the interview

i had my visa interview today @ the korean embassy, the penultimate step of the elongated rigmarole of securing a yearlong korean visa. & just like the previous red tape hoops 1 needed 2 jump through 2 get 2 this stage, the interview itself was also, in my opinion, a total waste of time (not that i’m really bitching as time is all i have these days). sitting in a nice room in a nice building in a nice part of dublin opposite a nice smiley korean & overlooked by a nice, not to mention huge, picture of lee myung-bak the interview, for what it was worth, went something like this -

smiley korean: "so, is this your first time applying for a korean visa?"

i was asked this after a review of my application form, the 1 i had just filled out minutes earlier & the very same 1 on which i had stated that i had been issued 6 previous korean visas.

me: "no, i’ve been granted 6 previous visas."

smiley korean: "6! oh, so you like korea then?"

me: "yes, of course."

smiley korean: "what do you like best about korea?"

me: "well i like the food... & the people... they are very friendly."

i thought it inappropriate 2 mention the fact that i also like how they drink like fishes @ the drop of a hat. oh, & how the women are hot as. so i didn't mention either.

smiley korean: "so you like spicy food?...kimchi?"

me: "yes, of course."

such was the closed-question nature of the interview/conversation that i decided against elaborating 2 the still smiley korean that while i answered his latter question - whether i like kimchi or not - positively i don’t, in fact, like spicy food in general. whatever, it seemed 2 do the trick. he had heard enough.

smiley korean: "okay mr byrne. your visa will be ready friday. if there are any problems we will be in touch."

problems. wtf? he could have done without dropping that bit into the conversation but let's cross that bridge if/when we/i come 2 it. anyway, while i may have claimed the interview was a waste of nobody’s time only mine (actually there's no may about it - i did claim it was a waste of time), it did, i assume, serve a few important purposes for the korean's themselves. firstly it proved that i indeed only had 1 head. secondly it proved i could actually converse in english. & thirdly it proved that i wasn’t, or @ the very least didn’t appear 2 be, a crazed maniac & general danger 2 korean society. those revelations coupled with my paperwork, paperwork that proves 1) i’m not a criminal in the eyes of the irish state & 2) do actually posses a bona fide degree, means all i gotta do now is wait just a little bit longer.

‘the return’ – an update

i think i’ve covered that.

this & that news

while i'm definitely not a crazed maniac & a general danger 2 korean society unfortunately the same cannot be said for this guy who, for whatever reason, lost his cool in seoul yesterday & felt the need 2 knife people. it’s a pity he wasn’t out enjoying the gorgeous korean autumn instead.

just for laughs is all

i don’t necessarily prescribe 2 the notion that blondes & dumb go hand in hand, regardless of what you may think by looking @ these... remember, it’s just for laughs is all.



want more? of course you do. check out this blonde doing something she was born 2 do & this 1 who was obviously born with geography issues.

what i'm listening 2 right now

augustina, boston