Counting Down The Hours

It's hard to believe that in under 48 hours I'll be leaving. I haven't quite come to the point of comprehending the magnetute of this yet.

I had a good, relaxing time in Banff with my Mom. I'm glad we did the trip because it was nice to just hang out together, get a little spoiled, and spend time in the mountains (which I will miss).

As for my visa...well, fingers crossed that that actually goes through. It turns out that there are only 2 doctors in Calgary that do the medical examination, so I was fortunately able to get into one tomorrow. Tomorrow is going to be a crazy day. The doctor appointment is in the morning, and I'll have to tell the doctor to RUSH my results or whatever off to wherever it goes. After the doctor I have to go back across the city to the radiologist for my chest xray. I've also got an appointment with the lab, but I'm hoping that they got me to make that appointment just in case. The documents I have seem to indicate that lab work isn't really necessary. Hopefully the doctor will concur. I do not like needles.

The packing fiasco is mostly under control now. I shipped (literally) a box of stuff off to myself and I have 3 suitcases. Today I am going to go through the one suitcase and see what I can do without for awhile since Mary kindly offered to bring me a few things down the next time she's in Australia. Of course, I probably won't find too many things I'm willing to take out, but the fact that if I get there and am missing something I can have it sent out to me is a great relief.

The past few days have been all about goodbyes. Last night was my goodbye party with friends and the night before I had a goodbye party with family. It hasn't been easy, especially at 2:30 this morning when I finally had to say goodbye to my best friend. :( Saying goodbye to my pets has been sad too. I know they won't all be here when I come back. But I am looking forward to showing people pictures of my dogs and telling them I have a pet polar bear and a pet black bear back in Canada. ;) And, of course, saying goodbye to family is the hardest. I'm really not looking forward to that at all.