bktheirregular

So the good news I thought I had yesterday? Turns out to be not so much "good" as "tedious".

Turns out the work-permit process is even more complicated. The stuff which has now taken a solid year to process? That's only step one. The firm has to send a request for an applicant for a position - and I've got to be the first one to get to the consulate and see it, and fill it out. Then the application has to go back to Athens, and the firm has to submit a request to the Foreign Ministry to issue me a work visa. And only then can I go and get my passport stamped so that I can go back to Greece. Then there's a whole other layer of forms and registrations to deal with, including proof that I'm actually going to be living there, and proof that I won't turn into a deadbeat of some sort.

And, oh yeah, I forgot the best part. The lady at the office I spoke with today said that they're going to send that application to the Greek consulate in New York, on Second Avenue. Except that the consulate's located on 79th Street, between Park and Madison; Second Avenue is the location of the Greek mission to the United Nations. I'm supposed to bet my future employment on some civil servant in Athens knowing the difference.

Fun, huh? In a totally sick, not-at-all-fun way.

Ah well. Gotta go out and vote. Have to make my own little personal declaration that despite the propaganda, this city is indeed America, and despite the rhetoric, I am still an American.

Oh, yeah. Happy birthday to