Deck the Halls or Deck the Consultant?

Small turn of events in the case of Nelo Vs the Evil Government Body... Aside from being able to add yet another 'consultant' to my long list of people who can't give a straight answer, I found out today that I can appeal their decisions. Or at least, I found a way to do it... (After spending over an hour explaining my case to her for the umteenth time)
Translation... MORE paperwork and another soul sucking phonecall or five.
My god, it's just a social security payment so I can afford to go to uni. It's not like I'm asking for the world on a silver platter!

In the meantime, I've somehow managed to get myself onto unemployment benefits. So at least I have some kind of income again until my new job sorts itself out.
What gets me though is I get $100 a week more now than I did as a student.

*RANT ALERT*
What kind of fucked up government decides to give someone who sits on their arse all day 'looking' for a job more than a student who is working their arse off to get a career for themselves more money? -And yes I'm generalising here, but considering half this town is on unemployment benefits and who consider looking for a job to ammount to pulling out the phonebook once a fortnight and writing down the first four or five businesses they find, I'm a little pissed. Especially since students don't have the luxury of being able to gain full time work due to the fact that they have to attend lectures and complete assignments on time and stuff (unless of course they have some means of creating a clone)

Fuck, I even pay tax out of my so called tax payer funded benefits. Not to mention that usually I have a part time job up my sleeve just so I can afford to do something more than pay rent and buy 2 minute noodles.

And yes, I realise that not everyone is a dole bludger (the general Aussie term for someone on unemployment benefits who doesn't bother actually looking for a job) and that I should probably count myself lucky that our government even gives us the option to recieve such benefits. But come on guys, whatever happened to equality?
(And lets not get me started on how Alcoholism can be considered a 'disability')

Other than that, I've just been trying my best to make good of this whole crappy situation and to get into the Christmas spirit a little.
Didn't really help that I decided to watch the Christmas episode of Glee today, that just made me realise that I've never had someone special to share Christmas with... or even my birthday for that matter. Actually... that's a lie. I did the Christmas thing with my first every boyfriend. I bought him a whole series of little gifts that all related somehow to the two of us (for example I bought an oversized coffee mug -the ones that look more like a soup bowl with a handle. and some hot chocolate, because thats exactly what we had on our first date) it made him cry, in a good way.
I got asian recipe books and a pair of noodle bowls... because I need to eat more.
Ah well, I guess I can't expect everyone to be able to find the perfect present for me (apparently I'm extremely hard to buy for!). Maybe I'll just be less subtle this year and create my own little gift registry...

God that makes me sound like a spoilt little brat! It's never been about the presents for me, well at least not the receiving presents part. I've always prided myself on finding the perfect gift for all of my close friends and family. Be that the touching heart felt kind, or my favourite the somewhat twisted and sarcastic kind. For me the real fun of Christmas is seeing everyone else smile and laughing.

Perhaps thats why I'm not really into Christmas this year, because I know I'm going to be working Christmas Day instead of spending time with family and friends...

Still if I can't be there in person, I'm gonna make damn sure my presence is known.
I've finally figured out exactly what my epic dessert will entail.
A latte glass (you know the glass ones with the little wire handle) filled with the most divine dark chocolate panna cotta (with a few fresh raspberries set into the middle of the glass so you get a lovely little surprise when you dig your spoon in).
That alone would probably be enough, but hell where's the fun in that?
I've decided to top it off with a White Russian style foam (Thats Kahlua, Vodka and a bit of milk and gelatine to make it set while its foam). Gold leaf flakes sprinkled on top (I decided silver just wasn't OTT enough), all served with little star shaped shortbreads -mmmm, they sound plain and boring... Note to self: Add a little Nelo flair to shortbreads to make them more interesting!

So all in all, I guess things are starting to look up for me.
Oh and I've decided, all I really want for christmas this year is a rubber stamp of my address and signature. I've lost count of the ammount of times I've had to write my address and sign my life away in the last few days!