Workload and responsibility: dramatic increase.

Pay: Slight bump in the 'upwards' direction.

The price of opportunity ... right?

2. I'm getting married on Saturday.

3. Tried giving myself a French manicure this afternoon, as it would be nice to have purty fingernails for my wedding. Turns out I suck at nailpolish.

Guess this makes it a job for the professionals. I don't know that I particularly want a stranger touching my feet.

4. I got a congratulatory wedding card signed by my whole (admittedly small) department at work, and some nice ultra-modern Japanese-inspired plates as a wedding gift. I felt very special as I honestly hadn't been expecting this at all.

Still had to pay for my own lunch though.

Well, OK. I now owe a colleague $25. Principle's the same.

5. I then got another card from a completely different department. The Publisher and Marketing Manager from our Higher Ed division came over to my desk and handed it to me this afternoon. I was so surprised and touched that I blushed crimson. I REALLY didn't expect a card from those guys.

6. Our wedding has come together in a little over 4 months. We got engaged on my birthday in late October. We planned over Christmas and New year, and then buggered off to Canada for 3 weeks of snowboardy, sleep-in goodness. That was our "honeymoon". I organised our wedding cake from an Internet caf� in Whistler. There was much stress and I said many times, "I just can't wait for this to be over."

Lots of brides seem to say that. They always start with, "I know this sounds terrible, but..." I know three other people at work getting married and the closer they come to their wedding day, the more frequently I hear them say it.

I have stopped saying it now. Four days before the wedding I finally had it pretty much sorted.

If I planned my wedding the way I used to plan uni assignments, I'd be filling in the placecards as people were filing in to the reception venue.

7. According to the Bureau of Meteorology, on Saturday in Wollongong - where my conspicuously-outdoors wedding will be held - we can expect a "shower or two. Min: 13 Max: 20".

According to Weather.com.au, we can expect "Mostly Sunny. Mild. Breezy. Wind 28 km/h SSW Rain -- Humidity 72% Min 15 Max 21".

I'm inclined to go with the BoM. They updated most recently. Weather.com.au's forecast hasn't changed all week.

Rain on your wedding day ... that's good luck, isn't it? Really, if I have to choose between a bird pooping on my shoulder or rain on my wedding day - both of which purport to be "lucky" signs - I think I've made my choice.

8. I'm pretty sure the Chinese believe that 8 is a lucky number, so I'm just padding this entry out now to squeeze all the lucky juice I can out of whatever superstitions I can think of.