Three dresses or two?

"How many t-shirts? Is four pairs of jeans too many? How about boots? Then again, it'll be summer when I get there, so I should go buy flats..." You've guessed it, I've started packing. Which turned out to be more heartbreaking than I expected, I must admit. There's certain clothes that I want to bring because I love, other ones that I think I might need, and then the ones that were gifts and that I should bring if I don't want to offend anyone. At last, I had managed to make a decision on what to take and what to leave. The next step was to make sure everything fit in my suitcase, and oh dear, we had a problem. It was overflowing already, and all I had in there were shoes and clothes. Time to restart the whole process, although I ended up giving up shortly after. I figured I would just ask my dad for some help, since he has a high sense of practicality. So far, he broke my heart more than anything. "You know that nice pair of boots that you adore and spent 120$ on? Yes? Well you can't take them with you." Fine, he didn't say it like that, but the message remains the same. I have limited room in my suitcase and bringing boots that I will probably only wear in the winter makes no sense when I'm leaving at the end of May, I get it. It still hurts... You don't realize how much you become attached to your belongings until you have to part with them, especially when the thought of never seeing them again is constantly in the back of your mind. I'll have to prepare myself mentally before my dad sorts through my packing list with an iron fist. I may slightly freak out, but I can't really complain; I know he'll be right in the end. Besides, I better listen if I don't want to fall over every time I try to lift up my suitcase...

Number of days to go: 22

FedEx to the rescue

At last, my visa is in my hands! It took four weeks to process it and almost a week of misunderstanding (it was sent to Halifax, then back to Toronto and finally to me). I must say though, I am impressed by FedEx's online tracking system. Very efficient indeed. Speaking of FedEx, I'm sure I scared the guy who delivered my package, hyper as I was. But then again, it's not every day that people are as excited as me to receive something, so maybe it just cheered him up. Anyways, my trip is now official. In a month, I will be on the Emerald island that is Ireland. Since I haven't done anything trip related in the last month (as shown in my lack of posts), it is now go time. I have many things to do, not to mention that the greatness of the situation is finally setting in. I won't lie, I'm scared. I mean, I'm heading to a country I have never seen before all on my own and am expected to find an apartment (something I have never lived in) and a job as quickly as possible. What if it ends up being just one great disaster? Then again, I'm looking forward to that first class flight and all the new adventures that await. For now, my focus is on remaining calm long enough to get everything ready and to spend as much time with my family as possible. 

Number of days to go: 33