lost luggage

this is one of several posts about my recent trip to paris.

a retrospective if you will.

as we were about to land in Toronto the first thing that struck me was just how remarkable air travel is. several hours ago we were across the atlantic, practically in a different world. thanks to zoom airlines, we'd traversed several time zones and were about to land in toronto where the local time was only 12:30 p.m. versus the 18:30 p.m.

blows your mind when you think about really.

then what really blew my mind, and not in good way, was when we made our way to the baggage claim. my trusty backpack was no where to be seen. particularly strange was the fact that my partner's gear arrived with no hassle...strange because we both checked our bags at the exact same time. only mine was no where to be found.

it's my worst nightmare about travelling...second only to an accident - plane crashes and the like.

that sinking feeling of oh god, i'm never going to see my stuff again, the frantic thoughts of what exactly did i have in there, and the overwhelming desire to burst into tears. i cursed myself several times over for packing my undeveloped film in my checked luggage, as well as my hair-dryer, my favourite pair of jeans ... i pretty much kicked myself for checking my luggage. Only you don't have choice now, checking luggage is pretty much mandatory unless you're travelling with an itsy-bitsy slip of a bag.

everyone i've talked with says not to worry...my pack will show up.

and it did.

a mere 36 hours later with contents intact.

massive thanks to the universe.