Ah-Ha!

Partial success at last! This morning I got a call from another temp agency! I haven't been placed yet, but I did do a phone interview, which is good. And I think it went pretty well for still being half asleep... why someone would choose to call before 9:30 am is above me, I can tell you that! I did a major internet spread of my CV yesterday because it was disgusting outside, so hopefully it will result in a couple more calls. All-in-all a pretty good way to start the morning!

Another awesome thing is I'M GOING TO SCOTLAND! Yay! I am super pumped. I'm going with some of my friends from here, and it is going to be some fun times, I can tell you that, Not really sure what we are going to do (I was half asleep when we were discussing it) but it will be fun. And only €30 round-trip to fly! How amazing is that?

And yet another thing that is fabulous- acupuncture. I am in love. It is fab. I had my first day of no pain in my lower back, and I was in heaven. Definitely going back.

So, things are looking up. Still going to need to get a job before things are really good though. But I'm praying and hoping, and doing all that I can.

Sorry I've been MIA...

My life is just a little repetitive lately. I feel as if nothing new or interesting has happened...
But, I do have a house now! It is super cute, withing walking distance of everything, and is in a safe area. So that is good.

Still no luck on the job front. I'm hoping to get some phone calls this week. I have to take the day off tomorrow to register with the Garda, and to register for my PPS number. I'm going to go to register really early, so that hopefully I will still have the afternoon to go job searching, although I'm getting really sick of it. I have found that I'm starting to walk a little slower, and start my day a little later. I'm just getting really discouraged. Oh well, something will come up.

On another note, I'm going for acupuncture on Thursday. I'm actually really excited. I hope that it will take some of my back and neck pain away. And I want to say that I go for acupuncture. Cause its cool. ;) But really, I just want to not always be in pain. That would be nice.

I should re-title this blog...

to "aches and pains of my 80-year-old body"

I am sore. My back does NOT like living in a hostel. and my ankles do not like cobblestones. Especially when I am job hunting, because I have to wear my flats instead of my runners. Crappy.

So, other that the fact that I hurt all over, and that I feel like doing nothing but lying down, things are going good. The girls in my room at the hostel are fabulous. It's too bad that I had to move out today. :( We had some good times though. And, I am now on the 2nd floor! Yay! Less stairs!

No luck so far on the job front, and still waiting for a phone call from the cottage that I really want. Going to view a couple more flats this weekend. So, if I don't get this one, I will be upset, but it won't be the end of the world. And I've worked out my budget, so I figure I can survive until the end of August, (as long as I get out of this hostel $$$) before I run out of money. But that is worst-case scenario. Hopefully I will be able to find a job sometime next week. I have only been here for 10 days, and only job hunting for 5 days of that, so I just have to give it time.

So, in order to pamper myself, and make me feel better, I am going to find a chiropractor on monday. Hopefully I will be more optimistic and eager when I'm not in pain.

Thanks for reading to the complaints of the luckiest girl in the world.

Flat hunting

So, officially a super awkward thing to do- flat-share hunting. Why? Because in a flat-share, there are generally people living there. So, that means that when you are going to look at rooms, you are poking about in peoples living spaces. They are there making a sandwich, and you are checking for mold in the fridge and all sorts of other strange things.
I just hope I can find something soon, because I am sick of living in a hostel. Sure, its nice to always have someone to talk to, but it sucks that the most privacy you can get is having a shower. And some of the people who are living at the hostel are CRAZY. Like, certifiably mentally insane, I'm sure.
But. I am looking at flats today and tomorrow, and days after that too, if I don't find something soon. And I have an interview tomorrow! Wish me luck!

Officially homesick.

I miss my bed. I miss my family. I miss my friends. I miss my cats. I miss my truck. I miss my jobs.

I went out pavement pounding today, and just got a bunch of people saying "we aren't hiring right now, and we don't take CVs when we aren't hiring, but come back in a couple weeks and we will be hiring then!" Lame.

Haven't found a place to live yet. Hopefully by the end of the week. Ugh.

And, I think my body is protesting my move. Everything hurts. And I have random bruises that I have no clue where I got. I think that my mind is latching on all these things that are going wrong, and is saying "this wouldn't have happened if you would have just stayed home like a good girl! Now you must suffer!"

Don't get me wrong. I am having fun. A lot of fun. But right now, I feel like I want to whine. This whole being in limbo thing really isn't sitting well with me. I just hope I can find a job and a place to live soon, then I can go traveling and get my mind in a better place.

Read these from bottom to top- June 07/09

So, now that I have time, I am writing everything that happened these past few days. I did write them as they happened, but didn't put them on my computer. So I started from getting here, and now am on sunday. Which I didn't write anything about. Because I did nothing. Couldn't job hunt, not feeling well, just, well, blah.

I am a drowned rat. - June 6/09

Today we went to Howth. Big Mistake. It was pouring. It is a beautiful town, but hard to see when your hair is plastered over your eyes. We tried to make it worth the 5 euro ticket, but after running from shelter to shelter and getting no where, we decided that we would return on a slightly less miserable day.
But I still love the rain. Which is good, seeing as I moved to Ireland.

In the evening I went over to the cute little cottage some friends of mine are staying in, and we ate a good comfort food supper. Pasta, bread, and salad. So good. Then, just when my afro (thats what happens when I do nothing with it) was dry, I had to go back out in the rain to catch the DART back to my hostel.

I highly doubt I will ever underestimate Irish weather ever again. And I will begin to check the weather report. Religiously. Every 10 minutes.

Not Much Happens These Days- June 04/09, June 05/09

June 04/09

Spent the entire day changing my Canadian Resume into an Irish CV. Kill me now. Oh! And went to a really good vegetarian indian place down by Grafton Street, I don't remember where we were! It wasn't as good as home cooking, but it was up there!


June 05/09

I dropped off a couple of CVs today, but didn't really do that much, because all of the stores I went into were super busy. So instead, I came back to the hostel and surfed Daft for roughly 3 hours. Not much came of that, but I think there were some good leads, there.
And I FINALLY got a new converter! (Back story- bought a converter a couple of days ago that doesn't convert. So basically a 30 Euro paperweight)


And that's all.

Orientation- June 3/09

Today I had my orientation at USIT. Unfortunatly, it made me feel like I was back in school again, because it was absolutely BEAUTIFUL outside, and we were inside in a hot, stuffy room, listening to someone tell us everything we needed to do. I tried my hardest, but I think I tuned out about 3/4 through. But that is what the pack of papers they gave us was for!

A couple girls I met at the orientation and I went out for drinks afterwards. We went to the Q bar I think? And we also went to the Hairy Lemon. That pub was so cool. It just felt like it had seen so much. Pity that the bathroom officially failed as a bathroom, but that brought on quite a few laughs.

All in all, I'm really excited to be here. I can't wait to see what this beautiful city has in store for me.

On the Plane- June 02/2009

Hardest and most exciting day of my life. Having to say good bye to all my friends and family and my clothes, but going to Dublin. Its not that I’m having second thoughts or anything, it’s just that it is a hard transition. Very bittersweet. I’ll probably feel better about it when I get a decent nights sleep, meaning one that is not on an airplane. I don’t do well without sleep. Which is why I’m not a morning person. But back to my morning. On Sunday, I woke up at 10:30, had a shower, had lunch with some of my friends, went and took some pictures, ate ice cream, packed, packed, gave clothes away, packed, then went to say goodbye to my uncle, my cousins, and my grandparents. I was fine, I didn’t cry, and then I saw a tear in the corner of my grandpa’s eye and I broke down. (sorry Grandpa- you can't deny it!) Ugh. Then I went home, ate spaghetti (my mum makes the best spaghetti sauce known to man), played a game of crib, and packed some more. Then bawled. And packed. And packed. And bawled. Didn’t sleep, and left for the airport at 5am. So, I have been flying ever since. And my butt hurts. Ew. Too much sitting for me. And to top it all off, my back is sore, probably sitting at about a 6 today. And my painkillers are in my checked baggage. Oh Joy.

Singin' at the top of our lungs...

So, E and I are hanging out! Yay! I love it. She is the only person that I can drive around with singing showtunes at the top of our lungs and looking like idiots. This is awesome. I love that we don't need to do things. We can just do what we would be doing anyway, but it ends up being more fun.

So, I am here until the 24th. That is a Sunday night. And then I leave on the next monday. Exactly a week after I get home. So that means I move in 10 days. Wow.

Things are getting hard.

Today should have been such a happy day, but it wasn't. I got my visas today. Super exciting, right?

I had a talk with some of my friends. There are 5 of us, and they are the sisters that God blessed me with. They may not be biological sisters, or legal sisters, but they are my sisters at heart. 3 of us were talking tonight, and I'm having a hard time. I want to leave so bad, but things aren't quite right. I can't put my finger on it, but things have changed in the past month. I don't want to leave things like this, and I'm terrified that I'm going to. But I must. There is no turning back now, and we will just have to deal with this as it comes.

We have already beaten the odds. This time last year, everyone told us that there was no way we'd stay friends out of high school. We were all going our separate directions, and we would drift apart. But we are still there for eachother. And I'm going to need you guys if I'm going to be strong enough to do this.

This is what I am supposed to do. I need to do this. But I also need you guys there for me, and I'm going to be greedy. I NEED you guys. If I don't have your support, I know I will give up, and, even though I'm sure some of you would be happy to have me home, I don't want to come home because I'm not strong enough to stay. I want to come home because it is my time to come back.

I love you guys. And I know I say this a lot, but I can't stress it enough. Screw the time difference. Call me any time. I would rather loose sleep and talk to you, than sleep and loose you. You mean the world to me.

Congratulations!

One of my favorite people in the world graduated yesterday! I just want to say, congratulations, girl. You looked beautiful, I am so glad that I was there to see you. I am super proud of you.

I got Euros!

My Auntie sent me Euros! They are cute! I looked at them for probably 10 minutes, then went and held them up to my canadian money for a while too. They are cute because they are smaller. I love them! Thank-you Auntie!

I had my last day at the restaraunt yesterday. It hasn't quite hit me yet, but I'm sure that once Saturday evening rolls around, I will be hanging out there just because its where I have spent almost every friday and saturday night (and thats no exaggeration!) for the past 8 months. How sad is that?

Oh! And we are going for coffee in 15 days E! Excited? I am!

Flight's Changed!

Went up to the Travel CUTS office to switch my flight today. Now I go to Minneapolis on the 20th, and come back home on the 24th, take part in provincials for my Musical Theatre Ballad (yay!) and fly out to Dublin on June 1st.

I really do wish that we were able to book our own flights though, instead of having to go through the travel agent. I just feel better being able to see for myself that that is the best flight for me. And there wouldn't be a service charge on EVERY flight. But my Mum is awsome. She outright refused to pay a service charge on the flights because, when you think about it, we paid the service charges the first time, THEN the cancellation charge of an extra $100 (that they neglected to tell me of when I bought the cancellation insurance) on top of the $300 that it costs to cancel my flight. There is no reason for us to pay another $140 in service charges.

And in other news...

the biometrics paperwork is all sent out! Just waiting for it to get back with my visas now!

I had my MRI a while back, results are pretty good, of course I went during an almost pain-free week! I have a bulged disk at L5-S1. Pain level is at a persistant 2.5 right now. Normally that wouldn't bother me, but it is just annoying now!

I will be officially done my serving job in one week. I think all of this will start feeling more real when that is done. It has been a constant in my life for the past 8 months, and it sure will be strange to not work there.


All in all, life is good. I am so close to what I want, but it still feels like this is just a dream. But when I think about how much time is left....
The hardest part is coming up now. I have my good-byes to say. It is strange to see people that have been in my life for my 18 years, and to think that I won't see them anymore. Weird.

Biometrics and Clothes.

So the new bank letter was right (finally). I got the email from swap in regards to my biometrics appt. The biometrics appointment is were I go to the visa application centre (VAC) and get a fingerprint scan and a picture for my visa for the british government. THe email had my GWF number in it (basically a visa application number for the british government) and so I was able to book an appointment with that. It is next thursday. Yay! Then all I have to do is curior off my application to the British High Commission in Ottawa. And then I will be ready to go!

It is so crazy to think that I will be leaving in... let me check... 41 days and 11 hours. That is so soon. And I sound like such a girl when I say this, but how will I take all my clothes? Answer? Impossible. I have to prune my wardrobe I guess. I'm sure that S & L will love the new additions to their closets. I have a backpack that I'm taking, and I think I'm going to pay the extra money and get my parents to ship some stuff over once I find a place. That way I don't have to worry about it, and if there is something that I have forgotten, because trust me, I will, they can just sneak it in. It's very strange to think about packing everything I will need for two years in a backpack and a box. I'm just really glad I'll be going with a fair amount of money. I can't imagine how anyone gets by with only the support funds that the governments require. And I haven't even left yet!

Paperwork, paperwork,...

So, I faxed off the revised copy of my bank letter (again). My bank is probably sick an tired of me, because every time I go in there it is because I need a new bank letter. Why? Because it is never good enough! Granted, the first copy was completely wrong because I didn't read the instructions properly, the second copy was wrong because my name was spelt wrong, and the third copy was missing the teller stamp. Which the instructions failed to mention. Ugh. At least I was able to fax it this time. I didn't want to take yet another trip to the travel cuts office, or even to puralator to curior it. I just want this to be done. I know I will feel so much better once I have my passport and visas in hand. Or I will start to panic. Either or, it will be better than living in limbo like this. I never really liked that game...

In 50 days I begin a new...

I realized today, that in 50 days, I will be walking down the streets of Dublin for the first time. This realization is exciting, scary, and oh so close.

The Backstory:
I'm going to be cheesy here and explain everything to all who stumble across this blog. Truth be told, it will most likely only be my friends and family. But, I know that someone else who likes to research (like me) will probably read these words at some point. So here we go.

My name is Melissa, I am 18, and I am from a small city with an even smaller town feel in Alberta, Canada. I have lived in the same house all of my life, my parents are still together, and I believe I have been brought up to be a strong, independant individual. I graduated high school in 2008, and have been working, just waiting. Waiting for Ireland. I have been planning the trip of a lifetime for four years, and now that its almost here I am a bundle of nerves. I have no idea what to expect. But it will be great. I know it. I can feel it.

The Plan:

I leave on May 21st, 2009, and fly to Minneapolis to visit my best bud for life, E, who is going to school there. I leave there on May 25th, fly overnight to Amsterdam, run around an airport I don't know, and hope I don't miss my connection to Dublin. What does this mean? I leave the life I know in 45 days, and will be walking the streets of Dublin in 50 days.

Time Left:

There are many ways to look at the time I have left;

1.47 months

6.29 weeks
44 days
1071 hours
64315 minutes
3858929 seconds

I call it soon! It just kind of crept up on me. But I'm going to make the best of the time i have left, and try not to freak out too much.

How I'm doing it:

I am using a program called SWAP (http://www.swap.ca/) to help me get my Visas. I am going on what they call the Brit-Ireland swap on a holiday makers visa. This means I am able to work in Ireland for one year, and Great Britain (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland) for two years.

I am lucky enough to have my friends and family behind me on this one, because I don't know if I would have the courage to go to another country by myself, let alone for almost two years. I will miss my home, my life, my friends, but this is something that I can feel in my bones. This is where I am supposed to go, and what I am supposed to do. Any further than that and I am stumped, but after I get myself to Dublin, I'm sure that I will figure it all out.