Challenging times

A lot has happened from last Wednesday to this one.

I’ve had two bank appointments, more dealings with the Italian consulate, the Politecnico di Milano itself, Alberta Health, and World Financial Group (looks like I’m finished with them), and had a phone conversation with a venture capitalist I met in Winnipeg.

To keep myself sane (but I guess that’s a relative statement) I: did another little art project; spent an evening with a friend from high school, went to the MC Hammer concert (“2 legit. 2 legit 2 quit!!!”); went to a fundraiser for the Peru (and did a little car window-shopping with two of my danceteammates); went to see a psychic; visited the university and went on a bike trip.

In the interest of time, and to make up for my partial efforts at being concise and focused, I will only talk about the last two days here.

Tuesday started out rather slow. And that’s actually how I wanted it to be. My intention was to read for most of the day, call the Italian consulate to find out about my visa status (they had had my passport for almost two weeks by this point) and then go collect it (assuming it would be ready). After that, I’d buy some Chinese yuan, and see a psychic. As usual though, it didn’t quite happen that way.

I started reading around 8:30am after breakfast and called the Italian consulate about an hour later. The guy on the phone said my passport was ready to be picked up. Because purchasing my flight to Shanghai depended on that, my mom insisted that I go to the consulate right away. Still, almost acting like I had all the time in the world, I made my way downtown by LRT (the local train, for those of you not familiar with the city) and then to the bank to get some money I would later exchange for Chinese yuan. I met a friend from design along the way, and we ended up talking, delaying the unexpected event that would happen not long after that. She accompanied me to the consulate, and we waited for a good half an hour to be seen. No matter, I thought. I’ll get my passport and be on my way. Nope. My visa hadn’t even been processed yet! What?!?!?

Apparently, I hadn’t paid for the first semester of school yet. They didn’t say that was a requirement for a visa! Anyway, I was told to pay for it first and then come back the next day. I’d have my passport ready in “a few days”. What did that mean? Oh, Friday, maybe. Ah!!! There’s the word again! Like in China! I wanted to leave on Monday! I had already been making arrangements, granted I hadn’t pay for any flights at this point.

So, I continued on from there. I ran into another friend, got my Chinese yuan and made my way back to my mom’s. When I got there, I told my mom about what had happened, and needless to say, she wasn’t too impressed. She insisted I pay for school right away and give the consulate the receipt ASAP. After trying to pay online (and realizing in the process that I didn’t understand nearly enough Italian to deal with an Italian bank), my mom and I drove to the bank here to get them to wire money over to Italy. On the plus side, it was a surprisingly easy process.

From there, I drove back downtown and got the receipt to the consulate with just enough time for the guy who was helping me to say it should be ready by the next day or the day after. Good! That meant Thursday latest. I drove back to pick up my mom, and do a bit of shopping with her. When we got back, she looked a lot more relieved.

Later that afternoon, I took the LRT back downtown to see a psychic. A friend of mine from high school had recommended I see her. When I arrived at the Russian Tea Room, I had forgot her name. No matter, I made an appointment. She’ll know I was coming. Nope.

I ended up almost getting a reading from another lady (which I guess might not have been so bad had I not hesitated from the start). She almost seemed insulted when I asked her to name off all the psychics that worked there, hoping I would remember who it was I was supposed to see. I told her it wasn’t anything personal, but I don’t think she believed me. I called my friend to ask what her name was, and sat back down to wait for Teri. A few minutes later I heard her voice. “Are you ready?” I hoped I was.

I moved to her work corner, probably the darkest in the building, and after a few matters of business, she got right into it. Now, I’ve never “really” had my palm read or had taro cards tell me about myself (read: I’ve never paid someone to do that before), but I was surprised at her findings. She really did seem to know me very well. She spoke of my thoughts, travel, relationships, friends and family, and a bit about my future. The one thing she said I definitely should do however, is complete my masters. I was having doubts about it until that day, and still do, but I figure what happens in Shanghai will help me make up my mind. We’ll see what happens.

I spoke to my dancepartner from Shanghai on the phone that evening. She said she should be able to meet me at the airport when I arrive.

The next day I woke up before 6am to talk to the Politecnico di Milano once more. I spent a large portion of the rest of the morning with the email and internet. I got a message on my phone saying my passport was ready, so I finished on the computer, got on my bike and headed downtown once more. I rang the doorbell to the consulate office (yeah, it has it’s own doorbell) right at 12 noon. What timing I thought, considering I was told I couldn’t pick it up any later that day.

After that, I made my way to the university campus to visit my old department. I had arranged to meet a professor in quad (a large green space), and upon arrival, I was awestruck. I had forgotten next week is the week of welcome (WOW). But the campus had already started its celebrations with hotdog and hamburger tents with lineups like there was no tomorrow, and music that proves Russel Peters’ argument that “Americans have culture”. The weather was perfect for it (unlike the last week or so, which had really felt like fall). I walked up and down the lines looking for my professor friend and finding baklava servers instead. Man, I love baklava. Anyway, I ended up finding the professor and we chatted about design and my plans to go abroad once again. I accompanied him to his office, met his assistant, and then after a phone call from the friend who had recommended the psychic to me, I ventured over to the industrial design studio.

There I met my old shop technician and a few of my old professors. I told them about my travels and experiences, and plans for the future. The shop technician told me he thinks it’s “cool”. One of the professors told me of his plans to go to Shanghai too! I said I’d meet him there.

I had to hurry on my way back to the northside of the city for another appointment at the bank, of which I made on time. To my surprise though, I couldn’t meet my regular banking advisor because she had “emergency meetings” with other clients. So I had to deal with her assistant. I can’t stand her assistant. We just don’t know how to talk to each other. Anyway, we did what we could, and I ended our meeting with a “On the positive side…”. You have to be politically correct sometimes.

I made it back to my mom’s condo for quick change, and then head off again for a bike ride (not like I hadn’t been riding enough that day). I rode back to the southside and made it to the store “Petalhead”. In the back, I met a guy I originally met through salsa who was also the “petalhead” who had invited me out. Altogether, there were about 20 of us ready to take on the challenges of off-road biking. I thought I knew what I was doing, but still went with the beginner group.

It was a good experience on the whole. I got to discover a lot about the river valley I didn’t know before. I also discovered that I would really need a new bike if I were to do that again. In the words of the group leader, I’ve got “more rider than bike”. I made it home late that evening, and was completely exhausted.

This morning I woke up after a relatively intense dream, of which I can’t fully recollect, nor want to expand on here. But it was good.

I spent most of the day on the computer again today (hence, why I could get this done). Soon, I’ll be driving my mom to the airport for her trip to Germany, and later, I’ll be going to On the Rocks one last time before I am on my next journey abroad once again. However, this time I don’t intend on coming back anytime soon.