Birthday, Travel, New Year, Travel

So I spent my birthday a little different this year - planes, trains and automobiles.

I awoke 3:30 am on December 30th, with just enough time to eat, take out the garbage and throw my bags in the back of a cab.

No more than two minutes passed when I realized I had forgotten two things:

- My Passport

- My Skating Boots

Normally, I would say, "forget it, I've gone too far..." but I decided it would not be ideal to leave both of these essential things behind.

My flight was at 7 am. However, I heard that security at the airport was busy (due to an event on December 25th). So I got there early enough to keep myself out of trouble, I had a number of connections that day and I didn't want to miss any of them.

My plane idled on the tarmac for a good hour and a half, this made my connection in Toronto very, very tight. It didn't help either that I didn't know where the terminal to my next flight was...

I was last on the plane and it promptly took off. Finally, I thought, some luck, I won't be late for my train to Kingston. I'll have plenty of time to grab my bags and find my way to the train station.

Ha, I was wrong.

I arrived in Montreal at 3:30 but my bags didn't. Apparently, since my flight was late arriving in Toronto they just took off without my other bags.

I talked to baggage services and they said my bags could potentially arrive on one of the next flights.

It was kind of a funny conversation with the lady at baggage services when she pointed out to me that I was back tracking to Kingston. But it made sense to me...

So I waited.

One flight went by, then the next... Nothing. I gave up, I didn't want to miss my train to Kingston. I went to tell Baggage services and gave them information where they could send my bags in Montreal when they arrived.

No sooner had I finished with them another flights luggage from Toronto came out.

Luck.

Mine were the first two bags rolling out. I grabbed them, tossed the late bag form to Baggage Services and went out to find the shuttle to the Dorval train station, I had half an hour to make my train!

I arrived with 7 minutes to spare and hoped on the train.

Getting off the train in Kingston I was thankful to see my girlfriend Michele waiting for me...

Trip completely worth it!

We then drove back to her Grandmother's house in Gananoque.

The next day, New Years Eve, Michele and I went to go see Avatar in 3D. I tell you, if you haven't seen it... Please do.

It's a long movie (doesn't seem so though), coming out Michele found a message on her phone from her Father and Mother that involved us picking up some fireworks from the a hardware store on Princess and King.

Yes!

Later that night Michele and I put on a show, we lit them off for her Father, Mother and Grandmother, this involved a pretty spectacular grand finale! We even had some cheers coming from down the St. Lawrence River!

There was however a minor hiccup, there was a moment where one went off immediately after it had been lit and I was still very close. Went deaf for a minute.

Ha ha.

Oh well, it was a great time!

Today I came back in to Montreal and will be training here for a couple weeks!

So Happy New Year Everyone!