really hope illegal immigration is not in my future.

Well other than my financial/immigration problems, things here are chugging along as usual. The renovations at work are finishing up this week, and I've even been able to go in a few days and help with the cleaning for a little more illegal cash in hand pay (If I fall, I might as well fall hard). We officially open up Wednesday, and my work sabatical will come to a close. I'm actually looking forward to going back to work-not only do I really need the cash, but a little bit of stability and routine in my life is definately welcome at the moment. Now if only I could learn to make more responsible decisions.....