A Short Visit....

Late last month my great auntie suffered a stroke.  She lasted for about a week after that.  She had stopped eating after the stroke so essentially I was on a death watch from a great distance afar.  When I received word of her passing away, I advised my office manager that I would be returning to Canada to attend the funeral.  She jumped to the conclusion that the funeral would be right away.  She called the regional manager and advised me I could have the rest of the week off.  She was a tad perplexed when I explained to her that funerals are not held that soon in Canada.  It takes time to make arrangements for funerals.  So she would have to wait until I got word.  When I told her it would take a few days she wasn't exactly happy but she grudgingly accepted the situation.

I was waiting on word of when the funeral was going to be held whilst keeping an eye on air fares.  Seeing fares jump from the $1800-1900 range to $3400 range made me push the button and book flights.  I picked a time period which I thought would be a good gamble.  As it turned out, the funeral was held the morning of the day after my arrival.

My great auntie had had a son with her first husband.  As her first husband was Chinese, my mom's cousin followed the Chinese custom of handing out small white envelopes after the funeral was over.  In each of the envelopes there was a candy and a coin, a $1 coin.  Recipients are expected to spend the coin that day.  I used the money towards a purchase of a cup of Tim Hortons coffee.  The "Roll Up the Rim to Win" contest is on and my great auntie's luck rubbed off on the purchase...I won a cup of coffee.  My family members got a chuckle out of that.  We had often purchased scratch and win lottery tickets to put in my great auntie's birthday cards when she was alive.  She had always been one to play the odds for a bit of fun.

It goes without saying that my visit was a bit of a sombre one.  I didn't touch an alcoholic beverage during the time I was in Canada.  I had breakfast with one friend and lunch with another friend with his family.  I dropped in on a friend's coffee shop and he was a touch surprised to see me.  I hadn't contacted him to tell him I'd be back and he doesn't subscribe to any of the social networking apps/sites I use.  That was all the socializing I did.

I'm typing this up as I wait to board my flight back to Japan.  Once I arrive, I'll hit an ATM, forward my suitcase by Yamato Transport, head to Tokyo station by limousine bus, catch the train back home, and then, after a night's sleep, trudge off to work the next day....  Yeah, I'll be in fine shape then.