Digs

We went to the Office of Social Welfare today to apply for a PPS number (the explanation for which is in my previous entry). It also happened to be "dole day," Thursday being the day welfare checks are given out. It was also raining heavily with wind gusts around 30 miles per hour.

It seemed funny to me that we were waiting in a dole line to get permission to work, one of the many things I pondered in an effort to distract myself from the fact that I was completely soaked and cold. Once we got into the building and found the PPS Number window, my dripping wet hair nearly ruined my application form. But in the end we were successful thanks to the minor miracle that we had all of the proper paperwork on hand. (Another not-too-surprising observation from the social welfare office: many of the signs are in the usual Irish and English, accompanied by Polish). Now all that we have to do is sit on our hands until the application is processed and our numbers are mailed to us. (The photo of Katherine on our way back hardly does justice to how soggy it was).

We returned to cute little apartment, which deserves a few words. I like how efficient everything is: in particular, how the water heater stays off until one needs to shower or clean some dishes is very nice. I've had surprises in the past with boilers using a LOT of energy (and, thus, racking up high bills) to keep the hot water hot all of the time. The convenience factor of our current set-up is lower, but I don't mind.

Included in the kitchen are a fridge and a washing machine, both endearingly tiny. As you can see in the picture I have taken, the hatch of the washing machine is nearly the same size as a 20 euro-cent coin. An Irish friend of ours expressed dismay when we told her how large American washing machines are. This one is also a dryer, in the same unit! This is incredibly novel, but I guess things don't have to be too exotic to seem novel to me.

Of course, the point of all of this––the apartment, the PPS number––is to find work. With these two pieces in place we can start on that. More on that to come...