And the story that began with "I got kicked out of the UK...", finally concludes after what seems like an eternal climax (mind of out gutter!), befittingly, with the heroine/potential illegal alien being declared acceptable as a working holidaymaker in Australia. Like a nation in shining visa opportunities, Australia came to the rescue of this very fair (no fake tan here) damsel in distress,offering her 12 glorious months to explore and enjoy the Wonders of Oz!

And so, as is most often the case, this happy ending marks the start of a new story for this Canadian gal. Potential titles for this new series of adventures:

"Shannon Vs. Shannon - A Meeting of the Name Twins"
"Burning Shan (Not to be Confused with the Burning Man)"
"We're Not in Kanada Anymore (From The Blizzard to Oz)"
"From the Shan Down Under "




Yay! I can finally get on with my adventures abroad, thanks to Linda from the Immigration Office in Tasmania. I'm quite glad it was a female that processed my application on Monday, as if it'd been a male, there's higher chance he would have been in a foul mood since the Aussies lost to Brazil just prior to my visa being processed!

Right, so now I'm scouring the net for the cheapest/best flights to Australia. My aim is to be there by the 15 of July at the latest. I am looking at making a wee stopover in San Francisco to catch up on sleep, adjust to time change (a bit) and enjoy the West Coast of the States while I can! Ah life is good again!! Very, very good :)

I must admit, I had pretty much resigned myself to staying in Canada for the next wee while. Not that this would be the worst fate in the world , I'm actually quite enjoying the beginnings of summer on PEI . Now if only my social life were a bit more jazzed up and I had my own wheels...ah, but it doesn't matter, because soon I'll be living it up in a cosmopolitan city that has more than three decent bars and public transit and..best of all..lots and lots of people. And by people I mean males with wicked Australian accents.

Should I start getting a fake bake right now? Am I going to stand out if I go down under with my pale skin untouched by sunlight? Hmm..maybe I should dye my hair blonde too...? OK, kidding!! Good grief - I know that would look terrible on me!

Anyways - last two weeks on PEI should be a blast what with Canada Day and chance to meet with a bonafide writer to talk about my writing! And, oh, if the strawberries come out.....yummmm!!!!!!!