Back to banks...
So, Ulster Bank. (Bank #2) I phoned them three weeks ago to make sure they'd received my application, sent via RBS. Yes, they did. I should hear something "in about a week."
So yesterday, not having heard anything, I phoned. They had to physically go look for it while I was on hold for what seemed forever (it wasn't, just seemed it.) Found it in a "to be re-scanned" pile. Apparently everything was in order, they just "couldn't see it on the system". After three weeks. The guy apologized profusely, said it shouldn't have taken three weeks, would try to expedite it through this week.
Sigh. That's ... so Irish.
The Passport Card. They cancelled the first attempt as the embassy had never cancelled my original one. The original was in the old name. And expired in Sept. For whatever reason everyone on that end, regardless of who it was, seemed to think there was more than 6 months left on it and thus cancelled my application for a replacement with the new name on it. I sent terse messages to both places. The embassy popped up and apologized for the [several month] delay and cancelled the old one.
More email back and forth.
Applied again. It gurgled for a week, then was canceled because they said the birth date on the application I'd done didn't match what was on my passport. Having a screen cap showing what I'd submitted was a good idea there.
More email back and forth.
Applied AGAIN (#3 here) and am still waiting. It is supposed to hypothetically be ready next week.
Once it arrives, I can send it to the Brit driving license people, who were kind enough to give me a 60 day extension to the deadline to so so. Which, at the rate this is going I am going to need every day of.
THEN I can start my driving lessons. Which I really want to get out of the way before the Uni students get back to town.
Then I can take my driving test. If I pass it, I can then book flights back to the States over the winter. (Can't go back if I don't have a driver's license, as there's no way to get around SoCal without renting a car.)
Can then also send in the Daughter's petition for naturalization, which has been waiting for two months now on not being able to provide a draft for the fees. (It has to be drawn on an Irish bank.) We'll have to go to the JP and get them to re-sign the paperwork, as it's now out of date. We had to redo the actual application form, because they changed it while we were waiting. And one of her character witnesses is now quite ill and may not actually live long enough to provide a reference if this drags out the six months to a year we expect it to take.
It. Just. Never. Ends.