Best Christmas Present I Could Ask For!

Suddenly everything is coming together and time seems to have rapidly sped up...in the past 2 days...

On Thursday I spent the afternoon running around the city for attempt number 3 at renewing my passport. After getting all the proper paperwork together and all the necessary signatures signed, I headed back to the passport office and took advantage of the winter rush extended hours. When I got there I was the only person waiting for service. Still, 2 different people got up to the counter before I did (go figure).

But, the 3rd time was the charm. I have successfully submitted my renewal papers and should have my new passport in early January. Unfortunately, because of the itty bitty damage that was on it, I don't get my old one back. I was feeling pretty down about that when I left there. Even the commissioner guys noticed that I was looking pretty upset as I left.

I got home and was trying to let go of this whole no getting my passport back thing and noticed I had some new email. I open my inbox and this is what I see:

Congratulations you are being offered scholarships at La Trobe University‏

Note how that says scholarships, plural? Oh yeah! I got both of the coveted scholarships! One is for tuition, the other is for housing. This is, by far, the greatest news I have gotten all year. I no longer have to stress out about how I'm going to manage to afford living in Australia.

Now, it's not really a lot of money that I get for housing. It's definitely enough to live comfortably, but basically. I'll still be applying for student loans to help cover off those additional costs. I don't know if I'll work while I'm over there or not. I'm only allowed to work 8 hours a week, so, we'll see when I get down there.

I'm super excited now. Everything is coming together, quickly. It's a huge relief to know I'll be okay for money and now I've started scouring the internet for potential 1 bedroom apartments within walking distance of my campus, which is downtown.

So, to celebrate the good news, I quit my job. I'll be finished with ATB as of the first week of January. That feels surreal. I have been itching to move on from there for a long time now, and was not expecting to be able to leave so quickly. I think it's good that I'm leaving now, even though my department is now up the proverbial creek without a paddle. If I had stayed on longer though, knowing that I didn't have to be there, I would not be a very positive employee.

Speaking of things happening quickly, at the beginning of the month I decided to order my new laptop because the customer reviews were all saying it took about 6 weeks to deliver. I guess they've got production in overhaul for Christmas though, because not even 24 hours later I had the accessories I'd ordered, and a week after placing my order I was staring at my new, beautiful, lightweight, fast, and incredibly pimped out laptop.

And I haven't even opened my Christmas presents yet!