The Flight

10:50am NOV 1: I always like to go last on the plane, just so that I can get more stretching done (yes it's gay, but yes it works!) The announcement came and said, "This is the final call for flight 93 to Los Angeles" bla bla bla. So I made my way to my gate, but it was closed. There was a security swinging door that was just in my way. I didn't want to open it, as it would sound off the alarm. A guy who had been observing this for a while just said, "Jump under the barricade, that's what everyone else has been doing". And there was room, just not for me and a bulging backpack. I took the backpack off but still had problems with my shoudler bag. I said, "Fuck it" and opened the security gate. And what do ya know - the alarm is a loud fucker! I went down the escalator and 2 security guards quickly came by to see what happened. I was on my way down to my gate and the other guy knew it, so he told them what happened. I yelled out "Thank You", as I had already made it downstairs. I hear a "You're Welcome" back. I guess you had to be there.

The flight was full and I asked for the window seat for the first time since I was a kid. Emergency ones were taken, even though I made a beeline to the service desk and asked. Sat with 2 Californian older dudes who made the flight go by quicker. It was 13 and a half hours, but there was lots to do. Time just flew by (Literally. hehe!) And I didn't get 'jet lag' as I quickly got used to the change of time and all. As soon as we passed the international date line, it grew dark and I just dozed off and relaxed with the help of my meditation music. Not having much sleep before the flight actually helped me out. So that's what I'll be doing from now on! Had the chance to watch Casablanca, but I was in a kinda dozey mood - I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much. I will wait til Spain!

13 AND A HALF HOURS LATER............

7:30am NOV 1: I'm in LA. And it's not as bad as I remember! Of course the lovely hispanic customs guy Diaz helped out a lot - I started chatting to him in Spanish (I love my surname - and I'm keeping it!) and he was wondering if I had a boyfriend in Canada, coz he didn't know why I would want to go there! I forgot about the Spanish speaking in the US - it felt like I was at home! Had to get my boarding pass from LA and had a wee bit of trouble with where I had to go. But thankfully everyone I spoke to were very helpful and I finally got what I needed. Had an hour to spare before heading off to Toronto. Bought some water, tipped a guy and waited. Almost missed my "This is a final call for flight number xxxx to Toronto" as I was too busy checking out the 'small' sized coffee cups and thinking "What the hell...." as well as checking out other flights. But I made it and had a victory: The plane was nearly empty, so everyone spread out and had 3 seats to themselves! I lifted the arm rests and made a bed and dozed off quite a bit. That's probably something else that saved me from 'jet lag'. Flight was fine here.

4 HOURS AND 40 MINUTES LATER.................................................

5:30pm NOV 1: I'm in Toronto. Before I departed I sent Dawn a few emails about Canada. This was one of the things I asked: "Do you want me to hold up a sign that says 'I'm Dawn's friend, feed me!' at the airport so your folks recognise me, or will you be there to pick me up?". Do you want to take a guess as to what awaited me when I passed through customs in Canada??? It was a huge sign that Dawn's mum was holding....fucking hilarious! You've never seen a girl piss herself laughing so much at the airport! Apparently when other passengers were passing through and saw it they too pissed themselves! I can't remember what the sign said exactly, but it was along the lines of "I'm Dawn's Mum, picking up her dorky friend from Australia" I didn't need the sign though - coz her Mum is a dead ringer lookalike! And Dawn was hiding somewhere, so I wasn't expecting to see her there til she ran up and said 'HI'. So good to catch up with her and meet her folks.

They bought us all dinner and asked me what I wanted to do while here, gave me some suggestions of things to do, etc. Her parents then told me that they were going to drive to New York and stay for 4 days, primarily for the Thanksgiving Day parade and asked me if I wanted to go with them. HELL YEAH BABY! I'M OFF TO NEW YORK! It's perfect timing too, as I was going to go to the US in early December anyway to see Chris, Michael and Mike. This is the rough plan: Wednesday drive down to New York and base myself in Jersey for a few days with Dawn and her folks, stay for the 4 days and on Sunday, make my way to Wisconsin. I've been investigating flights or buses to take and so far, flying to Madison is going to be the best option. After 10 days, I'll be headed back to Toronto and so far, the bus is the best option for that. I'm still looking. I may have to consult my gorgeous travel agent who is in Spain, but I think he is off somewhere soon...will have to check!

Got back to Dawn's place, an hour out of the city, and I have my own room, which is SO COOL! I felt like I was at home straight away, which was good. My legs are wanting a run! I just wanna jump on a treadmill and run for ages. I've been wanting exercise for a while and I know I'll get it soon.

TODAY (NOV 2, I think!!!): I slept over 10 hours, but daylight savings ended here, so the clocks were turned back. I think it was 10 hours! Anyway, best sleep I'd had for a while. They knew I was coming and stocked up on green tea. I could not feel anymore at home everyone! Dawn, her mum and I went exploring around the local area. Went to a flea market in Oshawa (can't remember where....) and it's getting a bit cold. It's the wind that is cold coz the sun is out brightly. Heard some Newfoundland music at Walmart (interesting experience!) went out for ice-cream (SO COOL! Apparently I'm one of the few non-Canadians who goes out for ice-cream in Winter. GOLD!) Went to the "Dollarama' (The Reject Shop, 99 Yen Shop - whatever it's called around the world, you know what you're getting!) to pick up some headphones. I didn't realise that Canada uses 1 cent coins, so if something says it costs $2.23, I'm used to rounding it up, as in Australia we've got the 5 cents as the lowest coinage. I thought it was the same here and was astounded at the change I got from the ice-cream I bought! Something else I gotta get used to! Had dinner and was happy to discover that The Amazing Race was on and we're ahead of the Aussies! I still missed the one where they were in New Zealand, but I got to see the next one and caught up. Love that show to bits!

Oshawa is a laid back small town. I like it. They have the typical yellow school buses - which I had never seen before; the yellow hydrants which are in the process of getting decorated for Christmas; The Halloween decorations are still out and brightly lit; Christmas ones will be out soon too. There are some great things I want to take pics of, but my camera battery charger doesn't work, even with the adaptor and even with me changing the plugs. My laptop works fine though, so I'm gonna have to buy one from here (The electronics place is called "The Future Shop". Apparently I was the only one who found it funny!) I'm going for a run/walk tomorrow and going to Toronto on Tuesday. Probably some time next week or the week after I will want to go to Niagara. But I want to sort out New York and Wisconsin first.

So that was my first day and a half here. It's going to be a very laid back time, just what I need after the hustle and bustle of Melbs. Looking forward to the next while.

Gonna go, see ya!