Fun With Canadian Customs
Mood:  happy
Now Playing: Breathe (Sean Konnery Club Mix)
Yestereday was just one of those days...

I had a laser appointment scheduled for the afternoon in Canada which is a bit of a drive so I decided to get the front tires changed on the Mustang and the oil changed just so nothing would go wrong halfway down the QEW. I've had a bit of uneven wear on my front tires because my alignment is all out of whack so it was time to bite the bullet and get them replaced. Hm...seems that I forgot that I have extra wide, low profile tires on my car and a size that no one stocks. It took me all morning to find someone who carries the right kind and had the time to switch them out for me. So, $380 and 3 hours later I had 2 new front tires and a front end alignment. Ouchies. If only I had access to a garage here I would have done it myself. *Sigh* At least it was done and out of the way.

I ran over and picked up T* at 1:30 and we zipped off toward the Canadian border. Although usually the roads are pretty empty at that time on a Friday, things were packed yesterday and there were cop-ers everywhere so I had to follow speed limits (sadly). Be honest, who doesn't like to crank things up on the highway? At that point we were already making lousy time and when we finally got to the U.S./Canadian border, instead of flying through like normal, there was a long line of cars backed up in front of us. Just one of those days. At this point I was starting to worry about actually making my appointment on time, but we always make good time on the QEW once we cross the border so I tried to relax.

Fifteen minutes later we pulled up next to the booth to speak with the Border patrol Officer. I knew we were in trouble right away, lol. He was obviously in a wretched mood and for some reason border guards (U.S. and Canadian) make themselves feel better by giving travelers a hard time. He asked us where we were coming from 3 times and by the time we were done he knew what city, county, state and country we were from. Okay mofo, that was really necessary. Then he asks us why we're going to Canada. Now keep in mind this is the third time in the last 2 months or so that we've crossed the border for laser appointments and I say the same thing everytime we go (without any problems before I might add). So I tell him that I have a doctors appointment (because the laser center I go to has a doctor on the premises overseeing things so technically this is true). So then he asks what kind of doctors appointment I have. Hello, in violation of HIPAA guidelines here aren't we? Last I knew Canada still followed those rules in accordance with the U.S. concerning citizens from both countries seeking medical treatment on either side of the border. Moron. Anyways, because we were already running late and because I didn't really care if he knew or not, I told him I was going to have laser work done on my face. I didn't specifically mention what type of laser work but that was all he was gonna get. So, still being completely rude, he scribbles something on a yellow sheet, hands it to me and says, "You have to go through the immigration offices ahead on your right. Go." OMFG. At this point T* and I have no idea what's going on and we're getting pretty tired of this stuff. We walk into the immigration building and stand in line for 10 minutes only to be told we have to go to another office. Just one of those days, right? Finally we end up in the right place and speak to a woman this time who asks us another 100 questions or so, but at least she was polite about it. Eventually, about 30 minutes after reaching the border they finally let us through. As if visiting Canada is worth that much hassle. Ack. So now, we're way behind schedule which means we're flying down the QEW and all the nice Canadian citizens are just getting out of our way, lol. In hindsight it probably wasn't the best idea, but luckily we avoided the Royal Mounties (is that what they call them in Canada?).

We arrived at the laser office with 3 minutes to spare, lol. Good thing I got those new tires ;-)

The laser tech asked me how things went after the first treatment and was surprised at how good my results were already. She told me again that I'm a perfect candidate for laser treatment (sweet) and said we should reevaluate things after my third treatment considering my results so far. So I put on the goggles and laid back on the table for another 20-30 minutes of laser work. Things were supposed to hurt less this time right? Not quite. We upped the joules to 23 for the upper lip and 25 for the rest of the face and things were cooking right away. There were a number of spots where the laser did it's job last time and so the pain was almost non-existant in those places, but the areas where follicles were still growing were that much more painful. Ouchies. I'd say overall the pain was about the same as my initial treatment. I tried to console myself with the no pain no gain mantra and did a lot of fist clenching (I think I still have the fingernail marks). I made it through though and am now one step closer to going fulltime. Work went pretty quick even with the pain and before I knew it we were done.

Immediately afterwards I was really red in the face (more so than the first time I had laser work) but it dissipated pretty quickly. It was noticeably less by the time we got back to the border (and crossed with no fuss, thankfully), and now around 24 hours later it's almost completely gone. One more thing out of the way :-)

T* and I got some take out from Olive Garden (I wasn't going in with my messy face) and spent a nice evening in. So that was Friday, definitely one of those days.