4 Days

BLAAAH! So soon! OK. So what else have I done in prep. It really is absurd how prepared I am considering I have no idea what I'm getting myself into. Every time I complete a task, I somehow end up finding an additional one to replace it so I never really end up making my list shorter! My motivation for chore-like activities is pretty much non-existent. Unless it involves packing, I'm pretty sure I've packed my bags about 20 times. Once I'm there I can't go back and change my mind, so I have to do all the mind-changing now... yes? In the last week and a bit I've been spending as much time as possible with people I like.

I went to a bunch of local theatre shows. A musical by Forte theatre, Jeremy De Bergerac, which one of my old classmates starred in. Super 8, put on by Lunchbox, that two very dear friends wrote together. And Trojan Women at the U of C, directed and acted in by a mass of talented friends. All of them were so good! I've been missing out by working full-time, I wish I'd seen more theatre. Well, guess I know what I'll be doing in Paris!

My to-do list that I've (mostly) completed is as follows (everyone likes lists, right?)
1. Bank stuff (i.e International transfers, making sure all my pins are 4 digits, and not 5 [disaster averted!], making sure my debit account was chequing, not savings, lowering my limit of the credit card I'm leaving at home, let everyone bank-related know that I'm leaving for 6 months, get some cash money.)
2. Secure place to stay (Huzzah!)
3. Get International Youth Travel Card, HI Hostel Membership, French Medic Alert.
4. Purchase Eurail Passes -> 8-trips-in-2-months Benelux/France Pass, Global Unlimited Pass for 3 months (Ow, my bank account hurts.)
5. Pack at least 50 times
6. Break in Doc Martens (Ow, my whole being hurts.)
7. Make 1000 copies of all my might-be-important documents and hide in all sort of fun places in my luggage.
8. Make digital copies of said documents and email to self, store on portable hard-drive (leaving at home), store in flash drive (taking with) and store in encrypted computer file! (I feel like a spy!)
9. Figure out what to do about my phone plan...

OK... This one was just tackled and I need like... a bubble bath now. I cried on the phone to Rogers.  No no. I sobbed on the phone. Positive: I might have gotten a good deal out of it (I don't even know anymore). Negative: I probably now have "Crazy Chick" written on my file, and a recording of my hiccoughing and word-vomiting (To which she gave me the reference number should I want to revisit that experience), eternally stored in their records. Just wait, I'm gonna become some famous actress and then this will come back to haunt me.
I basically talked to the two nicest people first so I was in this lovely mood just chattin' it up. Then I got transferred someone who was probably an OK person, but did not sugar-coat. Management. So I was like, "But but but I'm so NICE!?" and she was like, "NO". Eventually 'negotiated' (i.e. She offered options, I cried back until there was something I liked ... O God, I'm an infant!) the plan down to something less awful, but still not my ideal situation! I'm still spending money on something I'm not using. Which makes me angry. That's like... 15 macaroons a month I could be eating... BUT NO! Rogers chick had other plans. It's personal.
So after we figured it all out, and it really wasn't as much of a disaster as I anticipated. I'm paying something like $22.50 a month so that I don't have to cancel my contract. WHICH IS DUMB, but less than $60.00, so it's an improvement from the disaster that was my previous plan.
The funniest thing about all this, is I had a serious game plan. Like I had all these documents from their website pulled up to quote and be like, "Hey hey, in this clause blah blah blah", but I couldn't stop CRYING long enough to use them! So... good thing my career choice involves tapping into emotions and not negotiating documents.

What's left to do? Well... pack again. At least 3 more times, just for shits and giggles. Figure out Power of Attorney stuff, bank and otherwise. Figure out personal liability insurance. Figure out the process of getting an Orange Card (monthly metro pass). Figure out how to get from the airport to where I'm staying the first night. Actually, figure out the address of where I am staying the first night. Pack again. Cry some more -- In my defence, I am emotionally vulnerable right now! I'm afraid! Ehem. Also, go for drinks, dinners, etc. Watch Midnight in Paris and the Sex and the City series finale episodes. Boom.

32 Days

I've never gone away for longer than a couple weeks before. I've also never moved out of my mom's house. I've also never been anywhere where the first language WASN'T English. I've never been to Europe. Or travelled outside North America (save an Australia trip when I was in Preschool). I've never travelled alone. I don't speak french. So what in God's name am I doing!? So I've taken to asking for advice. From anyone and everyone. 

I've been focusing a lot on what to pack for the trip. I read that regardless of whether you're travelling for 3 weeks or 3 months you should pack the same. Which makes sense! For one, why would I bring all sorts of Calgary clothes when I'm going to be living in Paris!? Obviously I am going to go shopping. Two, I don't want to carry a giant suitcase around for six months. So, my plan is to take one bag. I still haven't figured out whether that one bag is going to be a giant backpack or my lulu gym bag (carry-on size). Everything I've decided on bringing fits into half my gym bag, so for the first three months of Paris I'm set. It's just the last three months of backpacking I'm thinking I probably need a backpack for. That part, I've yet to figure out. I really don't want a giant backpack, but I also don't want a backpack that is going to hurt my back. So it needs an internal frame. But I also don't want it to be huge because I don't need that space! 

SO, When I asked my friends what I should bring, this is what they said:

"You're going to Paris. Bring nothing and shop there!"

What to bring:

• Light Weight Weather-Proof Jacket 
• Big Scarf/Pashmina
• Comfy, Versatile Dress
• Warm Sweater/Hoodie
• Thin, Layering Long Sleeve Shirt
• Only one pair of Jeans
• Leggings/Stretchy Pants
• Lots of Socks and Underwear
• Walking Shoes 
• Flip flops for "Greeby Showers"
• Ear Plugs
• Sleep Mask

What to leave:

• Dressy Clothes
• Skirts
• Flat Iron
• Toiletries
• Heels

What I Think I'm Probably Bringing:

• 3 Racerbacks
• 2 (3?) T-Shirts
• 2 Long Sleeve Shirts
• Black Jersey Dress
• Black Cardigan
• Huge Circle Scarf
• Full Length Denim Wunder Unders
• Black Crop Wunder Unders
• Skirt
• Black Opaque Tights
• Black Cable Knit Thigh High Socks
• Plaid Blouse
• 'Cashmere' Crew Neck Pullover
• Army Jacket

My mom got me this compressor thing for packing clothes so everything I wouldn't be wearing on the plane compresses into a dense little ball roughly the size of a ham. The rest of my stuff -- toiletries, underwear, socks, electronics -- would take up the rest of the space in my bag! 

Except, I still haven't figured out shoes yet. Walking shoes that are Paris-worthy are SO HARD TO FIND! Especially since I have flat feet and need fancy orthotics. So, another thing to figure out before I go. Also, I still haven't figured out what that strange French receipt is. BAH!