Canada day should be grand!

So it’s settled, I move into the place in Rathmines tomorrow: Canada Day! A good omen, for sure, don’t you think? Yippppeeee! I can’t wait 🙂 I am meeting Aidan in the morning after I check out, then I’ll get a money order for the deposit, and off I go! Just have to figure out what bus to take from here but I’m sure Aidan can help me with that 🙂 It’s nice to have such a nice friend here; I have Facebook and my love of Wordscraper to thank for that! I feel such intense relief right now, it’s insane! I look forward to cooking and doing my laundry — who would have thought that would ever happen? Hehe, life is good. My next order of day will be to get the Internet, because I cannot live without it, that’s for sure!!! There are Canada Day celebrations here tomorrow (org. by SWAP) and a Canada Day bbq on Saturday. I think I may skip tomorrow’s celebrations and go for the bbq on Saturday just to meet some fellow Canadians! Hope some of them speak French; I miss it!!

My friend Daniel C. is visiting me from the 1 to the 6 of August — I can’t wait to see him! My cousin Jacinthe has asked me to travel with her from the 24 of July to the 31 so I won’t even bother to look for a job until August. Actually, I am quite fortunate as I spoke to the organization for which I edited the book before I left and not only do they want to offer me some contracts this summer, they want me to be their “in-house editor”, meaning that any time they have editing assignments, they will offer them to me first! It looks like they will have work for me in August but I would still like to find something here just so I can meet new people and get out of the house 🙂

Once I get a letter from my landlord stating that I live there, I have to present it to the Garda (Immigration) as well as proof that I have sufficient support funds (they will be surprised when they see my bank statement, hehe, I can’t wait, in your face evil border control guy!!), then I must apply for a tax number (like a SIN number) and I must also open a bank account! Everything was dependant upon me having an address! I cannot use my bank card here to pay for things in stores as they don’t have the Interac system so I look forward to getting a “laser card” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_(debit_card). Yet another thing that is different here!

I found a store that sells quinoa today so I got some! As long as I have quinoa, I’ll be happy, that’s what I always say… 😉

I look forward to settling in, surrounding myself with things that are familiar to me, getting to know my new neighbourhood and most of all, relaxing….mmmm.

I have a big day ahead of me tomorrow so I should try to get some sleep!

Oh before I forget, if you don’t want to have to keep checking whether I’ve updated my blog, you can click on the top right hand corner of the page where it says “posts” and you will be advised by email when I do! Cool eh?

N.b. There are lots of smelly boys in hostels. Ewww.

Flat update

Right so, out of eight flats I liked two and narrowed it down to one, rather reasonably priced (for HERE) at 440 euro ($716 Canadian) for a studio (bachelor) including heat and my very own washer in my wee kitchen! It’s in an area called Rathmines http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rathmines and I can walk to St. Stephen’s Green in 30 minutes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Stephen’s_Green. There are many stores, restaurants and buses within a few minutes walking distance too 🙂 Tomorrow I will see at least two more (and I hope another two on top of that) and if I don’t like anything better than that one, I’ll take it! I’m feeling a little less anxious now that I know that there is at least a home for me if I want it! Ohhhh lord get me out of this hostel!!!!!!!!! I’m pampered, what can I say?

Oh yes, one last thing, today a cute little fox crossed the road right in front of me. 🙂

Sha x

The search for a flat starts today!

Here I am in the common area of my hostel (they said that I would have access to the net from my room but it is not true…ahh, Dublin…), sipping on my amazing coffee from the Bald Barrista http://www.thebaldbarista.com/(voted best coffee in Dublin two years in a row) and mapping out my day! I am going to see 7 flats today, all in different areas, all on foot because I have not been very lucky with buses up until now!! I am going to be exhausted by the end of the day!! The sky is grey, which is ok with me because the thought of walking around in the heat does not sound very appealing; fingers crossed it does not rain (Dublin is the driest place in Ireland)! It is 9:30 a.m. and my first appointment is at noon. My plan of attack is to take the first place that I really like; if some of them are just ok, I will look at as many as I can in a day. Please, please, let me find a home today, I really want one!! I don’t have much good to say about Avalon House, where I am saying, so I will say nothing 😉

Sha x