Nearly a Citizen

In early December, I finally heard back from IRCC about my citizenship application.  The email said that I had 21 days to take the citizenship test (virtually).  There were a number of strict conditions, including I had to be alone and if anyone passed through the background I might be disqualified.  So I decided it would just be safest taking the test on the weekend in the office but go into a place where the security guards don't usually cut through.  

While I wasn't too worried about the test itself, I did read the Study Guide a few times that week.  I then may have made a mistake by trying a practice test put together by one of the coaching companies.  It had a lot of very nit-picky questions, and I only got 14 right out of 20 (15 correct answers are needed to pass, and the test as a whole has to be finished in 30 minutes).  But of course, it is in their interest to make the test seem scary, so you'll pay for their services.

I found a good site run through the Richmond Public Library that lets you generate as many practice tests as you want.  The focus was much more on general concepts and the responsibilities of citizens and much less on dates and specific names.  That seemed a much better proxy for the real test.  I did much better, scoring between 18 and 20 each time.

I grabbed a bite to eat and then settled in to take the test.  It was indeed much closer to the Richmond Library version.  I sailed through it quickly (perhaps too quickly...) and submitted my answers.  I did quite well, though this is still just a provisional pass.  I guess they still review the video to make sure there was no cheating.  

After this, I just need to wait to take the oath during a Swearing-In ceremony.  Under normal circumstances, this should be 3-4 months, but of course these are far from normal circumstances.  Some clients have been waiting over a year!  I definitely hope that doesn't happen, as I would like to vote in the Provincial election in June.  If my ceremony is pushed back too far, then my son will turn 18 and theoretically might need to take his own test, but hopefully not as we have been in the queue for quite some time, and it is hardly our fault they have kept delaying things.  There is probably no point in worrying until late April.

Assuming all goes well, I'm contemplating getting a tattoo to mark the occasion.  (I know it's kind of stupid but if that's the extent of my midlife crisis, I think my wife will be relieved.)  I was just going to get a small maple leaf on my shoulder, but now I am wondering if I should go all out and do something like this (but replacing the yin-yang symbol with a maple leaf).  And probably only a black outline of a dragon with the only colour being the red maple leaf.

I spent more than a little time researching tattoos.  I didn't realize that you can't go swimming for at least a month after you get a tattoo.  That would be a drag, but not enough to stop me from getting one.  The real unknown is how much pain can I tolerate, but I think I can see it through if I actually decide to go ahead with this, which is no sure thing...  But first I need to get that call from Immigration Services!