Toronto: It's official, May 11, 2014

So, it's official ... May 11, 2014. 

Spent just over an hour on the phone with Air Canada on Wednesday evening to book our one-way ticket to Liberia, Costa Rica. One-way ticket. Somehow those words are just starting to sink in. Patiently, I sat on hold for most of the duration of the call because the booking agent had to speak with the animals department to ensure that Niko and I will be on the same flight before I shell out $517.25 CDN. This is probably the most expensive I have ever paid to fly out to Costa Rica. WestJet is flying out two days earlier at $320! But I have no choice, Air Canada is the only airline that will fly animals into Liberia and on a direct flight. I wish I had booked a week earlier when it was $460. Too late now. It is what it is, better now than later anyways. But this really makes it official. I am actually leaving ... 

This is the second time since my decision to move that I felt cold feet. While being put on hold by the Air Canada agent, millions of questions flew through my head ... is this for real? I started to make excuses to procrastinate the purchase of our one-way ticket. Maybe if I wait another week, the price will drop back into the $400 range. It's still too early, I should book next week. What if I can't sell everything in time? $517 is way too expensive for a one-way ticket! What if my laser eye surgery appointment needs to be pushed back? What if I can't get Niko's paperwork done in time? The agent hasn't come back, there's probably already 4 animals on the flight and we'll have to find another date ... The millions of excuses flooded through  my head and I was about to hang up but I had waited to be called back by Air Canada for two days now, I'm not waiting again. The agent came back on the line and said Niko was good to go, he was the only animal on the flight and his spot in cargo was secured ... $517.25 later, this is actually happening ... Ko and I? We're moving to Costa Rica! 

The days are starting to blur and I can barely remember the last time I ate or had a proper night's rest. In the last two weeks since I declared my resignation verbally at work, I have gone into auto-pilot mode. The house I have called home for the past 4 years has been transformed into a showroom; study room vacated, windows cleaned from the winter mold, emptied half my kitchen to become minimally functional and donated 12 large garbage bags of clothing and stuffed animals. I feel like I'm working two full time jobs. Executive Assistant by day, selling things off kijiji during my lunch hour, re-painting parts of the house and emptying it by night. The nickname my friends have given me over the years of superwoman and terminator have never been more accurate in these past two weeks. In this short span of time, my house is showroom ready and listed on MLS for private showings since the morning of Friday, February 28, 2014.

Among all these things I must do before I leave, I somehow squeeze in surfing on the weekends, more like a wild goose chase for waves on the lakes and the odd night out to get my bachata/kizomba fix. Even I don't know how I am actually accomplishing all this. There's never enough time in a day, but somehow, when push comes to shove, I manage to get it done ... somehow ...