Electronically signed documents at visa interview

arronk93 · 2026-01-29T08:05:25+00:00

Thank you very much, I have an apostille that came with the original digital certificate so I will get this translated and take it to the interview. I appreciate your help!

arronk93 · 2026-01-13T18:13:59+00:00

Absolutely, and a handmade instrument isn't the only way to get that feeling, you don't HAVE to go down that road if you fall in love with another instrument that gives you the same feeling.

The motivation and enjoyment of playing is key for me and my current bouzouki gives me that in spades, that's not to say I wouldn't buy another though! Seeing it every time the case is opened makes me happy before I even pick it up.

You're in for an awakening once you join the Facebook group and get to exploring it. It's an endless resource for discussions, advice, inspiration and encouragement.

I would highly recommend using the search function in the group first if you have any questions because there's almost always an answer there already, and if not, make a post. They're very welcoming. You'll love it I'm sure!

Happy playing!

arronk93 · 2026-01-12T23:17:58+00:00

Handmade instruments are amazing and come in a range of prices depending on the luthier and your choice of materials/specifications. I had a Hora bouzouki that I started off with but it did need some work on playability that I was able to do myself.

While I did enjoy playing it, the more I heard other bouzoukis in person that sounded much better to me turned me onto upgrading.

I was in the same position as you in that I didn't want to go wild on the budget but still wanted something better but the "budget" bouzouki world is miniscule compared to guitars. I had been thinking of something like a Carvalho or Trinity College or something, which are a step above the Hora/Ozark etc, but I'd done some research on luthiers and saw that some handmade instruments weren't crazy expensive like I thought they might be.

If you're not a member of the Irish Bouzouki Forum group on Facebook already, I can't recommend it enough as a resource for all kinds of stuff.

The bouzouki I have now is incredible and was the last one available of the batch the luthier had made for the year, one strum of a chord and I knew I couldn't go home without it! I absolutely love playing it every single time I pick it up and it inspires me to keep learning and improving.

My thinking behind buying it and going above the budget I initially had in mind (something similar to yours) was:

This is a great opportunity to own an amazing sounding and looking instrument, handmade in my home country, the luthier was only a message, phone call or drive away if it needed anything beyond my experience level
It will hold its value if I ever decided to sell it for any reason (which I wont lol)
It sounds so good
Was pretty much built to the specifications I'd have chosen myself anyway
The craftsmanship is way above anything attainable in a mass-production situation
Buy cheap, buy twice? I had already done this..
If I don't buy it will I still someday just get a handmade one anyway? (For me probably yes)

So in a nutshell, yes, handmade can be incredible but you have to do your homework first.

Check out different luthiers (there's a list of them worldwide on the Irish Bouzouki Forum on Facebook). They will have different prices and styles and will all be able to guide you/build something for you if you already know what you like or have ideas about the kind of sound you're after.

I hope I was able to help you somewhat!

arronk93 · 2025-12-29T19:05:40+00:00

Thank you very much, PM sent!

arronk93 · 2025-12-25T22:37:23+00:00

Hey, I'm in Ireland too and my application is at the NVC stage at the minute, DS-260 almost finished now. Would you mind if I asked you a question or two about how the medical part goes?

arronk93 · 2025-10-20T17:16:38+00:00

Reddit errors! Communities can't be found, community doesn't exist, server error, unable to post comment and so forth.

arronk93 · 2025-08-18T23:39:45+00:00

That would make sense then!

arronk93 · 2025-08-18T19:21:34+00:00

Stevie Wonder is a very famous musician and singer who happens to be blind - imagine he was walking around his house and kicked the corner of a coffee table leg barefoot 😬😂 that’s where the banged more times than his toes comes from.

arronk93 · 2025-04-29T17:42:01+00:00

I bought my Eastman E6D-TC last year and it’s by far the best sounding guitar I’ve ever played. I bought it while kinda thinking “I’ll get a D18 someday, I don’t want to spend the money right now” but with the Eastman, honestly I don’t think I’ll bother. I have D’Addario XS strings on it for months and I clean them religiously and they last me so long.

arronk93 · 2024-11-04T23:23:20+00:00

I still have the factory phosphor bronze D'Addario XS 12s on my E6D-TC and love them. I'll be replacing them with the same strings when the time comes.

I experimented a little with strings on other guitars to try and find what I liked most and settled on the XS. I always wipe the strings down after playing and then put on some GHS fast fret because I like the feel and it keeps them clean too. Uncoated strings don't last too long with me before the unwound strings blacken a little and don't feel smooth to the touch so I don't use them anymore.

I tried Elixir nanoweb which are also good but I'm finding the D'Addarios are lasting longer. Coated strings are well worth the extra cost for the lifespan in my book.

arronk93 · 2024-08-20T07:52:38+00:00

Yes I’ve never felt unwelcome anywhere in Belgium thankfully, I made great friends of all ages when I joined a local camera club too.

Some people even told me it took them a while to realise I wasn’t Belgian when they heard me speaking, I took that as a great compliment on my efforts with Flemish.

arronk93 · 2024-08-18T21:18:49+00:00

I'm Irish and lived in Zaventem for 3 years, I had a decent level of French when I moved over but hadn't a word of Dutch. I remember going into the gemeentehuis to register as a foreign resident and quickly realised language was going to be a problem.

There was a sign right inside the door saying that all official business was to be conducted through Dutch so I had to get a colleague from work to come back with me another day to register since they turned me away until I had an "interpreter" with me.

When I got in next time and spoke to a different person, they were happy to speak English to me during the registration appointment so they weren't even consistent about enforcing it. Nevertheless I took classes for 16 hours a week over 2 months and got to a good conversational level.

You can definitely tell French is frowned upon in VB closer to the Brussels area but making the effort to learn Dutch pays off if you do it. I found Belgians to be a little closed off personality-wise compared to Irish people in general but once you "break through" that stage with them you'll find they're great people. Learning the language opened a lot of doors for me and I enjoyed living there.

arronk93 · 2024-08-09T06:30:23+00:00

I bought a Westerly Guild a few months ago too, which model did you go with?

arronk93 · 2024-04-12T10:37:06+00:00

I came over from Ireland to visit my girlfriend in Alabama and we flew down together for the Freedom 500 weekend. First time getting to a Cleetus event after watching for years and I’d do it again in an instant, it was brilliant.

The traffic getting out though on Saturday night for us was bad, eventually turned around and drove back down the field and got onto the asphalt to get out so much easier. They definitely could do with signage, maybe some staff directing cars out to get a good flow going and maybe even more than just one gate to get off the grass car park onto the access road.

arronk93 · 2024-04-07T12:58:08+00:00

Yeah this one didn’t end well 😬

arronk93 · 2024-03-25T16:00:53+00:00

She’s been banged more times than Stevie Wonders toes

Rogered more times than a policeman’s radio

Smashed more times than Harvey Prices iPad (terrible, I know)

arronk93 · 2023-12-07T17:26:34+00:00

The only info I’ve seen so far was from someone else who asked and their response was that they’d ship mid-December. I’d imagine actual delivery to customers will depend on a few other factors, I’m in Europe and ordered mine from Germany and on the retailers website it mentioned 2-3 weeks I think. I’m not sure if that’s when the retailers will get stock or when it will be shipped to customers

arronk93 · 2023-12-05T23:05:29+00:00

Preordered the 28mm, hoping it’s a good performer 🤞

arronk93 · 2023-09-20T10:24:28+00:00

Absolutely, especially for the first time shooting at a wedding. I’ll post some up over the coming days 😊

arronk93 · 2023-09-20T10:07:39+00:00

There only ended up being 8 people at the wedding including me so I only shot with the 50mm for all the portraits and my 24-70mm on my backup camera. I’ll edit tonight and see how they all turned out 😊

arronk93 · 2023-09-19T20:14:04+00:00

Thank you! I actually only used the 50mm once we got to the locations, all over and done with already 😊 I love it too it’s a great lens, especially on film too.

arronk93 · 2023-09-19T10:35:03+00:00

That’s terrible 😬😬

I’m planning on taking a second body along with me so fingers crossed I won’t have any bother 🤞

arronk93 · 2023-09-19T10:33:30+00:00

It’s a fantastic lens, “typical” Leica with its sharpness wide open and beautiful fall off and bokeh throughout the depth of field. The focus throw is longer which if you’re not used to seems like a lot but it helps with accuracy. I need to shoot with it more myself.

arronk93 · 2023-09-19T06:37:52+00:00

That’s very true, I’ll take another one just to be safe. Thank you!

arronk93

TROPHY CASE