Europe Canceled...

for now anyways.

Ah, what a coincidence. Just as I typed this, Mom came upstairs and told Dad "well we have Florence booked". So my parents are going to Europe, but they always have been :) They are going with their friends Debbie and Geoff and Uncle Steve and Auntie Marcy.
I sent Cesare an e-mail and got no response. I also called the hostel and was told he wasn't there. Strange, usually he works at that time but what ever. By mid week I noticed that he had been on facebook, therefore most likely read the e-mail but still chose not to reply. Fair enough, there was my answer. I didn't have to wait until Saturday to cancel my flight and medical insurance and what ever else. So off I went to the travel centre to cancel everything. Once I spoke to the lady she told me it was 100% non refundable. Eff!!! That's a lot of money! I asked them if they were sure and choked back tears. Not because I was sad about Cesare but because I was now over $1000 poorer and I felt like a loser for jumping in blindly. I walked out of there, defeated. Those feelings soon changed from defeat to complete and utter frustration towards Cesare for not telling me that he didn't want me to come! After all, the day before I booked the ticket he called me while I was at the flight centre and I told him I was going to buy my ticket. Still, he said nothing! He also didn't say anything when I called him the day I bought my ticket. I went home, fuming. Determined to call the hostel to give him a piece of my mind. Once home, I called. Luckily he wasn't there. After fuming for a while. I calmed down and realize that I was pissed off at Cesare for nothing. Really it's not HIS fault that my ticket isn't refundable.
Later that day, I got a phone call from the travel agent saying that for the first time ever they were able to refund part of my ticket. Apparently my agent felt sorry for me so she decided to call the company anyways to see if they would cancel. Usually they don't but my agent and their representative have a good rapport and for a $175 processing fee and a $370 penalty I'll be able to get my refund... or part of it anyways. With my medical, I should be able to get most of it back... I think the penalty for that is only $25 or something like that.
So it was an expensive risk but I still believe that it was worth it. Did I learn anything... well other then boys are stupid... not really. I am still going to take risks, even if they may not seem totally logical to everyone. I believe that if you don't take risks in life you're not going to get very far. I'm a risk taker, so what if I get my heart smooshed along the way. If I've learnt anything over the past couple of years is that my heart heals (especially with the support and love of my friends and family) and life goes on.
So now instead of spending my 24th Birthday in Milan, I'll most likely be spending it somewhere warm with my friend Jenny. When I told her about all this, she said that we should go on an all inclusive for a week (or two) somewhere warm to celebrate my birthday. We're going to find the cheapest all inclusive and go. I am already looking forward to that (especially the warmth...). Maybe I should just move somewhere warm and then I won't always flee the cold.