You know the economy's in bad shape when...

... you can get to the other side of the world for $1,200 Cdn return. All In. From NL. I've paid that for the States.

I've booked my ticket and suddenly my move just got a lot more real. It's amazing how a plane ticket makes things seem that much more concrete. I leave St. John's at 7 am on Jan. 29 - got to love the infamous early morning flights from STJ - fly to Toronto, then go over the North Pole to Shanghai. That should be cool in itself - I hope I have a window seat. The flight is 12 hours and I arrive in Shanghai at 4 pm on Jan. 30. First time over the Pole. First time crossing the date line.

I picked an arbitrary return date of July 9. The school term is over the end of June, so it gives me some time at the end to travel if I want. Who knows? Maybe I'll end up staying longer.