'Patience is a virtue' (aka The Shipping Saga .. continued)

The final (I hope) update on the shipment scenario is that, as of last week, I hadn't heard anything further from the shipping company as regards when I could attend the Customs Office in Barrie (2+ hours away), so I called them. I am highly suspicious she'd forgotten to start the process as she put me on hold and when she came back, she suddenly had an availability on Monday (24th). The thing was, it was 8am .. in Barrie .. 2 hours away. Not good. I am here on my own (hubby in the UK) and have two young children who catch the bus at 8am for school. I patiently explained that to my 'Import Co-ordinator' (although I had already told her).
Seems we hit a stalemate as she refused to give me another time as it "will go into overtime for the men if we make it any later" (at that point I should, perhaps have pointed out that if we'd done this in August, during the school holidays, we wouldn't be having this problem now!!) ...
I was losing patience fast, there was simply no way I could be in Barrie at that time. She wouldn't give me a later appointment, not that day, or any day ... she put me on hold (probably to get away from me).
Funnily enough, when she came back she was able to offer me 10.30 am in Barrie!! Perhaps hysterics DO pay off.
The final episode on this incredibly tedious experience, was that I got to Barrie on Monday, to be told by the Customs Officer that, "as a non-landed resident" I have no right to ship goods into the country!!!!! Arghhhhhh. By then hysteria was kicking in and I just smiled politely and said "Oh, okay ..." and waited.
He went away and checked on our file number with the Embassy and something must have satisfied his concerns as he came back and told me that he'd managed to sort it. He'd basically altered my status to 'Resident' although I will still have to go through the formal process when we officially land in January.
Finally, I have our shipment (all 120 boxes, arghhh!) here in my house, waiting to be unpacked.
One thing I would strongly recommend (and this may be obvious) is to think long and hard about each and every thing you pack to be shipped. I am opening boxes and wondering why I brought some of my stuff afterall.
Anyway, enough of this rambling! It's a good outcome, at last, after an incredibly long and frustrating experience!