A Ticket To Ride

Monday 12th September

Today we (Franky and I) booked my plane tickets back "home". I leave on Tuesday 20th September 2011 to start a new life with them ("proper", my new life with them has of course already started but this time when I go, the plan is to stay) after being back exactly 3 weeks though it feels like a lifetime ago.

It wasn't without it's stresses of course, trying to keep the cost to minimum without wanting to delay things much longer. I had a tough choice to make: buy a ticket with British Airways that involved a connecting flight and a 3-4 hour wait between flights or go direct with a budget airline. British Airways would have been fantastic, the service just 100 times better and the return flight (it was cheaper to book a return than a single and it may have caused problems with immigration if I didn't have a return ticket) can be amended. However, the 4 hour delay was in a city that they hadn't been to before and that half-jokingly upset them that I would get to see it first; that and the total journey time would have been close to 15 hours. In the end I opted for the "budget" airline as it was a direct flight. The difference in price between the two was very minor, about £40 / $60 so "budget" in this sense just refers to quality of service and it being a chartered flight on a bus with wings (Airbus 330-300) instead of a very luxurious 747*.
*OK, turns out "budget" also means baggage allowance. Just about EVERY other airline allows two carry on bags (one bag + a "personal bag) with a weight of 10KG each but this one only allows 1 bag at 5KG. Seriously shit and fuck and buggery bollocks. Now having to decide which items of clothing are most important.

We then had to try and find flights that coincided with the second part of the journey as it worked out cheaper to fly to a city nearly 2000 miles form them then get a flight from there.
After a lot more pissing about with airlines and flight schedules it all gets booked and for the first time in a long time we both sit back and smile from ear to ear. "I'm on my way Baby" I say to them.

The rest of that evening's video chat was spent grinning, so much so that my face began to hurt! It was fantastic to finally get the tickets booked, we could relax a lot more and hopefully they can rid themselves of any fears they may have had due to the stressful time they've had of things recently.
And they have had a rough few weeks, we all have but now they don't need to ask "when are you going to be here" and whilst they may still want me to be there now (as I do too) knowing I'm going to be there in a week's time has made us all so much happier.

And now I can really get a flap on. I have a buyer for my flat and the sale will hopefully complete whilst I'm at Franky's but it means I have less than a week to get everything completed my end including getting rid of everything (furniture) in the flat, boxing things up and arranging for them to be stored, one day shipped over, contacting family and friends, utility companies need notifying of my last day etc. etc. The week until I see them is going to be hellish for so many reasons now but all I have to do is think about what happens / where I'm going at the end of this. The plan is to get it all done by the weekend then I can start to relax and really get into the excitedness(?) of getting to be with them again.

I haven't written much here about how I feel about leaving my country, my friends and my family; I will do so but this is a happy post about a very very very happy day so I will leave it for another time, another blog even.

So now the question of what will they wear to meet me? Last time I flew to see them they asked me this same question and I knew instantly. It was something they wore on a Skype date once and if you've been following the blogs, Tumblr and twitter at the time you would have seen it: tight little checked shirt, hotpants and hair in pigtails. It was quite a sight when I walked through those doors at arrivals. This time the question was asked by Emmie and oh my little eyes did light up. We're both grinning and we both have the same thought, fishnets, tiny skirt... actually we didn't get much further than that, needless to say the theme is "whore" so of course I'll be wearing a suit.

Now not all of them will be happy about this and so Emmie and I agreed that if who ever is out on the day I arrive, they should decide and if they are not comfortable with the type of clothes that Emmie wears then they shouldn't. I do not want them feeling uncomfortable on my account.

Frank et al: I mean that. I am not asking you to "force" anyone out or to wear anything you are not comfortable about. You know I will be just so ecstatically happy to see you, Frank et al, be it in fishnets and Basque or jeans and sweatshirt. I love you all and I am counting the hours till I get to see you again (for real), touch you, kiss you, hold you.
See you soon Baby *grins*.