Every day I think, “I need to take more pictures so I have something to post here on the daily update. And every time I sit down to blog, I realize I forgot. The big news today is that we found our lost luggage….but I doubt anyone wants to see a picture of our ugly blue duffel bag. So the only picture I remembered to take today was of Raheny, where we went to set up our bank account…excuse me, Liz’s bank account.

Banking…This morning Brenna decided she’d had enough running errands and stayed back at the Garza’s while Liz, Méabh & I headed out. Our first stop was at Ulster Bank in Raheny. We chose Ulster Bank as a place to set up our account because you can get a “chip and pin” credit card right away. Bank of Ireland makes you wait 6 months. Both banks require an appointment to set up an account, so Liz called Ulster bank and asked for a 12:30 appointment.  They asked if she could come at 12 noon instead. At 12:30, after no one had seen her yet, we left and went to the Bank of Ireland, and Liz set up an account.

I used to joke before I received residency that Liz could work & I could just hang out around the house. Now that I can work, she’s suggesting I get a job and deposit the money into her bank account.

I know this wasn’t big news back home, but over here Ulster Bank has made the news because of some major IT issues. While Liz was there, several customers came in screaming at the tellers. It has gotten so bad, at least at this branch where they have had to hire a security guard to deal with irate customers.

Lost Luggage…Afterwards, we went to the airport and found our missing bag…this time I checked inside to make sure it was actually ours.

Housing…Then we drove up to Swords to get SIM cards to put in our phones…there was a bit more hassle than we’d hoped, (Liz’s phone wouldn’t work, so she had to buy a new one)…and in the midst of it we realized we missed an appointment to see a house. (Same house we went to yesterday where the agent didn’t show up…oops. Trying to reset something for tomorrow.

We did make an offer on a place we saw yesterday…the agent asked for a bunch of details & said he’d present the offer to the owner…we’ll see I guess. While this place is above what we were hoping to pay (even our offer is about €200/month above what we are hoping for), there are currently 4-5 apartments with at least 3 bedrooms and less than €2,000 in all of Clontarf…one just rented before we got to see it yesterday.

We are seeing another 4 bedrooms on Sunday night.

This Weekend…Tomorrow we are going to pick up trash on Bull Island (just off Clontarf). Seemed like a great way to meet some people, and maybe even learn about potential places to rent or even work. Afterwards, we’ll head to the Rose Festival in St. Anne’s Park (Clontarf).

So, I think that’s it from here…please keep the feedback coming, I’m loving hearing from you all!