Since the funeral, I've been madly scrambling trying to get my dad's death certificate. I went to (mainland) China thinking it could have been a day trip, but I had to stay overnight.

Before I left for China, I told myself I wouldn't eat chicken or pork while I was there, but of course I ate poultry. I haven't been eating much because my appetite and digestion has been all out of whack. At least I didn't get the runs, but maybe those are coming.

Anyway, Auntie #3 has been dealing with all the business side of things so far, but before things were wrapped up, she decided she was done helping and has passed everything off to my dad's "friend." I'll get into that later.

So C (the friend) and I went to Foshan, China on Tuesday, bright and early. We were going to the Notary Public of China. Each city (region?) has their own notary public institution. It's not like in North America where it's every notary public for his own. We brought all the documents we thought we needed, but then the dude told me I had to get my Canadian official documents endorsed at the embassy in Guangzhou! I was told this had to be done before I left home, but I guess I didn't clue in what I really had to do. One of my dad's friends who lived there (what a jerk...he has pervert written all over his face. He's around 60 years and has a 24 year old mistress. They met when she was 20. He also told me that if I put on men's clothes, I'd look exactly like my dad.)

Anyway, this friend is (was?) in the business of helping Chinese people immigrate to Canada and he contacted the Canadian embassy in another city on my behalf. He kept telling us that they only do endorsements on Thursdays and that maybe my documents wouldn't be ready yet. In fact, he kept discouraging us from making a trip to the embassy! Anyway, since we were close, we made the trip the next morning. The embassy would have been closed if we tried to go in the afternoon. I told them of my situation and that I was in a hurry to get my documents endorsed so I could get my dad's death certificate and that I was in a hurry to go home. She said she could finish all the paperwork by the afternoon, the next morning at the latest. I was just really relieved that she was going to be able to do it all in a short period of time. I really didn't want to stay in mainland China another night. The place is so dirty and everyone smokes. Well, where I stayed was gross. I'm sure the more touristy areas are a bit nicer.

C and I went to McDonald's to grab a bite to eat and then we sat in a lounge in a hotel for about 3 - 3.5 hours. When we went back to the embassy, everything was all set. And they told me I didn't have to pay for any of their services (normally it would have been about $50/document) because of my situation. "It's the least Canada can do for you." Then we met back up with our agent. We hired an agent who was familiar with getting death certificates in China. He didn't do much on this particular trip but I guess having him around made us feel a bit safer. C and I were so ready to go home and take the first bus, but the agent suggested we take the train instead. We totally regretted that decision. It would have taken us about 3 - 4 hours to get home by bus. But to take the train, we waited an hour for the next train and then we had to switch to the MTR (subway). We didn't save any time at all! In fact, it took longer to get home!

Anyway, I was just really relieved we got everything I needed in China. I was really itching to rebook my flight so I could home as early as possible. I gave Auntie #3 the lowdown on the trip, and she said she was going to meet with the agent the next afternoon and would call me as soon as she heard any updates.

The meeting was yesterday. I was really anxious to hear from her, but she hadn't called all afternoon. I called her in the evening and asked her if she met with the agent. "Oh! I didn't meet with him. C did. I am not dealing with this anymore." #$%@ I was choked. I didn't really care that she wasn't going to do anything else, but she could have at least told me. And C didn't call me with the details, so I called her. "Oh, you will have to meet with the agent tomorrow to sign something."@#$! Thanks for telling me! By the time i confirmed everything about the meeting, I called Cathay about changing my flight. However, their offices were closed and they weren't going to be open today since it's Good Friday. Man, was I pissed off. I was sure I would have been able to get my flight changed if someone gave me update sooner.

I ended up calling  the Vancouver office and changing my flight. I knew there were flights available but I was frustrated that I couldn't make the changes from Hong Kong when I wanted to. Thank goodness someone answered when I called the Vancouver number. I don't know if it was some call centre, but it was some time before 8 am PST.  I'm so relieved to be coming home. I haven't had a moment to myself. I went from sharing a hotel room with an aunt to sleeping on the living room floor at my uncle's. But another uncle was couching it. I also haven't had a moment of peace. If there isn't someone talking to me, I'm in a really noisy area. Cell phones constantly going off, people talking...GAH! And someone had a frickin radio on the train.

It's just been one thing after another, and having to stay in touch with Mr. Nick has been stressful, too. I have had so much going on. I'd tell him when I was available to talk, but he'd never call at those times. Maybe I should have told him to not call if he wasn't able to call at the designate times. He'd call when I was out and about or when I was out of town. GRR! And then when I called him, he'd be half asleep. By the time I was even able to make a phone call, I was ready for bed and not really in the mood for chit chatting...I only wanted the phone calls to be quick updates.

This trip has not been fun at all.

Today I will sign the thing, meet up with Auntie #2, come home, pack, try to take a nap, and go to the airport. I do not want to sleep on my flight! And ugh! Auntie #2! I love her dearly, and I'm practically another daughter to her. She flew over here from Toronto to see my dad one last time and to see me. I feel bad that I can't spend more time with my elderly aunt, but I really need to de-stress. She's been pressuring me to stay in Hong Kong longer despite me repeatedly saying that I do not want to stay longer and that I want to go home. I told her I changed my flight to the red eye tonight, and she still wanted to spend my last minutes with me until I leave. SHe wanted to take me shopping and have dinner even though I've told her that I do not want to shop any more. #$%@

I just want to go to the airport and hang out BY MYSELF and GO HOME. There have been some people who just haven't understood that this trip has not been one of my usual trips for fun. This trip has been nothing but fun and it's been extremely stressful and for people who try to convince me to stay longer and turn it into a pleasure trip just because I'm here is really pissing me off!!! 

I haven't even called my friends who live here.

Here's a recap of my schedule:

Mar 9: Arrive. Meet with relatives.
Mar 10: Prepare for dad's funeral.
Mar 11: Dad's viewing
Mar 12: Dad's funeral. Treat dad's side of the family to big dinner.
Mar 13: Temple stuff
Mar 14: Had to meet with Great Aunt from Dad's side of the family on his behalf for lunch. Treated #3 and my cousin to a separate dinner since #3 refuses to see #6
Mar 15: Visit my great uncle's graves and pay my respects
Mar 16: Spreading of dad's ashes
Mar 17: Prepare for China. Had a couple of hours of free time. Meet with #2 and cousin for gross dinner
Mar 18: Go to China
Mar 19: Still in China. Come back to Hong Kong around 9 pm
Mar 20: Spend the day with mom's side of the family
Mar 21: Sign some documents and prepare to go home

So it's been all family obligations. Maybe throughout the whole trip I managed to squeeze in several hours of shopping. I could probably list all the shops I visited. I was extremely disappointed with Agent Provocateur's service in Hong Kong. For the first time, I didn't buy anything from that store. I usually drop $1000 - $2000 CAD a visit. I did have intentions to buy, but the staff were so snobby and bitchslap worthy, I just left.

Time to get ready to meet with C and the agent. 

I'm sure I'll eventually get around to posting about my aunts. They all have their quirks and most of them piss me off from time to time. I'm excited to be able to make it to my cousin's wedding (Auntie #5's son) but I am not looking forward to seeing some of my aunts again so soon.