Thanks for the welcome, Rach : -) Yip, know what you mean about ups and downs. Had a bit of a down today....I think each of us have our own *thing* that gets us down. Mine is all the red tape. I can't handle it maturely!!! UGH!!!! I get so frustrated that I start to cry and believe me: I am NOT a cryer. This kind of behavious is so unlike me...I'm not sure if they are angry tears or hopeless tears or whether I'm just feeling sorry for myself. I get so annoyed with myself for getting so cross because I feel I am a guest in Aus (until I get PR) and should therefore behave graciously. I get so worked up because I feel like I'm being argued with and I just feel that this red tape makes everyone's life more difficult. Sorry for this vent....can you tell I had and "incident" an hour ago? Maybe I just need to get used to the way things are done....maybe I'll be able understand the reason for the way things are done after Ive been here for 7 years, lol. I even feel like a trator saying bad things about a country that's been nothing but kind to me.