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For non-US citizens who have the distinct misfortune of needing a visa to enter most foreign lands on our planet, it is worth spending the time to get really organized and efficient with your visa application process. If you are like me and have had 12 international trips this past year, you have probably reached a level of visa procurement mastery comparable only to that of a mother changing the diaper of her 6th baby.

For the remaining unsuspecting lot, a word of caution regarding processes at the Spanish Consulate in New York City:

1. The Spanish Consulate website is designed so poorly that not even the mighty Google has a clue where this site really is. The top hit on Google is www.spainconsul-ny.org and THIS HAS EXPIRED! The real site (which you can only find out by calling the consulate - 212.355.4090) is www.maec.es but good luck trying to navigate this site to get to the visa section (in English). Here is a direct link (bookmark it)
   
   
   
2. What you will find on www.maec.es:
   "Applications for visas will be accepted on a first come first serve basis. Only a limited number of applicants will be accepted each day."
   
   What you will find when you get there:
   - Only 20 applications are accepted each day
   - 10 of these are by appointment (I didn't see this mentioned on their site either. The way to get an appointment is to go to the consulate!)
   - The other 10 are on a first come first serve basis
   - Expect to be at the consulate @ 5 or 5:30am if you want to be in the first 10
   - The consulate opens @ 9:30
   
   
    
3. The visa takes 5 business days to process. 

Another word of advice: The security guy who asks you to "read whats written inside the box" and the guy at the reception window (who can either serve the line or answer phones - the main number listed above) both seem to be quite frustrated dealing with people who are surprised with this level of inefficiency. Don't argue with them - you'll only piss them off more. They spend lots of time explaining the same stuff I mentioned above to every new person in line (in his words - "this is what he is paid for"). Even if these guys were bright, they are powerless to change anything out there. The best use of your time there is to ensure that you have all the required paperwork, so that your 5 hour wait in the early morning doesn't go fruitless.

btw: The "box" reads: "Empty your electronics, coins, watch in this box and walk through the metal detector". Now, why couldn't he just say that to me directly? And why is this boon to society shaking his head about his tough life dealing with uninformed people?

In contrast, consider my experience with the German consulate:

• The German visa takes 1 business day to process
• You can get there at any time until 11am and get an electronic ticket
• If there are missing documents, you can email/fax them right there and then (if you have a laptop with wireless internet)
• You can pick up your visa downstairs at the reception, instead of getting a ticket and waiting in line

The Italian embassy is a lot more like the Spanish but not as bad - they accept 30 applications per day and do not have an appointment system. I got there @ 6:30am to get the #10 spot. (but this was in Jul 2004)

Tomorrow morning @ 5am you will be sure to find me at 150 E 58th St., albeit wet and cold.

I will conclude with the following seemingly unrelated statistic.

Est. 2005 GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) - USD in Trillions

SPAIN   ITALY  GERMANY

 1.03     1.67    2.48

(Source: CIA World Factbook)

AXE is perhaps as synonymous to Body Spray as Nike is to shoes and iPod is to music. Well - that is until now. Unilever, the marketing powerhouse, is translating the success of their AXE brand to a new product category...Underwear.

Check out this brilliant use of the power of suggestion. Sex, ego, humour - presses all the major buttons of young male subjects, AXE's primary audience.