In preparation for leaving Canada for 3 months, I work my butt off. I am supposed to be going to Ecuador to relax my brain as I have been suffering with post concussion syndrome for the past year after being rear ended in Ottawa. I am also trying to heal my shoulder that I dislocated when I fell during a dizzy spell and tore the rotator cuff. I am actually here now and am so so happy. I actually have time to sit and write. That would not have happened at home.
I think I will be packed weeks in advance but no. I do make some inquiries into what I can take down with me. I have an old massage table that I think I will take down as I hope to be retiring soon. Massage is hard on this old body. I try to get a hold of Air Canada but am put on hold for over an hour and hang up. I text a friend who works in the Soo at Air Canada and ask her about taking down the massage table and she says it will be fine if it is under 50 pounds and I did weigh it in at 40 pounds so I figure I am good. I am not taking it down to work and make money but I know me and every other time i am down there, I feel sorry for someone in pain and give them a treatment but it is always on a kitchen counter or a bed and it is really no good for my back.
The table is all ripped and I call Soo Tent and Awning to buy some fabric to recover it and figure I will trade with and Ecuadorian person who can cover my table and I will massage them. Soo Tent and Awning is closed. But Deboer Upholstery has taken over the inventory. So I call and talk to a man and explain what I would like to do and he says, I will cover your table. My wife needs a massage so this is awesome. I explain that it will have to wait till i return and he is fine with that. He does an amazing job. Looks like new. And then my table carrying case has a broken zipper and he fixes that. Wow, loving this guy. And then my face cradle is broke and he fixes that. He really is perfect. He tells me that he and his wife are interested in Ecuador and I tell him I will come over when I get back and tell them all about it. Then I find out his wife is an old high school friend. Love the coincidences in this world. Got a feeling they will be joining me down in Ecuador next year. They lived for awhile in Mexico so already speak Spanish.
Then my physiotherapist friend tells me I really need to take down my bike. It only costs $50 and I can get a free bike box at the bike stores. It would be most awesome to have a bike down there. I haven't actually ridden my bike in years but..................... this is a new adventure. Beventure. So I call Air Canada again and am told that Due to the high quantity of callers, I will have to wait 2 hours. No frigging way. So I text my Air Canada friend and she says she doesn't know but will check it out and get back to me. She texts me a couple of days before I leave and tells me yes, I can bring it for $50 if it is 50 pounds. It is only 40 so I load the box up with some other stuff.
At this point I should mention that my brother Vern is driving me to the airport. The first time I came to Ecuador was in and he was with me. We had weighed my luggage the night before with his little weigh machine and I was just a little under. Hes picking me up at 3 in the morning. I had the brilliant idea to go get a few food items to pack in the luggage. The last trip i had to Cuba with Celia, there was no restaurant open in the town we were in and no place to buy food but I had taken down snacks so we ate all the rest of our food and drank the booze we had left on our balcony and she was thankful that I had brought some food. Of course, all week she had made fun of me for bringing food. So Vern picks me up, we get to the airport, and I weigh in at 70 pounds. OMG, Vern is furious. He is losing his mind. He had weighed me the night before, what did i do. So we open my luggage in the middle of the airport and the Air Canada guy is laughing at us and we transfer some over to Vern's luggage as he was under. He still to this day bugs me about this. I had even brought limes down as I wasn't sure if they would have it for my gin. Low and behold they grow everywhere there and you can get a huge bag for $2. I think I paid almost a dollar each. Oh well, live and learn. This time everything is weighed in at 50 pounds.
Vern is driving me to the airport , we are almost there, and my phone rings. It is my friend at Air Canada who apologizes but she has made a mistake. It is only $50 if it is your 2nd piece of luggage. If it is your 3rd, it is $235 plus $50. “What”, I scream, Vern looks at me. “No, my old bike is not even worth that. And I have a whole bunch of important stuff that I need packed around it.” I am begging, “please, fix this problem, I will give you a great massage when I get home. 2 massages but this has to work”. Brother Vern is trying to remain calm driving but is shaking his head. Omg not again. My friend says, “this is my fault, just get here and I will fix it. Wait till you see a girl with blonde hair at the counter”. My friend was working upstairs. Boy am I glad she is working!!! We get there and wait and wait and the plane is loading and no blondie. Then I see her, thank God. She is talking with the blonde girl and tells me to wait a minute. They are on the computer at the counter. Apparently there is a computer glitch going on and they cannot add my bike. She calls me up and says,” I cannot charge you, we cannot make it work so just go and we will get it on”. She asks if it is overweight and I joyfully say no, I sure made sure of that at least. Another disaster has been successfully avoided.
I am not quite sure why I manifest this amount of excitement in my life. But am really, really happy having my table and my bike down here. That is a whole other story of getting a massage table, a bike, a large suitcase, a small suitcase, a backpack, and a pillow into those small Ecuadorian taxis. But they are happy to do it. No problemo. Everything arrived perfect. Thank you Air Canada. Or I should say, employees of Air Canada.
No comments:
Post a Comment