Being busy and plans

Time seems to be speeding away from me again - it is past the middle of January already (2009 is now over 1/24th gone...)

As well as all the usual stuff (hockey - played two matches in the new year - lost one and won one; TKD - have a competition coming up at the beginning of Feb, so am getting in Saturday practices every fortnight as well as the Sunday training; orchestra and Family Centre meetings), I've also kept on going with the sewing, now having two tops and a pair of trousers to my name, plus have started making a waistcoat for John.

Plus, we have the big next stage in our lives - we have started our emigration proceedings. We put in our expression of interest (EOI) in December; this is a basic questionnaire, which allocates points based on work experience, qualifications and age. Once you have completed the EOI (and paid your fee), you then go into a pool of other applicants, and, if you reach a required level of points (which, though it is always over 100, fluctuates month by month depending on how many people are in there and what their quota levels are looking like), you get selected to submit a full application for a visa (known as the Invitation to Apply (ITA). Whilst we knew that our points levels were ok (we had 115, which is above the basic minimum, but well below what we needed to get an automatic selection), we didn't realise that the base line for points was reasonably low at the time, and so I was very shocked when we got pulled straight back out of the pool in the next draw.

So, we have received our ITA, and the application is essentially asking us to prove the points that we have claimed for. Deadline is the middle of April. It will take the NZ immigration dept in London about 4 months to then assess the application, and, if all goes well, we will get our blue stickers (our visas) by the beginning of September. Which means that we could very easily be living in New Zealand by next November, and will have had our last Winter Christmas...

All a little bit scary!

Updated Blog Roll

You may notice a few new links to the left (I moved them from the bottom of the page as they were being hidden away...) - I've updated my blog roll. These are the blogs which I have on a feed, and which I will read every time they are updated - go take a look! :-)

Something that Russell T Davies isn't telling us?

I'm sure that practically no-one who reads my blog will get this, but I'm very proud of it so I'm going to share...

As I walked into town Tuesday afternoon, it tried to snow on me, and I started to do a David Tennant "What? What? What?" Then I realised that if you took the Doctor's favourite saying (at least once every other episode...), and sped it up a bit, you get the Goons... (and you have to do the voices...)

Bluebottle: Scoop! ‘Prof Eccles give the Brown Paper Daily exclusive statement.’

Eccles: What what what?

Bluebottle: Can I quote you on that, please?

Eccles: No. My ‘what what what’s are private.

(from The Scarlet Capsule / Quatermass)

John then pointed out that the Doctor's other catchphrase "Don't do that" is an echo of:

Seagoon: Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes?

Grytpype-Thynne: Please don't do that.

(from almost every episode...)

Is there something that RTD isn't telling us?