It's six days now til I leave.

The time has flown; unsurprisingly, I suppose, considering how decidedly frantic this year has been. The tickets are all booked, the hotels sorted, the Disneyland e-tickets delivered to my inbox. It's really, truly true: I'm going back to the US.

Those four little letters are crucial. I'm going back to Vancouver. This isn't just some random, exploratory jaunt through a country to find myself. It's a trip with a history. It's as much about the past as anything.

So I am due to board the plane in 5 days and about 15 hours...