Tip #4 - Keep in Touch

This past weekend my beautiful and loving best friend threw me a wonderful going away party - Toronto style. Throughout my 7 years living in Toronto I have accumulated many awesome friends and it was great to say goodbye to them last Saturday. (pics below) For those who could not make it, I apologize but try to stay in touch!!

I've learned in life that keeping in touch with the friends that count is important. Many people come in and out of your life and not to say I haven't had great times with those who I'm not close with anymore but I've always been the type of person to maintain relationships with those who understand that no matter the distance and the length of time between visits and emails we will always pick up where we last left off. I've never been the type of have one solid group of friends because I've never really stayed long enough in one place to have that. Instead, I have a collection of many different types of friends and I would never change that. I may not have a huge group of friends like others but I like it that way. Instead, I have friends through sports association, friends through work, friends from my childhood/school and friends through random moments in life...and it's amazing.
I'm looking forward to increasing my list of friends in my upcoming travels and I'm sure I have many great memories ahead of me but I know that the one thing I promise myself is to keep in touch with my friends back home while I'm abroad. This blog is one channel but I - Shannon Landreth vow to stay in touch as much as possible with all you - my friends and family - so that when we meet again, it's like I just saw you yesterday...but maybe I'll have an Irish or British accent instead. (yes, that would be amazing) It's so easy these days to keep in touch with the ones you love because technology allows us to. I embrace it everyday whether it be through text, email, fbook, phone, etc. So - Tip #4 - KEEP IN TOUCH because going through life with no friends, family and a lifetime of good memories can be depressing!! And always remember - any type of relationship (family, friendship, romantic) is a TWO-WAY street. SO - yes - my friends and family - I expect to hear from you too!!

On a side note - I just got word that my passport is now at the Irish Embassy getting stamped. My departure date is 7 days away - fingers crossed I won't have to move it but at least I'm steps away from having my documents back in MY hands!

Until then - Family thanksgiving/going away party this wknd (including special guest - my bff and new Baby Pearl), my Stratford going away party (can't wait) and PACKING. :)

xo

Tip #3 - Faith can be underrated

These last couple months have been trying that's for sure. My usual Irish Landreth luck is at full force or so it seems these days with the passport issues that resulted in canceling my best friend wknd in NYC (sorry Rim), the Jonny+me Boston trip (sorry Jonnyboy) and now the possibility of me delaying my departure flight by who knows how long. It seems like I'm never going to get to this goal I have been dreaming about for the last 5+ years but I know I will get there eventually. Maybe my flight will have to be delayed (fingers and toes crossed that it won't) but I KNOW I will get there even if I have to walk or swim! Listening to all the advice all my friends and family have been giving me throughout this whole ordeal has been keeping me somewhat sane but the one thing that keeps me going is FAITH. I know everything happens for a reason, I know that you just gotta roll with the punches but as I deal with this constant string of bad luck in my life (which seems to follow me around quite a bit I think), I know having faith in people, and myself and what is to happen in the future is what I have to lean on to keep me going.
Currently, my passport is sitting with the British High Commission and then is to be traveling to the Irish Embassy to also be stamped. They say after the Irish Embassy receives my passport it could take up to three weeks (yikes) till I get it back from them...did I mention my flight is less than 3 weeks away? So - I just have to sit and wait and pray and hope and just have faith that EVENTUALLY everything will work out...eventually....sigh...it seems like that word pops up a lot in my vocabulary these days.

Till then...I would greatly appreciate you sending positive thoughts and keeping your fingers/toes crossed for me. I hope to have a positive update soon. :)

Tip #2 - Life CAN be inevitable

If there is anything I learned from this past weekend (other than that I love my bff), I learned that no matter how much you prepare for things, some thing in life can be inevitable. For example - I booked a bff weekend for myself and my best friend (shout out to Rimi) to New York city and the day before we were to leave I had my VAC appointment (Visa Application Centre) to get my biometrics taken (fingerprints/facial recognition) in order to finalize the process for my UK visa application. Well - knowing my luck (I don't have a ton it seems), they had to keep my passport for 10 business days while it gets stamped by the British High Consulate in Ottawa for my visa. That being said - we had to cancel our trip and opt for a road trip to Montreal instead as I couldn't leave the country obviously without my passport.
So - how did I feel? Hm....well, pretty much like someone hit me with the bad luck stick, a bad best friend because NYC is awesome and very angry because I read all of my visa application documents from front to back (twice) to ensure I didn't miss any information about this so-called hijacking of my passport for 2 weeks. Yes - I was relieved that it wasn't lost (as I thought so at first) but then disappointment, anger and sadness set it in right away. The weekend still ended up being great because Rimi and I know that wherever we go, it's always a fun time...and it was. I've enclosed a few pics from the trip. :)
But now - panic is starting to set in because I have another trip booked to Boston with Jonny Boy next Thursday that potentially will also have to be canceled which is also very devestating. It's all hanging on the good luck fairies - IF they really do exist as it doesn't seem that I have one. Just makes me a tad nervous with this bad luck gene when I'll be traveling the world and living in some foreign place for the next two years...sigh.

So - the lesson learned? Not sure if it's a lesson or not because all I really learned was that, unfortunately, no matter how well prepared you are for life, sometimes you get thrown curveballs at you unexpectantly and you just have to opt for plan B and make the most of it.

Here's hoping I don't have to opt for plan B for the Boston trip....fingers, toes and everything else crossed. :s

Rimi waiting in the lobby for her condo offer!      Tribute to my team - vive le Canadiens!

                                           our hotel lobby - chi chi fou fou :)

  this is how the quebecers roll - keg in tow.

great way to end the wknd - takeout in bed :)

driving past my homeland. trix got some km's this wknd. :)