It was a complicated matter to get that March trip booked, though. I may have discussed this before... basically, last semester, the school went on strike for what ended up being something like 5 weeks. Literally like 1/3 of the semester. Bden was pissed and we both wished he'd booked a different return flight once we found out that it was going to go on as long as it did so he wouldn't be stuck at his totally empty apartment doing nothing for that time.
This sounds inconsequential to March, but bear with me. At that time, we had already started looking into booking his flight to visit during his spring break. He ended up booking with a third party agent and thought that would be the end of it. Then, not even a day later, the school announced that they'd be shifting the spring semester forward by a week to make time to make up for part of the semester they missed because of the strike.
They did say that they'd make accommodations for students who had already made travel plans for the original break, but Bden was worried about missing important classes and test times, so we decided to cancel the flight, as it was within the 24 hour full-refund period, and book one the following week (during the new break).
HO. LY. COW. What a hassle it turned out to be. It took a half hour on the phone to convince the agent to cancel the flight, but they would only refund him with a credit towards WestJet (the airline), and although it was within the 24 hour booking period, he was told he'd have to pay a cancellation fee when he used the credit, and that he would have to use the credit all at once and would forfeit the rest if the price of the new ticket was less than the old one. We were both frustrated at how unfair it all seemed, but eventually he just took what he could get from them and left it at that.
Rebooking was a completely different story. Brendan was having trouble figuring out how to use his credit directly with WestJet, so he ended up having to call them (and we both hate making phone calls). The lady that we got on the phone was SUPER NICE and patient with him. Bden explained that he didn't understand why he was expected to pay a cancellation fee when he used his credit since he booked his flight less than 24 hours beforehand and the cancellation policy says nothing about it having to be a same-day cancellation, only that it's 24 hours. The lady looked into it and was like "I have no idea why they refunded you this way" and waived the cancellation fee and applied his full credit to the new flight. I forget why, but it ended up that the flight we wanted to take didn't work out, so I did some quick sleuthing while he was on the phone and found a flight that gave him an extra day with me for almost the exact same price. I was so happy that we were getting the extra day, and Brendan was so happy that he wasn't going to be forfeiting his money because of a bizarre and poorly implemented cancellation policy.
FAST FORWARD TO MARCH...
The Friday before he was due to arrive, we had a snowstorm that knocked part of my power (just large appliances) out, as well as my internet. It was weird and worrisome, because Brendan was due to arrive the night after. I spent Saturday cleaning my apartment and trying to find some ice to put in my freezer so that my food wouldn't thaw. Apparently NO ONE sells frickin' ice in the winter, so I said fuck it and just shoved some snow from outside into a bag and put it in the freezer. Worked like a charm. Thanks, mother nature.
Then Saturday... he arrived!!!! I was so, so happy to have him with me again. His flight was delayed a little bit, but not more than reasonable. I picked him up around 11pm on Saturday and we got home around midnight. He had spent the day in Toronto with some of his friends since public transport only ran in the morning, so it ended up being a good day all around for him. We cuddled and went to bed pretty much immediately, haha.
SUNDAY
Since our anniversary was on February 17th but we weren't able to be together for it, we decided to spend the first full day that I'd be home (and not working) celebrating. We spent a lot of it just being cozy, playing games, and talking or watching things together. About mid-day, the internet came back, followed within the hour by the power. In the evening, we made a reservation at a nice Turkish restaurant in town and he treated me to dinner. I wanted to take him to the Ben & Jerry's in town for dessert, but because of the storm, they had no power and were unfortunately closed. As a compromise, I took him to the grocery store instead, and we each picked out a flavor. Then we went home and watched a movie and ate ice cream together in bed.
MONDAY-FRIDAY
Work! Brendan spent his time mostly studying. On Tuesday he had a Skype interview with a potential summer employer. I am happy to report that it went very, very well, and they offered him a position about 3 weeks later. He starts May 7th and is really excited about it.
On Wednesday we got slammed with ANOTHER snow storm (classic nor'easter) that knocked the power out entirely late in the day. The snow was really thick and heavy, so my workplace ended up closing for the day. I felt so lucky that I got to spend an extra day at home with him!
However, it also meant that the heat was out. We ended up getting all snuggly together in bed to stay warm and went to sleep early. In the morning, the sun woke us up and we talked for a bit and then kissed each other good morning, which was apparently magic because it was at that exact moment that the power came back on. On Thursday I had him drive me to work so that he could have the car for the day and then could pick me up later so we could go straight to a local brewery that I'd been meaning to take him to. I had arranged to have a few work (and former work... ugh, layoffs) friends meet us there so that they could meet my SO. I got Brendan one of their little sampling glasses and a bunch of sampling chips so he could try a bunch of their beers. He really enjoyed it!
SATURDAY
Saturday. The big day. It was my sister's birthday and she was turning 20 years old, officially beating teen pregnancy for life. She had begged and pleaded with me and my mom to take her to a Broadway show for her birthday. Brendan and I had been really concerned about the cost-- it was nearly $200 per ticket-- but my sister went ahead and bought the tickets, and my mom said she'd cover us as an "anniversary gift." Brendan was pretty unhappy with being forced to accept such a large "gift", so he insisted on writing my parents a thank you note and giving them a small gift in return. He bought them some adorable mugs from the airport on his way in.
We parked at one of the lots in town that's free on Saturdays and boarded an 8:39am train to New York City. My parents and sister would meet us later in the day (around 1pm) at Grand Central, but we had other plans for the morning to take advantage of the time we had to visit the city.
So what was our first stop? New York Botanical Garden!!!
It was so beautiful inside the conservatory. They had an orchid exhibit running for the month of March, so everything was decked out with extra flowers all over the place.
We spent some time in the outdoor exhibits, too. Unfortunately, since it's early in the year and we just got blasted with a bunch of snow, much of it was fairly dead, although there were some signs of life just beginning to come through. Brendan particularly enjoyed the "native plants" section. He was really interested in this one rock they have in the park that's been split by natural forces.
After our brief adventure through the park, we were careful to make sure we we were on time for the train that goes directly from Botanical Garden Station to Grand Central. We ended up arriving at almost the exact same time as my parents and sister did on a neighboring train, so we all met up in GC for a quick lunch before we hurried off onto the street to get in line to see Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.
It was pretty neat! I didn't know that Carole King made so many of those songs. They did the musical in a way such that you heard the songs both before they were published by popular artists and after, so you could recognize them but also see the work that went into them. It also told about the life of Carole King, which I don't think was particularly traditional. My sister (who is in school for music education) had an absolute blast.
We weren't sure what we were all going to do for dinner, but then it was suggested, since we'd all be taking the same train back, that everyone get off at my stop (just 2 stops before where my parents and sister were going) and have dinner in my town with me and Brendan. I was pretty happy that they wanted to do that.
Unfortunately, my family is very good at making simple situations stressful. My sister was making a big fuss about how they were getting back to their station, asking me to drive them all 20 minutes away to their stop after dinner. I was very tired and said they could all just take the train for $3. Brendan definitely sensed the stress and was trying to comfort me a little as we went.
The place we wanted to go for dinner was totally packed with a wait time of like 35 minutes, and my parents were tired, so I was getting stressed about them being unhappy. We ended up going to the town diner across the street, which we'd been to a few times before. It was full, but they were able to seat my family within about 5 minutes (by chance).
I had to run back out to my car because I'd forgotten my phone in the cupholder. It was about a 5 minute walk to where I had parked, but then I got to thinking... the diner has parking... I wonder if they have space. Should I risk it? I ended up getting SUPER LUCKY and pulled in right as someone was leaving a prime spot right in front of the entrance ramp. I felt a lot better after that.
Dinner was otherwise pretty good and afterwards I dropped everyone off at the train station and said good night.
We talked about how we felt about my family on the way home. His family is so chill, but mine is so full of stress and anxiety and tension, and he doesn't like that it upsets me. I'm really lucky to have him. He is the calm in my life.
SUNDAY
Sad day.
I had to send him back. It was also the start of DST, so we lost an hour. Although we were leaving at 9am, it felt like 8. Still, we made it to the airport okay and said our goodbyes. I miss him a lot.At this point we don't actually have another trip planned yet because we don't know what his schedule is for the coming months. He has about a week and a half off at the end of April/beginning of May, though, so I'm considering taking a trip up there during that time, then coming up again during Canada Day/July 4th.
The problem is that if I fly, someone has to get me from the airport, and he doesn't have a car. He'll also be moving during that week at the end of April, so I don't know which airport I'd need to go to or who we can ask for help yet. Once he moves for his summer job, he's "only" a 7 hour drive away, so I might consider driving up for Canada Day since at that point it takes less time to drive than to fly (including getting to/from airports), but until then it's more complicated and I don't think I'd be okay driving. I get very nervous when I drive and it's much riskier to do so, considering the likelihood of an accident or of something going wrong with my car (which I need for work). It might be "cheaper", considering that I drive a Prius so round-trip the gas would only be like $50-$60, but the wear and tear on the car is something that also needs to be factored in.
Bden's dad is going to drive up and take him to look at housing on Friday so that he can hopefully get that squared away. Fingers crossed that he's able to secure something comfortable. He'll also need to pick up a bicycle before he starts work so that he can commute.
Immigration-wise, I got my re-evaluated scores for the CELPIP (English exam) and they bumped my 8 to a 10, so now I can get max points for my English proficiency in the Express Entry system. Thank god for that. I'm still waiting on my credential assessment, and it seems like it'll be several weeks more before it's done. I get so impatient sometimes, feeling like I need to apply for EE as soon as possible, but then remember that I'm still going to be here until at least February of next year, and very likely longer (considering he doesn't even graduate until April/May). I think I just want to have the option available to me and know that I've got enough time to get my life together beforehand.
Until next time!
Your blog posts always make me smile! I'm so happy for you guys ♥