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?

...

This is what my first breakfast in Dublin looks like. Unidentifiable brown toast that smells faintly of mushroom, granny smith apple, irish breakfast tea (appropriate!), and horrible news that Aussie actor Heath Ledger is dead. Horrible...I still can't believe it even though it's over all the papers and they even have a picture of his corpse being wheeled out to the ambulance...At least let him have some dignity in death and don't make it a big media show!!

I can has Van Gogh?

I never thought I would be so moved but I tell you what, walking into a room full of Van Goghs and Monets and the like-it was amazing! These are works I had studied when I was younger and to see the real thing up close in person...wow! The Metropolitan Museum of Art was a real highlight of this leg of my New York stay-even moreso because I didn't expect it to be! This time tomorrow I will be in Dublin. I'm quite scared, to be honest...also I've met some really cool people here that I will miss. Hopefully I will meet some cool people in Dublin too...right now it's 3 aussies, an argentinian (the second, one left yesterday), a french clown, a guy from the netherlands and a mix of people from other european countries. The argentinian guys are an absolute hoot! One left the same time as the other arrived...but I have a newfound respect and adoration (if you can call it that?) for argentinian people :). I've been socialising with the other travellers here much more than at the last place I stayed at in the city. I was worried this place would be cold and alienating like the last one but it's anything but! I'm so glad! Today a few of us went to chinatown, which was an experience! I'm blogging from my phone so I can't go into much detail but let me say it was an experience! It was so cold, too...-4`C (roughly 22`F) and windy. I know I've been in much colder temperatures but for some reason this was really biting me. The play offs were tonight and the poor bastards were playing in -2`F temps (like -15`C, roughly) but the New York Giants won so now they are off to the Superbowl! Yesterday I ran some errands and went for a long walk down Central Park. Also went to the Magnolia Bakery in the early evening-there was a massive line outside waiting to go in! But oh man I'm glad I waited...the cupcakes are so delicious! So, so, delicious...the frosting is so yummy I want to know how they make it! The day before yesterday I went to the New York Aquarium and Coney Island in Brooklyn. The aquarium was quite good-they had a nice cnidarian exhibit and seahorses and a sweet walrus...poor guy was swimming the same lap of the tank over and over again. The underwater equivalent of stereotypical pacing. Argh the heaters in this hostel are crazy-so noisy! Plus the room is boiling hot...at least it's not freezing like the other night. The good desk guy is on tonight, not the usual grumpy bums they have here. Anyway...I think I have already said how Paul the aussie and Pablo the argentinian and I went ice-skating in Central Park the other night...and we saw a racoon! So I had best leave it there for now. I wonder how much it costs me to update this from my phone...most probably still less than paying to use the internet here! Mucho dinero... Ok have fun in Australia and eat a sausage roll for me...I'll eat a slice of greasy NY pizza for you! xxx leash

Dude, where's my iPhone?

I'm blogging from the Apple store, just south of Central Park in NYC.

The iPhone is so sweet-I want one!  But it's not going to happen.  All the cool features like the browsers and stuff won't work in Australia I don't think.  Plus you have to sign up for a plan to buy one so meh maybe in a few years when it comes to Australia...haha

Last night me and two young guys from the hostel went ice skating in Central Park-it was really fun!  I only stacked it once and that was because some guy skated the wrong direction and straight into me.  Head on collision!  I'm ok though.  Pablo stacked it a few times and hit his head-poor guy! Paul is the only one who didn't stack it which is funny because he had never ice skated before!!  We saw a racoon in the bushes on the way back to the hostel too-so cute!

Today I went for a walk through the park again-it's about 2 deg C here right now but at least it's not raining like it was the other day.  Good day for me to leave one of my gloves at the hostel-argh!  Saw a Peregrin Falcon in the "mall" in Central Park, quite cool.

Oops people are coming and wanting to buy the machine I'm using to blog from.  JUST WAIT-LOL I CAN SEE YOU LOOKING OVER MY SHOULDER.

Ok really should head off.

Take care!!!  

xxx lisha

ARGH!

It all started when I dropped my bagel in the sink this morning....it's not been a good day from then on. I bought some mango last night and I had it for breakfast and it was gross-tasted nothing like the kind of mango I wanted! Juicy North Queensland mango-mmmmm. But no, this was hard and not juicy at all.
Anyway, I went to pick up some boots (two pairs of leather boots for $118-BARGAINNNNNN) so I could have some shoes to wear with my skirt and my credit card was *denied*.

What. The. *expletive*???

That can't be. Seriously there is something wrong there. So I've got a massive headache and have to try and call the bank and be like 'What's going on?!?'. I know I bought a plane ticket on it which took a chunk out but seriously I can't see how it would be maxxed.

On top of that-I can only apply for an Irish working holiday visa from London. And I spoke to the lady in the Canberra embassy (the only other place I can apply from) and she said from there (where she is) it takes about 3 weeks to approve the visa. This is so fucked. Sorry I'm think I'm allowed to swear for that one.

Things do not bode well for Elisha!

Stay tuned we'll see how this turns out sooner or later.

omgomgomgomg!

ZOMG!!!

Last night I went out for a walk (to get ice-cream ok I have a problem!) at like, 11.20pm and my hostel is on 94th street and 3rd, and the place I wanted to go to was 89th and Lexington (5 blocks down and one over) so I'm walking down Lexington and when I get to about 92nd street I see all these guys bustling around the door of a restaurant with cameras-a real scene! So I stop at the corner and seriously like, 5 seconds later TOM CRUISE and KATIE HOLMES walk out and into a big black SUV parked right near the door.

Seriously! I couldn't believe it!!! I saw her first, because she was much taller than most of the people around her and she had on big black sunnies and her trademark 'pob' hairstyle. Was wearing a very graceful looking white dress. I thought 'no way...it can't be...' then when I saw a guy with a pageboy hairstyle and who was head and shoulders *shorter* than she was, I knew it! Then they turned briefly and I saw their faces and that just confirmed the whole thing.

So awesome! The one time I don't take my camera out....actually....last time I went somewhere without my camera we saw a moose within reaching distance (almost) from the car so maybe if I want to see cool things I should leave the camera behind. Catch 22, hey.

Anyway, they were coming out of Sfoglia restaurant on 92nd and Lexington on the Upper East Side of NYC. I can see why now, it has curtains blocking off the door and the windows-although that might have just been for that night.

You know what topped the whole night off? Ben & Jerry's have bought out a new ice cream flavour (Fossil Fuel) and it's delicious! Right up there with Half Baked, I reckon (a big call!).

So yeah...that's my story! Cool, huh?
-lisha

Once

Howdy!!

This movie (Once) has been following me across the country. It's not even at the cinemas anymore, it's on DVD. I didn't pay too much attention to it the first time I saw it (in Fairbanks) and now in New York I came in half way through so I haven't seen it all but it's about two young adults in Dublin who randomly meet and start up a friendship. Everything happens for a reason! The main song in it though is stuck in my head now....

Bought the lonely planet guide for Dublin today and have been having a quick look through it. I was (and still am) nervous about going to Dublin but reading the guide it sounds like it could be somewhere I will enjoy or be comfortable in. The people are talkative and self-deprecating and love taking the piss. My kind of city! It's a shame everything there is so expensive. Really really really need to find a job there. But what I need to do before I go is find out the confirmation number for my flight so I can print out my booking sheet (oops).

This stupid computer is too slow so I'm not going to upload my photos tonight. Today I slept in then took the subway across to Brooklyn and walked back across the bridge. It's pretty cool, the bridge is multi-level where the cars drive in their lanes and in the middle of the lanes, up above, is where the pedestrians walk. There are minimal barriers though and places where you could, if you wanted, walk across a narrow catwalk right to the edge of the bridge-you'd think they would have it fenced off or something. It started to snow a little on the way across, which is nice because I like snow. But it wasn't anything that was settling on the ground. Which is nice too, because I hate slush. Ok I tell a lie I have two photos I can show you:





Today was a very productive day. If by productive you mean expensive. But now I have done pretty much all the souvenier shopping I wanted to get done so I shouldn't need to spend any more money on things other than transport and food for the next few days at least...
Went to the Nintendo store in Rockefeller Plaza-that place is awesome! They had DS consoles and Wiis set up everywhere with different games on them so you could try the games out. Mario Galaxy is really cool...but then a kid wanted to play so I had to stop :-( They also had a nice little display of different Nintendo systems from over the years.
Trundled all over the city carrying heavy bags and bought some groceries and now I'm back at the hostel. As usual, there are lots of Aussies here but they are solo travellers generally and the common room here isn't as busy as the one back at the Big Apple Hostel.

Anyway...if I get up early tomorrow I will ride the Long Island Railroad and head out to Montauk. If I don't, then I will....hmmm I'm not sure what I will do. Maybe go to the Botanic Gardens in the Bronx or Coney Island or the Aquarium in Brooklyn.

Here are the lyrics to the song from the movie:
When Your Mind's Made Up

(Glen Hansard/Markéta Irglová)

So, if you want something
And you call, call
Then I'll come running
To fight, and I'll be at your door
When there's nothing worth running for

When your mind's made up
When your mind's made up
There's no point trying to change it
When your mind's made up
When your mind's made up
There's no point even talking

You see, you're just like everyone
When the shit falls all you want to do is run, away
And hide all by yourself
well there's no point that's gonna warn to help

When your mind's made up
When your mind's made up
There's no point trying to change it
When your mind's made up
When your mind's made up
There's no point even talking
When your mind's made up
When your mind's made up
There's no point trying to change it

So, if you ever want something
And you call, call
Then I'll come running


I suppose that's all from me tonight!
xxx lisha

Pics!

Ok went up the Empire State Building yesterday. Timed it well so I was there for dusk so I saw the city light up as the sky got darker. Quite pretty :-) It also started SNOWING when I was up there, unfortunately it never reached the ground as snow...only as rain/drizzle.

Went to get my hair cut cos I saw a special '$23 shampoo and cut' so I thought SCORE and went in and it turns out the blow dry isn't included and the blow dry costs $40! But stupid me didn't ask that before they started. I figured if I'm paying so much for a blowdry I'll ask them to do something complicated with it so I get my moneys worth. So yeah now I have slightly shorter, squeaky clean hair that looks like it's been set with rollers haha. Bouncy bouncy!

Upper East Side is pretty nice. It's quiet but there is still a bit around. I'm getting a bit lost up here but that will sort itself out once I get more accustomed to where I am in relation to N/E/S/W. I saw some dog walkers yesterday, three of them (one on each corner of the block) and no joke they had a bundle of like 8 dogs each! It was so funny! I tried to get a picture but it didn't turn out too well.

I think that's all that's happened lately. OH I went to the Irish Consulate place and despite it being beautiful inside and everything the people were about as helpful as an ice cube in a furnace so all I got was a stupid pamphlet and I'm still none-the-wiser about getting the VISA. I might get a calling card and ring the Irish Consulate back home to see if they can give any advice. Some sales are still on so I bought some 'respectable' clothes for when I go job hunting...all that is missing is the boots/shoes!

This stupid computer is taking forever so I haven't got all my ESB pics but here are a few:









That's Times Sq down in between those buildings!


Ok stay cool :-)
xx lisha

Oh Canada!

Here are some pics from our day trip to Ontario to see Niagara Falls. Much better on the Canadian side!! It was like a theme park there with crazy buildings and themed restaurants and museums and tourist traps. The falls were spectacular-so much water and noise and mist everywhere.





















Back in New York City. It's raining but you know what-I like this chilly wet weather better than the 65F it was last time I was here. I'm hoping the forecast is correct and it dumps snow down tonight and tomorrow. If that happens I am so on a train to Montauk on Tuesday. I miss the home-town feeling of Rochester and the pretty houses, and the wide open spaces. Also miss the animals at the Atzrotts-if I could take Quasi home with me I could...such an affectionate cat :-)
I have so much to see still and it feels like I won't get the time to see it all! Wanted to get a trip to Washington in too but I don't think there will be time. I need to start getting up earlier so I don't waste any time that I could be sightseeing/touristing in.

Ok getting kicked out of the room now cos it's after 2am! Oops!
Take care
xxx leash

What?

What is a chitterling and why do people need 10 pounds of them?