Veni, Vidi, Visa.

Even I'm cringing at the corniness of that title.

Today I had my visa appointment. Drove to the consulate in Durban, left everything I didn't need in the car, strolled in and queued.

I was a bit worried because of my dual citizenship and the fact that I earn money overseas and locally - none of it with any proper invoices or anything, but after waiting for 45 minutes, I was called to a window for fingerprints, then called to another for a quick chat with someone about why I was going, where I was working, what I do here.

And then, my visa was approved. Just some insurance to get and I'm all set. Soon I'll actually have something to put on this blog...

The Update Monster

I took a break from this blog because blogger.com wouldn't load to let me edit it. Just a quick update. Hopefully, I'll have more photos and things to upload once I get to Disney World.

Some news:

* I've just returned from Namibia, where we did a play and workshops on Shakespeare for school kids. We were generally treated like royalty, almost everything was paid for, and we got rave reviews - so success all-round.

* When I got back, my Visa information pack had arrived, so I've been filling that out and trying to fit in appointments between play-dates. We've got 2 more weeks of rehearsal, then onto Grahamstown and the National Arts Festival.

* All my flights and accommodation are now booked. I'm arriving in Orlando on August 13 to recover from jetlag, explore and shop.

* Got a list of fellow South Africans arriving on my date. Sent them all an email, though no replies yet. However, on the way to Namibia, in a random little town, I met one of them - Sam, working at a biltong shop. It's a Small World indeed.

Now that Blogger is working again, a proper post will be on its way soonish.

Overdue

I've been busy with decidedly non-Disney things for a while, but since it's been a month since my last post, I thought I'd drop in.

Invasion: My house has been accosted by ants (in their millions), rats (in the roof. They don't seem to like my poison), frogs (my window opens right onto their home) and numerous other bugs (thankfully no cockroaches. I hate cockroaches). I'm embroiled in an ongoing campaign against them, but it's a losing battle.

On stage: After spending some time away from acting to do some writing, I've finally got back into it. We're Doing "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)" at the National Arts Festival. It's a fuuuuuunnny play, and I'm doing it with friends, so it's been great so far.

Wedding: My brother's getting married at the end of May, so I've been dragged to a lot of wedding-y sort of places (like a massive flower warehouse - who knew that sort of thing even existed?).

Sundry: I've also been organising family photos (all sitting in a box), writing some new things, answering questions for a living (the other day we got a question from a fellow Disney-ite) and generally pottering about. Oh, and it was my birthday last week.

So there you go. Like I said, not much Disney. I'm keeping my eyes peeled for the first sign of a ticket sale to Orlando, because at the moment prices are ridiculous, but other than that, I'm more focused on the here and now.

No doubt that'll change in the coming months.

Toilet Gas (It's not what it sounds like)

So I have a maid come in twice a month to get in all the corners that an eligible bachelor doesn't get around to. There's nothing quite like a freshly laundered bed that you don't have to make, but that's beside the point.

She visited the loo and decided to cover up what she had left in there, so she gave it a liberal spray with a random canister that (to her credit) looked entirely like some kind of air freshener.

Then she knocked on my door, showed me the canister, and said that it was "a bit strong". Nonsense, I thought, this looks like air freshener. I strode confidently into the loo, and immediately my face, nose and eyes started burning.

After an hour or two of open doors, fans blowing and hands waving, we managed to get rid of the offending gas. Just got off the phone with my mum, and it turns out that my cousin (a cop) had randomly given us tear gas in the very distant past. My mom had been searching for it for years, but apparently had neglected to try the place with all the tear gas-y canisters lying about.

So I can now add "being tear-gassed" to my life experiences.

Oh, and in Disney news - total fail with the CRC. Even the man in charge claims ignorance and computer error and I'm too lazy to chase it up, but at least I've now sent my clearance form to Disney.

The Saga Continues

It's going to be VERY difficult to positively "represent" this country if I'm asked about the police service.

If you recall, I first sent my clearance application on Feb 15, 2011. I called twice, first about 3 weeks after, then on Mar 15, 2011. Both times, they told me very clearly that it had NOT arrived, and was likely lost in the post.

So on Mar 15, I paid a hefty price to have another application couriered to the Clearance Centre, and it arrived there on Mar 16, no problem.

Until today, Mar 22. And what do I have in the post? A clearance certificate, DATED MAR 14, 2011.

So essentially, the police service LIED to me, twice, and put me out of pocket. Is that not fraud? So now I'm on the warpath (cue dramatic music). Emails have been sent! Calls have been made! I know I'll never see my money again, but I won't rest until I have an apology, and hopefully a sacking for the corrupt/lazy individual in question.

The Police Service's standard day.

So Disney tourists - my advice is to never mention the people running my country, unless you want to be on the receiving end of a tirade.

I'm going to sulk now (good luck to everyone starting today).

Triple Facepalm

On Thursday (March 10) I rang up the CRC (Clearance Records Centre, I think) to ask if my police clearance application had reached them.

It had not.

Bearing in mind I sent it on Feb 15, this was my first Facepalm moment of the week. I'll have to re-apply on Monday.

The second Facepalm came on Friday morning. A strange thunderstorm passed over. It was still sunny, and there was maybe 30 seconds of rain, but 2 massive thunderstrikes.

On the second strike, I saw an electric pop out the corner of my eye, and I'm offline. Yup, with no surge protection, my ADSL router had got itself fried, so I had to drop a not-inconsiderable amount on a replacement (plus an impressive-looking red surge protector).

The last Facepalm moment came earlier today, when I switched on my printer. It flashed a warning light like a raised middle finger and refused to do anything. Then I followed its cable to the plug point. Same as my router.

Well done, lightning, you struck twice in the same place. And my Disney savings are less because of it.

Shiny new bucket (list).

In my spare time, I've started putting together my bucket list for my time at Disney. I've also started thinking about where I want to travel during and after the program, but I still need to work on that a bit.

Take a look. There's a shiny new button up there under the header. You know you want to.

From next week, the Clearance Records office is going to be bombarded with calls from a certain someone asking them if they received my application yet. That certain someone is this weird homeless guy who hangs around my house and likes to douse me in wine. I told him he didn't have to do this, but he insists. I think he's just happy about his new iPhone 4.

I hate iPhones.

Second time lucky

Today I went back to the police station, back to reception, and back to Room 9 on their advice. Once again, the door was open. Once again, nobody was in. After standing around aimlessly for a few minutes, someone came out of Room 8 and asked what was going on.

"I was told to come to Room 9," I said jauntily, "I need a clearance certificate you see."

"Room 9?" he chuckled, slapping me on the shoulder. "Room 9?! Ho ho ho, you silly boy. Don't you realise that 9 is the highest number we police can count to?"

And then he summoned his mysterious goblin librarian, who croaked "Follow me, young sir, there is but one other room that matches the number you have been given."

He had brought me to room 18. 1 and 8. 9. Of course. It all made so much sense now.

Except it really didn't. Luckily, room 18 was home to an efficient old lady and, long story short (well, not actually THAT short), I now have my police clearance application.

Still have to post it though.

Oi... so it begins.

I'm glad I left myself with plenty of time to get a police clearance certificate.

Today I popped in to the police station, asked at enquiries where I had to go and went there (the ominous "Room 9"). The door was open, but there was nobody there, so I figured they'd be back shortly. 10 minutes later a passing policeman informs me in a confused mumble that he thinks the offices are closed.

We both stare at the open door as we ponder his statement.

"Any idea when they'll be open?" I ask, not unreasonably. The officer shakes his head, looking at me as if to say I have a lot to learn about the ways of the world.

"Maybe," he shrugs, "maybe later." He turns from me and stares into the distance. I stare off into the distance as well, imagining a time when all this was just hills and you didn't need a bloody clearance certificate to visit another country, just a spear and a deathwish.

Eventually, like an indecisive mist, the officer floats away, leaving me staring at what I now realise is a telephone pole.

Oh well, I'll try again tomorrow.

Nifty Sites

So I'm going to apply for my police clearance tomorrow (a lengthy process in South Africa - it's unlikely I'll see it until at least April), but tonight I was just browsing my favourite Disney-related sites, and thought it might be a good idea to do a quick post about 'em.

WDWIP - Chances are you found this blog via this site (and if so, hi). It's got a wiki section which is vaguely useful (but poorly maintained and fairly out of date, especially the Africa section) but the real appeal is the forum, which is packed with info from current and past participants. If you haven't been here yet, go. Now. I'll wait.

WDWmagic - My first choice for general information about Disney World. The forums here are great as well, especially the Trip Report section, which got me excited enough to apply for this job.

Official International Programs Site - Some good info on this site, but not that specific about a lot of things. The site gives details on the first step of the application process for each country, so it's a good kick-off point.

Official WDW Site - Currently the best place I've found for photos and information about Animal Kingdom Lodge (the place I'll be working).

If I think of any more sites, I'll either add them to this post or add a new one down the line.

In other news, just over 6 months to go now. I've already booked a flight from SA to London to see my folks before I go. Now I'm scouring the net for a deal on a London-Orlando flight.