Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Who Ya Gonna Call?

I never thought this blog would be such a hit! I'm glad it gives our friends and family something exciting to look forward to from us. Now the pressure's really on to keep it up!

Matt had a busy day planned yesterday. No more site-seeing, but time to get down to business! We started the day off by going to the Immigration Office, basically to register with the government and get an ID card that enables us to stay here for a year. The lineups were ridiculous, so we turned around and left and went back this morning - way earlier to beat the rush. Next stop yesterday was the Social Services Office, where we registered for a PPS (SIN) number. These are all annoying little things that we have to do in order to get a job, flat, and bank account here, and they all take up time waiting in line, waiting for mail, etc. While waiting in line, Matt was reading the local paper and was surprised to see a full page picture of a completely topless and provocative female. Their papers are crazy here. They're very tabloid-y and full of humour that we don't quite understand. After those shenanigans were complete, we headed to Grafton Street to price out mobiles (cellphones). I just heard the big gasp! Yes, it's true! Matt and I are officially cellphone owners. Irish mobiles are way better and cheaper than Canadian ones (not that we REALLY know, but it seems that way at least). It's free for us to accept calls or texts from anyone at anytime, so if you feel like chatting (and paying the price!) give us a ring. These are the exact numbers you have to dial to make an international phone call to us in Ireland:


Alex 011 353 851063288
Matt 011 353 851060909

We've run into a little snag as far as accommodation goes. There are big rugby matches happening on the weekends this month, and hostels are booked solid and well in advance. We didn't realize this until we tried booking for the weekend and it was full. We're still at the same hostel we started at called Kinlay House, but on Friday and Saturday we'll have to lug our bags across the city to stay at a different hostel. That's fine with us, but we've done a lot of research and review reading and price comparing and opinion asking, and the hostel we're currently in seems to be the best one. We're really happy here, so we've been making nice with the front desk staff and I think they'll do their best to get us in for the weeks to come.

Last night, we ate our first Irish meal at the restaurant across the street from our hostel. I got fish and chips and Matt got roast beast. The service sucked, but the food was the best we've had yet!

Europe has seriously screwed up Matt's sleep. He went from going to bed at 3:00am and waking up at noon to going to bed at 9:00pm and waking up at 7:00. I just don't get it! He likes to get up for the free continental breakfast that the hostel offers each morning. Toast, coffee and orange juice - breakfast of champions! This morning was the first time I actually got up in time to get the free breaky. I've been making Matt steal the butter so I can use it on our own toast when I wake up later. Oh, the things you do when you're broke. It's not even that we don't want to buy butter, we just don't want to store it. Fridge space is tight around here, and you never know who's digging into your food (ew!)

Today, after waiting in line for 2 hours to get our ID cards, we went grocery shopping, came back to our hostel, cooked up some tacos for lunch, worked on our CV's, and started job hunting.

I went for a walk tonight to check out other areas of town and to hunt for flip flops for Matt. We've been searching everywhere for flip flops so he has shower/hostel shoes, but go figure, no such thing around here during this time of year. I finally came across a pair in an Irish souvenir shop. They are really green and plastered with cloverleafs - how non-touristy! Oh well, why pretend? We're tourists, darn it, and we're proud of it! I found a new shopping area that's a lot cheaper than Grafton Street. I wandered around some funny discount stores and found their equivalent of a dollar store. Except after the conversion, it's really the 3 dollar store. Boooo! About a block away from the hostel, in the heart of Temple Bar, I stumbled upon an art exhibition opening. I went in and took a look around - it was really cool. I wonder if they're hiring? I then came "home" and re-heated taco fixings for dinner. If there were more leftovers, we'd probably be eating tacos for breakfast too. Enjoy some pictures from my walk...

Christmas on O'Connell Street


The Ha'Penny Bridge over the River Liffey. The River Liffey splits Dublin into two. This bridge, opened in 1816, is accepted as the symbol of Dublin and was the only pedestrian bridge on the Liffey until the new Millenium bridge further up was opened in 2000.

While on my walk, I tried texting the only contact in my phone - Matt. I have a new appreciation for people who can text and walk at the same time.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Weeman I will forgive all of the comments you have made to me in the past regarding my unusual sleeping habits. Now you understand that it does have its perks.

Anonymous said...

P.S.

I tried texting you but havn't heard back. I forget what the time change is, perhaps it is the middle of the night for you right now. If i don't hear from you by tomorrow I will assume A)it didn't work, or b) you got frustrated with trying to text and threw your 'mobile' off the Ha'Penny Bridge.

Skimson said...

Alex, just got your text back...man your up early unless it takes hours for the text to return....

Between texting you and Nicole I am curious on how expensive my bill will be ha ha....

I am loving the pictures. Are you going to put more up some where else?

111 days!!!!!!!!!! Can't wait to come visit...I am already thinking what I need to pack since I don't plan on returning...

Anonymous said...

Enough of these historical touristy shots, lets see the good stuff like Matt's SHOWER SHOES!!!! that's hilarious!! Arg, suckky that there's so much admin work to get done, luckily you've got some exciting "news" to keep you occupied :o)

Anonymous said...

Um I do believe that I am your other text contact in Ireland, Alex! So feel free to text. It takes me about half an hour to write hello so I try and abstain.

Sarah said...

Hey Matt and Alex!

Alex, I must say, you are a creative blogger! I can't wait to hear of all your crazy adventures! I thought your comment 'I now have a new appreciation for people who can walk and text" was quite funny. I sprained my ankle last week texting my roomate and walking down some stairs on campus! Clearly not a smart thing to do! Keep us updated!