Saying Goodbye!

So I'm currently writing this just shy of 12 hours away from my departure from Canada as I head into my new life at sea!

Scary. Awesome. Scarily awesome.

Like I  might've mentioned in an earlier post - I was really not looking forward to saying goodbye and doing that whole shebang; I'm not very inclined to make a huge deal out of it if it's me - if someone else is going away though, I make sure there's a lot of hoopla and sadness, etc. The last time I did this, I made an incredibly sad farewell video to a dear loved one Down Under. It was nearly half an hour of heartfelt goodbyes and friends waving in slow-motion. I later did this again for my bosslady at work, and it totally made her tear up.


But for me? Nah - I don't want it. I think I'd get all embarrassed and not know how to react to the video until I watch it again months later sobbing. So instead I opted for a very low-key, see the important people and whoever else I encounter before I go away.


Now what ended up transpiring was far from the fairly plain weekend I had planned. Firstly, one of my awesomely amazing and incredibly pretty friends that I had met originally through work on Tour in Québec asked me if I wanted to go to see the Cirque du Soleil in Toronto.

UMMM YES! 1000 TIMES YES!

 Behold, le grand chapiteau in all its glory.

 (If you know anything about me, I've been living to watch every Cirque production that I can since 2005. If you have no idea what Cirque du Soleil is - Wikipedia it! It's not cruel to animals, it's Canadian, it's sublime.) The show was called "Amaluna" - hilarious and full of gasps and wonderment.

 To quote a very outspoken child we were sitting beside: "I never believed that things can float like that because of magic. But now I believe that magic really exists, mama. Magic is real!"

 That night, I took a chance and went to go see one of my bestest most awesomest friends and the timing was perfect - I managed to get him just as he was leaving work and ended up spending the night at his place. He gave a me a present! And we ended up watching Pitch Perfect - (which I highly, highly recommend by the way).

And then that evening my bestest friends of all time from high school and beyond all went out dancing with me ALL the way from their cities (which are at least a good hour or two away from downtown Toronto). A lot of alcohol and booze was had. We went to this german sausage and beer place called Wurst. I ate duck/foie gras sausage and kangaroo sausage. Crazy delicious.

We ended up ditching the line-up at this swankier place for a very hoppin' party with some solid pop and rock retro music. SO good. A lot more alcohol and booze was had. I went to bed that night thinking I probably had the best friends in the world and what-was-I-thinking with my original plan of crouching like a gollum in my room til I left. I really am going to miss them (sentimental moment!). They just took me out for dinner and had a nice, relaxing hangout at my place, which I really, really needed right about now. My nerves are pretty much killing me at this point, I'm feeling rather overwhelmed by how much I need to think about and pack!

BUT FINALLY - the piece de la resistance! I went on a helicopter flight with my awesomely cool Scotty. Here's a video I made from my hasty shoddy taping skills from my phone during the ride:

Just a little scary, but not really. More spectacular and gasp-inducing just being that far up in the sky and only a glass window really separating you from clouds. So much awesome.

Apparently, the other Disney-ers that will be starting their contracts at the same time as me had equally legit weekends with their close friends - and who can blame them? We're all going to be gone for quite some time with exceptionally limited communication.

My next post will be decidedly sadder - I got terrible news over the past day or so, but I'll save addressing that for the next time because I don't want to think about it just now. Off to consider packing some more!