Nine notary publics later...

I'm officially registered for the New York bar. Here's the story: on Tuesday night, with the registration deadline 48 hours away, the firm confirms that I should take the bar in February. And thus begins the mad scamper through Granada's roster of notaries public. After getting the hang of the office hours (scant and unpredictable) the next trick was to find an office with a notary in carne y hueso, rather than solo en the door plaque.
On day two, the first real live one informed me that he could not confirm my signature without understanding the language the document was written in. (This despite the fact that the document in question was merely a one page summary of all my vital information.) Same story at the next four. Hmm. I could, I was told, submit the document at a government office for an official translation, which would take about a week, and then return to get that notarized. Hmm again. In the office of Notary 8, minutes before the hours of siesta, hours before the postmark deadline, I lost it. But I was gifted with the magical word "tranquila," usually a cue that some sort of generosity is imminent.
And it was. Notary 8 began calling through her entire directory until she found Number 9, who reads English, handed me a map and a few reassurances, y ya está, my luck had turned. Tengo vergüenza decerlo, pero estuve en punto de llorar. Mente en blanco. On only my second trip to the offices of Number 9, the honorable himself sat me down for a fascinating discussion of how Spanish notaries fit within the legal system here and how they differ from US notaries.... and he notarized my document.
His secretary then kindly informed me that I had to find a second notary to affirm the notarization of the first notary in order for the first to be valid in the US... but I have the immense pleasure of reporting that it's postmarked and off and all is well. And I have two pages of complex official seals and affirmations to prove it.
My other mind numbing pile of logistics has involved my bicycle, which inspired the series of pictures in this post. Vale la pena? Creo que sí.