That's right, bitches. I'm sitting in a super hip cafe/bar/nightclub called Buffalo in the middle of Cardiff, just off the busy street filled with hundreds of banks and people who want to sell me things. This is the first place I've found other than the university where they truly do have free wireless internet access. A chain coffeeshop called Cafe Nero pretends to, but after you have bought your hot chocolate and are sitting upstairs trying to connect, you find out that you must buy a wireless card, minimum price 10 pounds.
This place is all organic with lots of vegetarian-friendly options. I am drinking an Old Speckled Hen while I wait for Dan to once again attempt to open a bank account. When he arrives, I'm planning to order the grilled ciabatta bread with tomato, mozzarella, spinach, sundried tomatoes, and onions. See? Hip! The chairs and tables are all vintage-y, and the employees are well-dressed and attractive. Also, they were playing the Shins earlier, and now they are playing music I cannot identify, but much better than the crappy American rock that is played most other places here. It is like Uptown, but swankier. This place also serves as a live music venue, and they are hiring, so I am pushing Dan to apply. If he doesn't, I may have to apply myself.
I scheduled an appointment to look at 4 flats and possibly a house on Thursday. And today Dan found a great rate on mobile phones, so we may pick those up tonight or tomorrow. Much better than yesterday, which was an exercise in how to enact a catch-22, one such that you cannot open a bank account until you have proof of mailing address through a utility bill. But you likely can't lease a flat until you have a bank account. And you cannot sign up for monthly mobile phone service (which is much cheaper than pay-as-you-go plans) until you have proved your address and/or shown evidence of a bank account. It also appears unlikely that we can do much of anything until we have a phone number. You see the conundrum.
Ta for now.
