Posted in Dublin Trek on May 16th, 2011 No Comments »
So we are expecting Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to arrive in Dublin tomorrow, 16 May 2011. Then on 23 May 2011 we will be visited by President Obama. As a result of this, the Gardai (local police) have sealed all the manhole covers around Dublin with silicone and some paint in order to prevent [...]
Posted in Dublin Trek, Travels on Oct 18th, 2010 No Comments »
This past Saturday was a truly historical occasion! On October 16, 1843 Sir William Rowan Hamilton, an Irish physicist, astronomer and mathematician, was walking by the Broom Bridge along Broombridge Road which crosses the Royal Canal in Cabra, Dublin, Ireland when an idea struck him. He immediately inscribed it on one of the stones on the bridge so not [...]
Posted in Dublin Trek on Feb 23rd, 2010 1 Comment »
I was waiting until I could add this feed to Google Buzz before posting this because, like a true sellout, I was craving a bigger audience!
So here you go, a list initially titled “You Know You’ve Studied Abroad In Ireland When…”, but since some of these items are lost on me and I ain’t no erasmus/exchange student, I picked a more generic name. If some of these items sound like complete gobbledygook, I will attempt to elaborate on the ones that make sense to me in a few posts later. By all means stick around ’till the end for a video treat!
Posted in Dublin Trek on Nov 23rd, 2009 1 Comment »
Yes, the cat is indeed out of the bag. No, I am NOT gay, although I frequently exhibit such behaviour.
The big news is that I found a new job and started today. I’ve been keeping it low profile since the uncertainty of the terrible Irish bureaucracy was still upon me. Not anymore – I hold in my hands an employment permit for the next two years!
I am now working for an Irish company writing funky life insurance products and selling it in Italy. Because of that about 60% of the office people are Italian and I already downloaded Pimsleur Italian (actually it was on the shared drive at work for all non-Italians to use!) and am working on my Godfather accent.
To tell you a bit about the pain in the rear that was the work permit application process let me tell you that I am seriously starting to consider that I have superpowers. It can also be because I have been watching Heroes non-stop, waiting for the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment (DETE) to talk to me.
I applied for the Green Card (the local version of the employment permit, which is equivalent to the Employment Permit (note the CAPS), but also gives you the “fast track to the Irish residency”) on November 2, 2009 knowing full-well that it takes them around 4 weeks to process this thing. I was due to start on the 23rd of November. On the 17th of November I received a rejection letter telling me that I am not cool enough and that my nose was disproportionate to my face when I was a teenager and that I am a lousy poker player. Nothing new. Wait, what? I am good at poker, my nose is all matching my face now and some people consider me cool (hey dude!). PLUS, I need to have this darned permit in three business days otherwise I am, hmm, how can I keep this PG, IN TROUBLE!
I submit the appeal letter within hours of receiving the rejection letter and call the call centre to follow up, only to find out that it takes 8 WEEKS FOR MY LETTER TO REACH THE APPEALS OFFICER!!! Panic Mode, ON! It is now two business days until I need to have the permit otherwise I am in trouble. I run to DETE and harass the security guard, who in his helpless strive for survival from my death grip cries for help to the lady descending the stairs and apparently going to lunch. I practice my mind control tricks and charm the bejesus out of her and she gives me the two secret numbers, the numbers that noone in Ireland knows, to call and get my life back on track. I call and VOILA, one day later I have the permit! Mind you, it’s not the Green Card, it’s the Employment Permit. Everything’s the same, but no “fast track to Irish residency”. I will cry many nights over this!
I should also mention that a few weeks prior to that, when I realized that I may not have enough time to get the permit and thanks to the suggestion from my recruiter, I decided to contact a local MP, or TD, as they are called here. This dude’s assistant gets back to me and has a meeting with me, offering to write a stern letter to the DETE, telling them to do as I say. This was not necessary, but my hat goes off to the dude’s assistant dude, who was very helpful and understanding!!! Thanks, sincerely!
So here I am, one day in! Expect many tweets relating to this!
Posted in Dublin Trek on Nov 5th, 2009 No Comments »
May I present to you, my favorite Chief of Operations, Miles Edward O’Brien! Although he is supposedly a Federation citizen, in the ad below he is exhibiting all the signs of being a Ferengi.
Miles O’Brien
At any rate, he was the first REAL Irishman who entered my circle of trust and it was very nice to see him on the pages of the Sunday Times!
All hail to the Chief!
Posted in Dublin Trek on Nov 3rd, 2009 3 Comments »
Oh boy, so if you have been reading my tweets you know what was going on. 50+ people at our place with lots of floor scrubbing the day after. The event was somewhat documented in the following album, the rest is on facebook – look out for people tagging us if you’re interested.
Before we get labeled as a cross-dresser and a trailer trash let me explain – I was a Tooth Fairy and Alex was a little kid whose teeth I stole!
Enjoy:
dscn1816
Posted in Dublin Trek on Oct 26th, 2009 1 Comment »
I realize that I have not been posting here for a while. I can’t really promise that this will change, but I will do my best to throw in a few cumulative updates here and there. Before I begin let me ask you to do something. I got a letter from Val last week – [...]
Posted in Dublin Trek on Sep 27th, 2009 5 Comments »
The issue of abortion is becoming more and more appalling as we meet more Irish people here. Abortion is illegal in Ireland and in Northern Ireland, unless the pregnancy is in threat of endangering the life of the woman. One of Ireland’s best known abortionists was even famously sentenced to death by hanging in 1957 when one of her patients died. The country (the South at least) is very Catholic and we meet more and more people with many many siblings.
Posted in Dublin Trek, Historical Goodies on Sep 20th, 2009 1 Comment »
Howth is a little commercial fishing town, situated on the Dublin Bay and is technically part of Dublin. It has recently been developed as an upscale residential suburb and is a pretty little town with steep streets running down to the waterfront. Although the harbour is no longer the epicentre of shipping activity as it once was, the shipping business is prospering and tons of yachts are parked in the little harbour.
Posted in Dublin Trek on Aug 13th, 2009 2 Comments »
When we first arrived in this beautiful city we only saw Irish everywhere. Can’t tell what the passerby is saying – must be Irish. Red haired dude on the bus – must be Irish. You get the picture.
As we get more accustomed to living here it is clear that to find Irish in Dublin is not that easy. Our IKEA delivery guy was Polish and openly invited me to talk to him in Russian. My hair dresser was Russian, so was the waitress and the neighbourhood Ashton’s Pub. Indian people run the convenience stores, even here. Chinese people run the dry cleaners. Our next door neighbours roast the herring on the weekends, what else is new.