It's time!

24 hours from now I will be just over one hour into my flight back to England. I have not yet finished (ahem, started) packing and still don't really feel like I'm leaving TOMORROW! I think it's because I've been spending so much time doing normal Christmas things that I haven't given myself a chance to run around and do crazy pre-trip things. Now, instead of packing, I am sitting at my computer trying to figure out how many people I can spend time with tomorrow before I have to go to the airport. I am factoring in time to go to the bank and time to get a pair of pants hemmed (in one hour!) but not factoring in time to get last minute packing done... so it's now or never.

Also, Kevin should be landing at Pearson at 12:30pm tomorrow which, by the time he gets through customs, etc. should give us about 5 hours to figure out where and when and how we can see each other before I leave. So with a possibility of seeing one of my very best friends before I leave (after not seeing him in over two months) my thoughts are everywhere except where they ought to be: on packing my bags and getting some sleep!

The other day I wrote up a list of a few things I will miss about Toronto - in the interest of getting back to more 'important' things, I've copied it here for your reading pleasure.

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I think it goes without saying (but I'll say it anyway) that I will miss my friends and family a lot, but there are things and places I will miss almost just as much...

I will miss Shopper's Drugmart - A drugstore is a drugstore is a drugstore (or chemist, for you brits and pharmacy for your yanks) but I have always enjoyed visiting Shopper's more than most. My summer time walks to the store with Karen or Kathryn, spending hours laughing at greeting cards with Leanne, and debating what colour hair dye is best with Emily, there are many happy memories in that store and while I LOVE Boots, I do miss my drugstore when I'm away.

I will miss North American Diet Pepsi - As many of you know, I have a slight addiction to Diet Pepsi. However, the stuff does NOT taste the same in the UK. No sir, not that same at all. Something tastes very different about their sugar-free Pepsi and I don't like it. I guess it's not a terrible thing to go without the stuff for some time, but I sure will miss it.

I will miss memories - While I agree that memories are with you wherever you go, the places and scents that trigger certain memories tend to exist only where the memories were made. I have a lot of very happy (and some not so happy) memories in this city, and I will miss walking past a store and remembering the day I ran into an old friend unexpectedly. I will miss driving past my high school and laughing at all of the things we did inside of its walls. I will miss the movie theatre where I went on my first date. I will miss the patch of sidewalk where my friend slipped on some ice and knocked over garbage bins late at night. I will miss all of the triggers but will hold onto the memories.

I will miss Canadian winter - I know I bitch about being cold, about walking in four inches of slush, about frozen limbs, about shovelling snow, about people not shovelling snow, etc. but there is something real and wonderful about having a harsh and brutal winter. The winter makes me appreciate time inside with my loved ones more. The winter makes me appreciate the tiny hands that worked so hard to make my new isotoner mittens. The winter makes me really, really love the Spring. I will miss having a real winter with snow and frostbite and windchills of -30.

I will miss my bed - I have one of the world's most comfortable beds and I know it will be a long time before I can/will be willing to buy one of equal quality for myself elsewhere. 'Nuff said, I love my bed.

I will miss the Eaton Centre - I like shopping. I like my shopping mall. I like that I know where the stores are. I like that I know where the clean public toilets are. I do enjoy one-stop-shopping and the Eaton Centre generally allows me to do that. As much as I prefer individual shops and some boutiques, I do miss this giant shopping mall when I am away.

I will miss the TTC - No, it's not one of the world's finest public transportation systems, but it is the one I know better than any other. There's something really relaxing about taking public transit when you know exactly how to get where you need to go, and when you know your routes as well as I tend to you are prepared for the delays and malfunctions that occur. For example, I know if there is a train stopped in my home station for more than 4 minutes I should go upstairs and take one of two buses that will bring me exactly where I need to be in (almost) no time! I enjoy getting confused on the NYC and Paris subway systems and highly enjoy the Art on the Underground in London, but I will miss being an expert.

I will miss Salad King - One of the most affordable, delicious and vibrant small restaurants in one of the busiest hubs of the city, I love this restaurant! I have been three times in the past month and would gladly go again before I leave if given the opportunity. The food is hot, spicy, delicious and cheap!

I will miss Yonge and Eglinton - True, this is not the most exciting spot in this fine city of mine, but it's one of my favourite walking destinations. Though I don't do it as often as I used to, I really enjoy the 20 minute walk up to the area and I love to browse the bookstores, the kitchen store and generally just observe the yuppie types who frequent the three Starbucks that exist in a one block radius!

I will miss affordable Sushi - Toronto has more all-you-can-eat sushi restaurants than I can count and with prices starting around $14.99 for endless amounts of the stuff, you really can't go wrong. Okay, you can go wrong. With raw fish you can go VERY wrong, but you get my point. It is very hard to find good and affordable sushi in the UK, but I promise you I will find it and I will let you know where it is.