Update!

In case anybody is wondering what I have been getting up to here in Dublin, here is a quick rundown of what's been happening.
I am lazy so it's a copy+paste of an email I sent home just now, and it's probably quite boring for most of you because it doesn't describe the city very much at all...but anyway here goes.

"There is no way around (the) guarantor (-to sign the photos for my passport application. I'm applying for a new passport because to get a working holiday visa my passport needs to have 13 months at least left on it...as mine is an emergency passport it only has 6 months on it) unless I lie and get some random person to sign it and say they have known me for more than 12 months. It wouldn't matter having a spare set of signed photos because the guarantor also has to sign the application form. The fastest I can get it sent back home is by next thursday (26 euro!) so I would need to change my appointment from thursday 31st to the week after!!! Argh there is so much I have to think about it's so hard to keep track of.

Next thing is that I need to present a hard copy of my birth certificate, but if I can't then you do this thing called a 'notarial' service. I'm sure you have told me about it before even! It's where somebody in sydney (like at the PO) signs a stat dec (statutory declaration. I think that's the right document?) saying they have witnessed my birth certificate in hard copy since it can't be with me in person. That is the other important part.

Next, the turnaround time is 10 working days from dublin. For ~A$75 extra I can get a 2 day turnaround from London if it is lodged through there. So I'm thinking to go there, get the passport in 2 or 3 days then as soon as I get it, going to the visa office and applying for the visa because by then I will have all the necessary parts. (Risky move-won't do unless I really need to!)

Also my visa waiver for ireland ends on the 4th of feb so I need to extend that. Shouldn't be a problem to go to the immigration office and tell them I'm having to wait for my passport so I need some extra time here. If not, then I just go back to NYC and drop everything, no biggie.

You might not be happy about this part but just listen...
Met some other travellers who are trying to get work here (from Italy) because one of the girls was staying in my hostel room and she's very knowledgable about all the visa procedures etc so we went to look at a room in a share apartment and if the 3 of us go there then it's 35 euro a week. Much more affordable than the hostel and it's in a good location and if I have to be here for a while then it's better to spend as little as possible.

To get a bank account here you need a PPS number (like a tax file number) and the only way to get one is to get a referral either from your landlord, hostel, or work. The hostel said I had to stay there for 2 weeks before they write a referral, but the landlord will write one straight away for you. Once I get a PPS number (10 days, like everything else here) I can then open a bank account and when I try to get a job it will look less dodgy (even though extremely dodgy while I still don't have proper visa).

I handed my CV into a pharmacy today that had a sign in the window looking for fulltime/part time sales assistants and 5 min later I get a call from the manager to ask if I wanted to come in for an interview next wednesday because he was interested in my CV. (props to Shane for padding it out for me)

SO as you can see there is a lot going on and it's all kind of swirling about and I'm trying to do things in such an order that they will all come together...

Ok so let me know what you think-my priority at the moment is getting this passport ASAP but as always something comes along and delays it. I don't want to go to London until I *know* I have everything I need because seriously I don't have the money or the time to waste on chasing loose ends. It's at a stage now where things could come together or they could all go wrong but at least I have return tickets in case things don't work out. Return ticket is for the 1st of Feb though which is unfortunate because that is before I could even get my photos back for the passport application. I have to pay if I want to change the flight but I don't know what happens if I just don't take it, if I could call up and say 'I missed my flight I need to get the next available one' and they'll do that or if they'll say tough luck. To change the flight is $200 but a new one-way flight is much more than that...At any rate I have a confirmed flight from NYC home on the 8th of Feb but China Air goes from Heathrow too so I might call them and see if I can do that instead-it's only like an hour away instead of almost 7 hours to NYC."

That's about all the important stuff I had to say.

As you can see-there is alot going on for me at the moment. I'd honestly appreciate any advice or comments people would like to leave for me. I'm really on a knife edge choosing whether to risk it all and stay on here or just going home. I mean come on, it is turning out to be ALOT of effort!

Anyway, I really have to go now...
Keep Classy (as always)
xxx lisha

oh-p.s.! I got told I should change my name while I'm here to 'Ailish' because it is an Irish name and on top of sounding pretty (and similar to the pronounciation of my name) it would be easier for the Dubs to remember/say/spell/etc. LOL! What's *your* Irish name?