so, apparently, finding out how long your visa app will take to process/be approved is a state secret!!!!!!!!!! it's fugging impossible to find out!!!

i called "the people", the AU consolate, and they just gave me a bunch of totally useless BS!!!

and no where, NO WHERE on the otherwise very helpful website does it even give and ESTIMATE as to how long it'll take!!!!!

gah. so, i need to get my money from my aunts, and wait for my GED certificate to arrive, and while i'm waiting for those, i can get a certified copy made of my passport, and i think there's something else i need to do....

plus i need to get my plane ticket, but i can't til i have my visa! grrr....

then i also need to figure out how i'm going to ship my stuff, if i'm going to do check in baggage, or send it through an international shipping service (which is kinda expensive, but i can't tell how expensive it'll be to do check in, cause i don't know what airline i'm flying on!!)

once all THAT's done, i need to figure out what i'm packing, and get it packed.

my plan thing so far is to check in a bag with my clothes and other necisities, so that i have that with me, then ship the books i want, my posters and that stuff seperately.

my basic list of what i'm bringing (so far, this almost undoubtedly needs to be parred down):
clothes, not ALL of them, but most
Radclyffe and Tamora Pierce books (and get my parents to ship me others if i have the need for them)
my posters (i have A LOT)
my soul collage
a few other niknaks (my piggy banks, some photos, etc.)
my quilt and afgan (that my mom made for me)

i think that's about it....i might have my folks ship me the blankets later, once i get there, cause they'll take up a LOT of room, and i'd rather make them pay for it. :P

my clothes and such, i'll bring in my check on bag(s) (i have a huge old navy duffle from my dad that i'll probably use for this), plus jackets, shoes, toilettries, plus the stuff i can't fly with that i want (my knife, my lighter, my labrys).

it's COMPLICATED. and i'm not even traveling with that much...okay, i am, but still!

and i still need to find a place to live, and a job (gah x a million!!!!). but J's being WONDERFUL about helping me with that...i can't tell you guys how wonderful she is.

so yeah. that's what i've been thinking about all afternoon.

BD