DUBLIN DAY 3

oh the background stories are you ready!!!

The day Pam shime saved my life and other acts of kindness

On saturday after ab went with me to pick up my plane ticket, I though I woudl look into the box where I keep my passport, so I could put the ticket and passport together, I opened up the box and allmost fell backwards when I say it wan't there. I started to search and search and search, I unpacked everthing, looked everywhere in my room and tv room . . . it was no where to be found my heart went numb allong with my mechanically moving body. two days before I leave and my passport is missing, I start to make phone calls on my options at this point. It seems that what I need to do is download forms for a missing passport and get to the office first thing in the morning with $285 and I can get an emergancy one.

I sit back and think, I suddenly remember that a few weeks earlier, my univeristy requested that I send them a copy of my birth certificate and passport, I had taken both to shoppers photocopied them and brought them back in a brown envelope to my moms room where I did all my application stuff. The good news I remembered where I last say it, the bad news is you need a birth certificate to get a passport and if they are both lost I am out of luck.

We searched my moms room and found nothing, when I sent those out, my mom was teaching a course and had paper everywhere. WE think that my carelessness of leaving it around and my moms attempt to tidy her caotic room resulted in them getting tossed. I went to the shoppers just incase, but it was not there.

next step - police station - I had to report that I lost both my pass port and birth certificate - in the mean time I cancelled my trip to st.catharines for the evening :(

I went back home and printed off the forms for a new birth certificate and passport . . . I started to fill out the forms - I asked a family friend who is a principle if she would sign the forms - no problem - and I got another family friend plus my doctor to be my references- excellent- then I read the forms more closely I would need another form since my passport had been reported lost- this other form required a lawyer to sign it. I had 24 hours to get a lawyer to sign my form.

then it hit me pam shime, the wonder pam is a lawyer, she thought the sexualtiy and law class that I took tis past year, and si the most wonderful prof. I looked her up in the phone book (seriously) and phoned her aat home (she seems too much of a goddess to have her number in the white pages but there it was. I left a message for her and sat in front of the tv in distress.

an hour later pam shime phoned me at home saying no problem and said that I coudl meet her at her pottery class the next day. She said that she was happy to hear from me, not to worry about phoning her at home and that she was glad to see me before I left.

next day

I got my photos taken, got all my forms signed, hung out with regan, slept over at sk's and waited for the dread nex tday

flight day

I got to the birth certificate office before it opened, still I was number 44 . . . the total time in that office was 3 hours. I paced, wondered, moved and generally worried. Everyone else sat compleatly still with emotionless faces, only I was alive, even if it was only life of anxiety. When I was finally called up, the process was painless, it only took 5 mins, since my reference was right there . . .they charged me $50 when even the form I filled out said $35, I assume they have a sliding scale based on anxiety, they assumed they could charge me more and they were right . . .

off to the passport office

I took a cab, I had no time for the "rocket" . . . the line up was minimal, the women who gave out numbers was very kind, she gave me a by-pass number and I was called up to the desk with in a few mins, leaving 50 people sitting and wondering whatwas so important about me. The women the women at the desk was helpful and kind, after an other 10 mins I was sent away, she told me to eat something, because a passport was no good if I was dead. Plus the charge was only an extra $70 not $200 maybe they have a sliding scaled based on patheticness, and they realized I was at extream levels at that point.

I then went over to UofT to visit sk, who had said come by between 12-2 if you have a break, I will have a break then and make you a sandwich . . . neither of us expected me to me there, but at 11:45 I was free and told to come back at 2 . . . so UofT for the last time in two years, I looked for regan and such my no such luck, but I did get to chill with sk.

I got back to the office and they said that they were unable to reach one of my references. I started to panic, they needed someone who had known my for at least 2 years that wasnt a relative, I opened my phone book and started to write down names and numbers, with each try they woudl come back and say that the person was not home. Finally I wrote down kevin and craig, I don't know how I didn't think of them earlier . . .regardless, kevin was home, when they asked him to discribe me he said mid twenties, funky hair and that was enough to print out a new passport.

off to the airport,

I went thought the express check in and baggage counter before my mom had a chance to park. We then had a few hours to sit and chill ( can you believe it after a few like that I had a few hours !!!) we chatted eat, sean and I raced on moterbikes in the "tom foolery" arcades. They both cried there little eyes out and I was off . . .


who needs sleep anyways

the flight was wonderful, I had a window seat at the front of the plane so I had plenty of leg room and if I wanted to get up I didn't have to disturb the guy next to me, I couldwalk around him!! The played anger management on the flight -- a good distraction. The next to me was funny and nice, he told me stories, he was on his way to germany for business, his job was to buy fashion, bring them back and send the designs off to china (I didn't get into the ethics of that with him, I was stuck next to him for the next 7 hours) Everything worked according to plan, my luggage went straight to dublin, my transfer in london was painless and customs was not a problem. The only this is they don't really know what vegan is . . . I got some tofu and rice at first which was ummm ok . . . . but everything else had eggs, milk or cheese in it, its a good thing I brought granola bars, and other snacks . . .

I didn't sleep the night before the flight too much anxiety I didn't sleep on the fllight too excited. I didn't sleep when I got to dublin too much to take in. My count gives that 55 hours awake minus a hour here or there . . . the international office was playing the butcher boy my first night, so I went to watch it hoping that I would meet people there but I was a few mins late so if there was any time to mingle at the beginning I missed it . . . and after a movie like that no one is in the mood to chat . . .

I went back to rez and slept and slept and slept over twelve hours!!!

roomies, computers and other frustrations


The residence is a master piece waiting to fall apart . . . you get a swip card ( bad news too easy to lose ) that lets you in to your building, then you walk up two flights of stairs, you need your card to get into your apartment and once again to get in your room. How easy will it be to lock my card in my room and be stuck . . . this will be a test of ones memory . . . plus the doors of the room are heavy, they don't stay open, I need to find myself a door stopper.

Ok here is my roomie situation, almost what I imagined :

one girl from small town ireland in commerce
one girl from nigeria in engineering
one girl from the states in finance (don't ask me the difference between finance and commerce I'm an arts student)
one boy from small towm ireland in commerce, who said to me last night that he say three "transvestites" for the first time this past week . . . he also told me that on the irish station on sundays they have this drag queen who does bingo, early that same day they have a show that does the rosary . . . I told him the contradictions were great, he said it was strange and didn't find the same humour in it as I did . . . oh well

they all seem really nice . . . one more roomie to come still . . .

my computer died yesterday grrr

I am about to phone the IBM support in Ireland, but I don't know how to use a phone yet hehehe, it better start working soon, otherwise it an expensive piece of trash.

I dont know what happened, I had bought a electricty converter, but that can't be the issue since my plug foir my laptop is already able to convert, I only really needed a plug convertor, but I got the electricity one for my battery recharger. Anyways, I was listening to music and on the internet, I bought this card that is for wireless interenet, which we have in my rez. I was online for about 10 mins before it happened so I don't think the card is the problem. I then was about to download photos onto my computer. I put the USB port in, before it even connected, my computer shut off. At first I thought it was the electricy in the apartment. we have these cards for electricty, when the card runs out all the electicity is turned off, but that was not the problem. I took out the card and the plugs, and tried to turn it on, but it won't work. grrrr

vegan . . . whats that

not only do all my roomies eat meat cheese and the rest of that jazz ( I expected as much )
the campus grocessry store and restuarants dont' seem to know what vegitarian options are let allone veganism. I asked the grocersry store if they ever got soy milk, they didn't know what it was and ofter me goat milk instead. This restaurant on campus called 911 (the emergance number here is 999, another example of americian influence) had an option for extra meat, but no veggie option. I had the guy put a few of the salads on the bun!!!

all work no play

although this week I do have some free time, I must not enjoy it too much! I say this because with out a bike I am dependant on the bus system, which is actually fast adn frequent, the problem is the last bus back to campus in at 11:30pm . . . not leaving much time at the bars. Last night I went to a club called The George, they have a drag show on Wednesdays, but I had to leave before it got started . . . aparantly there are night buses that leave once an hour on the weekends, I'm not sure if they come near campus though. Once I get to know people we can cab it, but until then home in bed by midnight for me!!!