Shifting Gears

As of my last post, I was preparing to apply for a secondary visa through the British Consulate, one that will be required of BUNAC participants who enter the UK after October 1st this year.

I tried phoning the British Consulate in New York with two simple questions:

1) What are the chances of my visa application getting processed in one month?

2) If the chances are slim, will I have the option of applying for that secondary visa at the Home Office once I arrive in the UK?

Seventeen attempts and lots of frustration later, I found out that it is impossible to speak to an actual human being at the British Consulate. They try forwarding you to a 1-900 number for any visa questions, for which you have to pay $3.00 a minute; I refused. I even tried getting through to their press office to ask my question posing as a student journalist--but even their press correspondent was out of the office.

I took those as signs that any attempt at getting my visa processed before I leave would be equally impossible.

Keep in mind, I have my BUNAC Blue Card, and I'm entering before October 1st--so I technically don't need this extra visa. It just means that without one, I won't be able to go on any vacations to mainland Europe and re-enter the UK with the same right to work.

I've actually decided to cut my losses there. I don't think it's worth getting an ulcer waiting for the Consulate to process my visa and return my passport and Blue Card to me in the days leading right up to my flight. I can't risk not having those items, basically, so I'm not applying for that second visa. This means that any vacations/"holidays" will be limited to Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Not bad at all (except maybe Wales)!

The decision also saves me $430 toward that visa, which I'll instead be able to use for a nicer flat. Woot.

In the meantime this week I applied for more jobs--at least one each night and then seven on Thursday, since I found a wonderful job search site with super-relevant positions. I think an ideal gig would be as personal assistant to an executive or producer, or executive producer, in television, especially considering the salaries are on the higher end, in the range of £22,000 - £35,000. I've determined that I need to earn at least a £22,000 per year salary, since I know that I can survive on the remainder of that once they take out the roughly 30% for taxes and National Health.

Man, I can't wait till I actually get there, so that I can write more entertaining posts about how drunk the British are. Right now this is more of a How-To, isn't it?

"Keep on keepin' on."