Tomorrow is the Last Day of Classes.

I can't believe our last day of classes is tomorrow. It seems like I just got here. I was really sick yesterday and sharing community bathrooms sucks more than you could ever imagine. Oh well, I'm feeling better today. After 12:30 pm tomorrow all that's left is two exams on Saturday and then I am homeward bound. I finally got my ticket to London today, check that off of my list. I would fill you in on the excitement of Toronto over that past few days but all I have been doing is resting. Until next time.

T-Minus 7 Days

It's crazy. I will be home one week from today. Man, this time has flown by. Friday, the plan was for a group of us to go to the CN Tower for dinner. Dinner there is expensive, but here's the thing; from what I saw, the average dinner is about $40, but you get to eat in the spinning disc at the top of the tower. So you get a three hundred and sixty degree view of the city. They charge you $32 just to go up in the tower to look out the windows below the spinning restaurant. So for $8 extra, you get a really good meal and the view. Now that's bargain shopping. So we went Friday, but when we got up to the top, it was so crummy outside we were literally sitting in a cloud and couldn't see anything. We decided to come back when we could see. Fortunately for us, the management didn't mind. We left the CN Tower somewhat disappointed, but extremely hungry. While trying to find a place to have dinner I came across the following sign and was hoping someone could explain what chunky fries are.

In any event, we made it to a place called Joe Bibaldi's. It is an Italian restaurant and was really quite delicious. With the whole pork conversation the other day, I was really hungry for pork. When the waiter came over and informed us that today's pasta special was "Wild Boar Ragu" I nearly messed myself. Below is Ahmed in Joe Bibaldi's.

After dinner, we decided to walk a bit of the carbs off. We ended up in Yorkville, an upscale, chic, little neighborhood. They have a lot of boutiques like Harry Rosen and wine & cheese bars. After mulling around a bit we stopped into a little place called Prive for a drink. It was a bit too hipster in there for my taste but cool all the same. Below is a picture of the "smoking patio." We had a drink at Prive, then headed home, not before stopping at Tim Horton's for a donut of course. **Cha-ching, right pop?**

Yesterday Courtney and I went golfing. It was his first time on the golf course and surprisingly, he didn't do too bad. After golf, we were so hungry we decided to go to the Korean Grill House for dinner because it's all you can eat. If any of you have ever had Korean Barbecue, you know what those who haven't are missing.

First off, they bring you out your drinks, rice, soup, two types of cabbage, a slaw, and bean sprouts. Then, they bring out your meats. Chicken, pork (love it), beef steak, whitefish, and squid. So you have all of these little containers all over the table. You pick what meat you want and with your tongs, throw it on the grill. Did I forget to mention the grill is built into the center of the table? That's right, you grill your own food. It was really cool and a lot of fun. The smells in there were amazing. Until next time.

What's for lunch, CHICKEN!!!

Today I went to lunch four other people. During casual conversation, I was surprised to discover that I was the only one in the group who ate pork. Now, I realize there are a number of reasons why people don't eat pork, but it seemed the consensus was mostly because pigs are filthy animals. Ok, I'll concede the fact that they are definitely not the cleanliest animals around. Still, when I voiced my opinion that chicken, which everyone ate, are equally as filthy. As I recalled the smell of the chicken farm on a warm summer afternoon up the road from aunt Vic and uncle Jim's house, I couldn't believe that no one shared my understanding of it. As most of us know, chicken is the most highly consumed meat in the United States. Due to the demand, chicken must be PRODUCED to keep up with that demand. This method of 'growing' chickens has led to the coining of the term, broiler chickens. Broiler chickens are pumped with steroids so they grow quicker, and therefore the suppliers can keep up with the demand. Because of the steroids pumped into these chickens, they grow so quickly that their organs cannot keep up and many die. On top of that, there is such a large volume of chickens within these production plants, that for their entire lives, these chickens live in eachothers excrement. The excrement comes from the extreme overcrowding, where the chickens, which are generally clean animals, are forced to urinate and deficate on one another. After a life of overcrowding, filth, and misery, the chickens are put to slaughter. To put a bit of a legal twist on this, chickens are exempt from the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act. The act states "livestock must be slaughtered in a humane manner to prevent needless suffering, research methods on humane methods of slaughter, the nonapplicability of these statutes to religious or ritual slaughter, and the investigation into the care of nonambulatory livestock." USDA The act specifically lists "in the case of cattle, calves, horses, mules, sheep, swine, and other livestock, all animals are rendered insensible to pain by a single blow or gunshot or an electrical, chemical or other means that is rapid and effective, before being shackled, hoisted, thrown, cast, or cut<.>" 7 U.S.C. Sect. 1902 This leads the chickens to be slaughtered in often extremely inhumane ways. Many are shackeled, hung upside down, have their throats cut, and then hosed down with boiling water to remove the feathers. Now, any way you look at slaughter, it is often gruesome. However, a lot of the chickens are not dead after their throats are cut. We have all heard the cliche, "running around like a chicken with its head cut off." So essentially, a number of our feathered friends are boiled to death. I don't know about you, but having my throat cut and dunked in boiling water isn't on my top ten list of 'ways to go.' By all means, everyone has the right to choose what they will or will not eat. I am by no stretch of the imagination attempting to get anyone to eat anything they don't want to. I just feel bad for the swine. They get a bad rap and on top of that, they are delicious. This link is to a youtube video that chronicles the life of a broiler chicken. I wanted to find a video that would depict the problems we are currently experiencing in the chicken industry. Be warned, it is somewhat gruesome, but if you eat chicken, I thought you should know where it comes from. Until next time, happy eating.

It Was Amazing!!!



Marquis



Outdoor Signage

Warning

As a fan of horror, the grotesque, and macabre, this show was great. The $20 for the ticket was the best money I have spent in Toronto. If I could describe the show it would be as a psychological thriller haunted-house. Everything was done extremely well. The acting was good, sound awesome, lighting blinding, the stage effects great, and the twist at the end was cliche, but in a good way. The pictures above and below are outside and inside of the lobby of the Panasonic Theater. If any of you have the chance to see this show, by all means, go see it. 

Doors into Auditorium

Ceiling Inside Lobby

I'm Going!!!

I am crazy excited for this. I didn't mention it previously for fear I wouldn't be able to get a ticket. I am going to see Ghost Stories. Check out the link. It is likened to a live-action horror movie. The show was in London for a while and sold out. They then moved it to Toronto where you have to enter a lottery to get a ticket. Ahmed and Bron Bron backed out on me, so I am going solo. Ahmed said he would be "too scared and didn't want to have nightmares," so needless to say, he's a little whiny girl. He's saving his theater experience in Toronto to go see the Hangover 2 tomorrow. I don't blame him though, it's not like he could see that in the states. I will let you guys know how it went when I get back -- if I make it back. *Mu ah-ah-ah-ahhhh*

**Update** BMO Billboard

If you look in the center of this picture, you can vaguely see the BMO billboard. This is the view from Panorama on the 51st floor of the ManuLife building. Our dorm is to the right of that, just out of view. The bottom picture is of that billboard from the window of my dorm. So we are pretty close, and Panorama is pretty high. Definitely the highest outdoor patio I've been on.

Tiger Blood has Made its Way to Canada!!!

Amazing is all I can say. I have to admit, I was beginning to feel depressed that the Warlock has been out of the news lately. Where have you gone Chuck? Thanks to the Canadians and Jack Astors sports bar, he's back!!!! This was hanging outside of the bathrooms and I was compelled to take a picture. Because of this picture, I felt much better about spending $60 on a chicken sandwich and two Canadian Club's. Mr. Sheen, I still appreciate you and all of your delusions.

*Update* Ughhhh

She's back. The annoying girl next to me is in full swing. I just cannot comprehend what her deal is. I pray I never get stuck on an airplane with this woman. I pray I never get stuck anywhere with this woman. On a happier note, I took a picture of this T-Shirt shop because I thought it was hilarious. Look at the owners name. Too much!!!

Parlimentary Panorama!!!

We went on a tour of Ontario's Parliment yesterday. It was really interesting.  The lieutenant governor has a two-story apartment in the legislative building that he is required to live in. --Kind of like the President.-- All of the attorneys wear gowns like judges in the U.S. The rationale behind it is that everyone is equal in the eye of the court, so no one is wearing a $5,000 compared to the guy wearing the $200 suit. I think thats a good idea, however, I am glad I don't have to wear one. -- After the tour, the dean of our program took us all out for drinks and appetizers. Hey, I'm not complaining. When we finished up there, we headed back to the dorms. After doing some reading, we decided we would go to dinner. The plan was to go have dinner at the CN Tower because we were dressed up already. But because we really weren't that hungry because of the appetizers,  we went to Panorama. Panorama is a tapas/wine lounge on the 51st floor of the ManuLife Building. Each side has a patio so you can sit on the deck on the 51st floor and have a glass of wine and look out over the city. There are pictures of the view. Really cool. Changing gears a bit, I'm an idiot. The urinals in the building we have class in have an extremely forceful flush. The last time I used one I got sprayed by the urinal water, nasty. Do you think I would remember that after it happened, twice? --You guessed it.-- Nope. This time, I was fortunate enough to have urinal water sprayed into my face. I almost threw up. Needless to say I washed my face with hand sanitizer. Ha!!

The Following is a List of Things You Can Only Learn from Experience

1.) Never put a half eaten banana in a mini-fridge. My bologna sandwich tastes like it was made on banana nut bread.

2.) Never forget that you put a water bottle in the freezer. It will rupture.

3.) Banana flavored Texas Toast + banana flavored bologna + cream cheese = surprisingly not bad.

4.) When preparing a bowl of Rice Krispies with banana slices, pour the milk in the Krispies first; or don't cut the banana over the bowl of dry Krispies. What inevitably happens is the banana chunk will fall into the bowl causing an explosion of Rice Krispies. 'Snap, Crackle, ah Damn It!' Good thing we have a vacuum.

**Update**

I left Grand Rapids one week and one day ago. Since then, my dog is filthy, digging holes in flower gardens, and on top of that, the city took away our trash can. -- Beck, you can explain. -- So I figured, for measure, I have an Xbox and a nice TV if anyone wants it!

Damn America.

I have made a decision, every kid in public education in the states *Yup, that's what I call it now!* should be required to learn a second language. At Mullins tonight, the pub directly across the street from us *Mom, Dad, Kees, Rita, Becky, Sarah, Adam, and anyone else who knows the Nite-Cap, this is the equivalent, only, Mullins is less then the distance of a football field away* I met so many people from so many different ethnicities. Not like we see in the states, *Yup, that's what I call it now!* but people speaking so many other languages. For a long time I always thought, 'Why should I learn a language other than English; English is the language of the world; it is all we need to conduct business. If someone needs to speak to me, THEY can learn my language.' My rationalizations have proved to be naivety in its prime form. I can't believe, now, reflecting on everything, after speaking with some fellas from Quebec, I DO NOT understand the world as I thought I did. It is so much bigger than we, as Americans, comprehend. It is few and far between that you meet someone from the states, with something other than the American 'take no shit' mentality that eventually we, or I, realize, that this global society, is bigger than us, bigger than our homeland, bigger than a continent. I came home two hours ago -- three hours now --, and could not sleep. I felt a compulsion to provide an explanation. Everyone here seems to have been somewhere that is completely out of their respective norm. They have experienced that which I yearn for. I want to be lost, completely immersed in culture, not my own, somewhere that I must scratch and claw my way out of, the abyss that confuses every sense of me. I attempt, futilely if I may add, to justify myself with the realization that I will be visiting London in a few weeks. However, I have not even scratched the surface here, in Toronto. It seems I, in my brief visit here, have only met interesting people, whom have spent years, minimally, at countries I have only heard of on the news. I feel behind. They speak the languages, know the culture, and it is truly appreciated by those who understand the experience. I met a fellow, from Grand Rapids, who was in New Zealand when the quake hit. Everyone who has CNN, Fox News, or owns a television, understands the devastation suffered by the people of New Zealand. This guy, abandoned his studies, helped the people of New Zealand, on his own volition, meaning, he chose to. After rendering aid to these people, whom he had never met, he had the opportunity to visit the farthest reaches of the world. He backpacked throughout the Far East. Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and more. Again, I feel behind. There are so many individuals that do so much for the world, requesting nothing in return, I feel disappointed with myself. All I know is the U.S. I am not a sadist. I do not derive pleasure from demeaning, degrading, or by any other measure, slandering myself. The basis for this self inquiry is, that there is MUCH more than us, as a people, as a culture, as a nation. We must not forget that, recession or not, jobless or rich, hungry or fat, the world is our oyster, not Michigan, not the United States, not North America. We must embrace every culture, every nationality, every ethnicity as it were our own. We are much more than Wall Street, the Auto Industry, Manufacturing, or Big Business. We as Americans do not, to be modest, have the most minute clue what the world is. I haven't met a Canadian who does not speak another language, or who has not spent a year or two in another country. This is by no means a discredit to Americans, but the point of the matter is, that as one of the most affluent countries in the world, rarely do we visit our backyards, let alone visit another nation on the opposite side of the globe. We don't know. What is knowing but experience? So I vow to all of you out there, here and now, I am going to make every effort to broaden my horizons. I will experience those things that we can only hope to experience in a good episode on the travel channel. There is more to pictures, language, culture, and the ramblings of an American 'kid' than a televised expedition on the travel channel. I have consciously made my effort known to all of you, to get out there, see the world, make my effort, and put a smile on the faces of those who still have the notion, impression, or misconception that we, as Americans, have turned our backs on the world. The question is, will you?

Holy Cow

Man I am full. I had beef stir fry, baked potato, mac & cheese, macaroni salad, potato salad, roast beef & lettuce salad, chicken and rice soup, and to top it off, ice cream. I really love this caf concept. I walk in, you have already prepared dinner, it is all I can eat, I eat all I can, and you clean it up. Becky, are you getting this?

Tips for Restaurant Dining

As any normal person would do on a Sunday, I decided I would go get a coffee and read my book. I went to this little coffee shop, got my caramel latte, and read Kitchen Confidential. This book is great. Here's a couple tips from it. 1.) Don't eat the seafood on Sunday and definitely not Monday. All of it is left over from Thursday when the orders come in. So it is four to five days old when you get it. The best day for seafood is typically on a Tuesday. This is because the chef will be there so he will be watching the cooks and also because there is a new shipment on Tuesdays. 2.) Don't eat mussels in a restaurant. This sucks. I really enjoy mussels. Here's why. They are typically not handled very well. Mussels are so easy to cook they just throw them in a pot for two minutes and then dump them on the plate. The problem is unless the line cook looks at every single one before going into the pot, chances are you will be eating mussels that were dead long before you ordered them. 3.) No seafood for brunch. See number one. 4.) No hollandaise sauce. This one makes me sad. Hollandaise is so good but in a restaurant, it is rarely, if ever, made to order. So, the sauce is made in advance, and has to sit at room temperature. Because hollandaise is made from egg whites and butter, most likely table butter that was, you guessed it, sitting on someones table for hours or days, it is a breeding ground for bacteria. Dang. 5.) Eat the bread. Even though the bread from other tables may be reused, everyone knows when bread is old. It is hard and difficult to break or chew. As far as the reuse goes, whats the big deal. All the germs you would get from eating bread from Billy Bob's table you would be subjected to in a subway or airport. 6.) Don't eat in restaurants with dirty bathrooms. You know why. If they can't keep the bathrooms clean, which is easy, then they aren't keeping the kitchens clean, which is tough. 7.) If you go to a place known for steak, don't order it well done. *This tip is for you pop.* What happens is when you order a well done steak at a steakhouse, they go to the freezer and find the oldest cut they have, flash thaw it, and cook it to leather. They assume if you order a steak well-done, you don't know what a good steak tastes like. 8.) Be weary of the exotic items like sea bass. Here's the rationale, if you order a fish from Chile, than that fish has been frozen for the trip. Once the fish gets to the fish market, it sits out all day in the sun to thaw. That means by the time it is bought, transported to the restaurant and prepped, it has been thawed out and probably partially cooked. Then if it doesn't sell out the day the restaurant gets it, it is refrigerated. So the next day or two, if you order that Chilean sea bass, it has been sitting in the sun, thawed, partially cooked, refrigerated, and then cooked fully for you to eat it. All of these tips come out of Anthony Bourdain's book Kitchen Confidential. It's a good read. I posted some more pictures today so check them out.

First Weekend

So the weekend is here. We have a long weekend because it is Queen Victoria Day. Hmmm. Off Monday. I'll take what I can get. A group of us went to SkyBar last night. That place is wild. I have posted some pictures of what it looks like. I also have some photos on one of the girls cameras who went with us. Again, not a good idea for me to take the Pillar's camera. So I will put the pictures of us at SkyBar up when I can get the memory card from her. I finally got my tv today and currently I am watching some ping pong championship. Here's the thing, the lady I went to get it from was running late so she asked if I would wait for here. I reluctantly agreed. I'm glad I did because she just gave me the tv. FREE!!! *Ahahahaha - Awesome* So, I got a Toshiba tv, thats actually pretty nice --I'll post a picture-- for the grand total of $15. $3 for new batteries for the remote, $6 for a cable and $6 for a cab ride. BAM. Just in time too. Ahmed is going to his aunts and cousins for the weekend and Courtney is going to a family barbecue as well. I think I will do some reading, walking around, and some tv watching!!! Talk to you guys soon.

Week One Is Over

It's hard to believe I am through 3 of 7 classes here. This week went pretty quick. We went to the museum Wednesday. We only had an hour so I ran around like a mad man taking pictures as you can see. Then we came back to the dorms, ate, and got ready for Adele. We took a cab to the Air Canada Centre hopeful that we could get some tickets from a scalper. All of us, prepared to spend $60 per ticket, argued each other up to $80 than to $100 per ticket. Fortunately for our wallets, the scalpers wouldn't take less than $225 per ticket. So guess who didn't go see Adele. You guessed right. Oh well. So we did some exploring as is customary for us here. We found the craziest sports bar. It is two or three floors and as you can see in the pictures, there is a movie theater screen in there. Wild. Then we stopped at a couple other bars. Not too much excitement after that. We went to H&M again today. I am so glad there isn't one in Grand Rapids. Especially three blocks away. They have too much good stuff man. Ahmed, Courtney, and I did some walking around after H&M and found the Beverly Hills of Toronto. Ouch. Harry Winston, Tiffanys, Gucci, Prada, Hermes, etc. We walked into this one store, I can't remember the name of it, but it is the Canadian equivalent of Saks I was told. We each wandered around in awe as we pretended we could afford the $1,400 pair of blue jeans. --Are you serious? Who buys this stuff? On top of that, Canada has like a 13% sales tax. If you do the math, the sales tax is over $180. That means, the sales tax on that pair of pants, is more than I have ever spent on a pair of jeans. Ridiculous!-- After that, we needed something to drink so we stopped at a juice bar. Courtney bought me a shot of wheatgrass. If you have never had it, really, you are not missing anything. It tasted like wet hay mixed with old grass clippings stewed in gutter water. But I guess when someone asks me next time if I want a shot of wheat grass I will know the answer. After the wheatgrass, we did some more walking. Then we stopped and got haircuts. I swear, for three straight guys, we do spend a lot of time shopping. *HAHAHA* When in Rome, right? Tonight the plan is to head out toward the lake district I think. Evidently there is a bunch of restaurants and bars on the water. We'll see I suppose. I will do my best to update you guys daily. Sometimes I may post a couple things, other days, I may forget or get caught up. Until then, happy reading!!!

*Update* Comments and Posts

I have changed some settings so everyone should be able to post a comment. However, I am not sure if it will show who posted it. So if you do post a comment, please put your name under it until I know if it will show your name. Also, if you want to comment on a picture, do it on blogspot not on the flikr page. Thanks.

What is this Ah-bow-T?

It's so funny. All of the Canadians can tell we are from the states because of our accents. Really Canada? I don't know what your talking ah-bow-t! Day two of classes, day three in Toronto, is over. I posted some picture from the past day or so. Some of the night pictures are blurry because I used my cell phone. I thought it unwise to take the Pillar camera out for a night of clubbing. -- Do I sound douche-y for saying clubbing? -- In any event, I feel compelled to vent. There are two girls that sit next to me in class. *Must be because I am so good looking.* They literally were talking amongst themselves for four hours. They made no effort to conceal it, speak softly, or even pretend to be interested in class. I am all for zoning out in class sometimes, but you are disrespectful and make me, and everyone around you look like an idiot. At one point, I leaned over and asked them to please stand up, walk to the front, and teach because they obviously know more than the Canadian equivalent of a federal appellate court judge. *BTW, I didn't actually do that. I wanted to but chickened out. Dang* On top of all of that, other than the reading, the classes are quite interesting. The comparative crim law professor, the judge, Archibald is awesome. He is one of those brilliant people who have a personality and are funny all in one. --Like me?-- He tries to involve everyone and do more to stimulate thinking opposed to lecturing. So today he dropped the F-Bomb on accident, but because he got such a laugh, he continued to exploit it to get everyone interested again. There is nothing funnier or more appreciated than seeing a distinguished man in the legal profession dropping to our level. Thanks Prof. Archibald. To top it all off, our other class is Comparative Corp. Governance and Theory. I know it sounds extremely interesting to no one, but the whole class is based of the Godfather. Ha. Did you hear me? The freaking Godfather. If that's not enough to keep you interested, than I'm sorry girls, get out of here. Sorry, I digress. Trivia Tip #1 - Canada essentially adopted our Bill of Rights in the 1980's. It is called the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. See mom, I told you, America Light. The plan for today is as follows, go to ROM (Royal Ontario Museum). It is free after 3:30 on Wednesdays. *Score. Thanks Zack Morris.* Then, Adele is in concert at the Air Canada Centre. Tickets are sold out, but a bunch of people are planning on going down there to see if we can find some... we will see how that works out. If not, we are going to watch the Bulls and Heat. So, if any of you have read through this much too long rambling babble, I will let you guys now what happens. - TTYL

Day 2

Day two is almost down the drain. I haven't done anything today except go get lunch and catch up on sleep. The food in the cafeteria is actually quite good and they give you a ton of options. Ahmed's aunt is bringing us a ton of food evidently. Not sure what but if she cooks anything like his mom then we just hit a home run. Last night we went out on the town and had a lot of fun. We took a cab ride to the bar/club area, paid a homeless guy $3 to walk us to the club that was further down the way, and then walked home. -- After some drinks and ridiculously dancing like fools. -- I took some pictures of the city at night and also from inside C Lounge, the club we went to. We were talking to some native Toronto-ans? and were informed that instead of trying to go to a Blue Jays game to go to the Toronto FC soccer game. They are playing Vancouver for the first time in Toronto and these guys are evidently serious about soccer up here. Who'd a thunk? So we may try to do that next Wednesday. I'll try to get the pictures up sometime tonight or tomorrow. Until then, be good out there.

Eureka!

Good news. my Ipod is not broke. I feared it was because it would not turn on. Come to find out, the battery was extremely low. Now at least, I can listen to my Ipod on my computer and it isn't so bloody quiet in here. Check out my new pictures of campus. Going out to dinner.

Day One, Check.

Well the first day of classes done. I don't have class now until Wednesday morning. -- Nice -- Today wasn't too bad. Comparative Criminal Law and Comparative Corporate Theory and Governance. The worst part about all of it is being in class at 8:30 am. Then staying in class until 10:26 and starting two more hours of lecture at 10:30. Can I get a break please? At least long enough to spend $6 on a coffee somewhere. Today I must call the lady from Craigslist with the $15 t.v. We have no t.v.'s in our rooms and for some reason, I cannot stream videos in Canada. -- Netflix, Hulu, Nothing -- I'm not sure if it is purely Canada that is responsible for this, or if it is in conjunction with the University of St. Michaels College but somethings got to give. * Weirdo's. * I thought Canadians were supposed to be friendly. They all seem ornery. Ahmed and I went and got a sandwich yesterday and the people seemed annoyed that we wanted to eat at their restaurant. So I guess we won't. -- Not to mention it cost $12 for a pastrami sandwich and a root beer. --It's been raining since yesterday when I got here and I hear it is supposed to rain until Saturday. LAME. Ahmed, aka Zach Morris of Cooley, thinks he has figured out a way for us to get a free bus ride to and from Niagara Falls. Hopefully that works out. I will get some pictures for sure if we do. I have noticed that the Canadians aren't really vending machine people either. Why? Also, the government regulates alcohol  here like its crack. You have like 4 hours each day when you can buy. Or at least that’s was the case at the store we went buy. I thought the Canadians way of life was drinking beer and watching/ thinking/ playing/ dreaming/ fantasizing about hockey? Oh well. I am planning on taking some pictures of the campus here but it's been so drab and rainy. So when it clears up I'll get some up. Campus is really quite beautiful. In the meantime, I will keep you entertained with my in-cohesive rants and over generalizations. For now, -- Nap --

Wowzer!!!

Toronto is EXPENSIVE. Yesterday after our little meeting, Ahmed and I walked to the closest grocery store. I have never seen a grocery store like this, ever. It was in the basement of a skyscraper. It was pretty cool but dang, was it expensive. I spent $40 Canadian, -- what is the symbol for Canadian dollars? -- and got nothing for it. I took a picture for you all to see what that money will get you from a downtown Toronto grocery store in the basement of a skyscraper. Phew, good thing I like bologna.

Going Out!!!

Ok folks, I just uploaded some pictures of the dorm. Hopefully everyone can view them alright. Ahmed just got here and I am starving. So we are going to head out for a bite before our meeting at 5:30.

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah!!!!!

Seriously, I made it but, this was probably the most insane seven hours of travel in my life. I arrived at the train station at about noon and lugged my excessively heavy bags out of the train car. All appeared well until I got outside to get a cab. Seeing as I didn't want my suit jacket to get wrinkled, I wore it. So here I am, standing outside of the downtown Toronto train station with a hooded sweatshirt, under a suit jacket, with torn jeans, tennis shoes, and a Tigers hat. I asked a little hot dog vendor where was the best place to get a cab. He said "usually here, but with the marathon going on, down the street." I lugged my stuff for about two blocks until I could get a cabbie to notice me. He pulls a u-turn, hits the curb, and stops. I threw my luggage in the trunk and off we go. Or at least that's what I thought. Come to find out, he had no idea where I was going, and neither did I. So I had to pull out my netbook and look it up on Google. I showed him where it was and away we went. -- For real this time. -- After weaving in and out of traffic we finally reached the school. The problem was the marathon was going on right through the middle of campus. So he let me out, I grabbed my stuff and began trudging around the marathon to get to where he/we thought I was going. Wrong. Big Wrong!!! After thirty minutes or so of asking police officers, University of Toronto staff, and some random people who didn't speak English too well, I was about to get a ride to the airport and get a one-way ticket back to Michigan. * Oh yeah, BTW, did I mention it was pouring rain. * However, somehow I managed to stumble upon some old Victorian looking building. I walked in and asked the security guard if she knew where I was going. -- At this point I was about to pin a letter on my jacket that said "If found, please see this poor, lost soul to Sobarra Hall, Toronto, Ontario." -- Fortunately, I somehow landed in the right building for check-in. So to all of you out there, please take my advice, DO NOT come to Toronto. At least until I figure out what I'm doing here. Now I am going to unpack and either take a nap, or go find a drink.

Could It Be?

Could it possibly be that I have reached my destination? Is this Toronto? If only I could see forward opposed to only out the side of the car. I think we should have a world summit regarding cell phone etiquette. Don't you realize how ridiculous you sound breaking up with your boyfriend in front of twenty strangers. Of course you don't. BTW, this isn't Toronto.

Come On, Are You Kidding Me?!?!

Ok, so I have no clue where we are, but we are stopped, in the middle of the Canadian wilderness because there is something wrong with the wheel. Seriously, the wheel? I may be the only person in the world (obviously other than those riding the train with me) to have gotten a flat tire on a train. I hope the videographer gets this on tape when we are attacked by bears. -- Nevermind, moving now --

*Update* Before I Forget

Remember how I said that sometimes Canadians confuse me? Here is why. There is an older gentleman sitting across the aisle from me. He appears to be videotaping the train ride. *See the picture to the left.* (You didn't believe me did you?) Anyone have a suggestion why he would be doing this? -- BTW Stopping again, dang -- It seems that a four and a half hour videotape of the rolling Canadian countryside will not cause nausea when watched again, if watched again. -- Moving now --

Leg One of the Journey Begins Today

After an hour and twenty minute drive, waiting 30 minutes on the bridge, 20 minutes of being badgered by border patrol, a few hours at the bar and a red wine induced slumber, I am finally on the train. Excited to get this thing going, it was no surprise that we didn't even make it out of the station before we had to stop and wait for a freight train, that now, has seemingly stopped and began moving backwards. Sometimes these Canadians confuse me. Back to the border patrol. Why are they so narcissistic? As we were pulling up to the little 'toll booth', I asked Candy if I should just tell him we were going to the casino for the night. She laughed and said no. Funny thing is, that is exactly what I should have said. The ever so pleasant gentleman we had the pleasure of dealing with began by questioning where I would be going and for how long. Fair enough. Then proceeded -- BTW the freight train next to me just started moving again -- to question what I would be studying. I replied law, he retorted "Be more specific, if your not specific I start guessing and you don't want that." So I had to explain what classes I would be taking etc. After looking through my school acceptance letters to the program, we were finally cleared but before we could go, this border patrol officer felt compelled to explain a few things to me. First, that I can only remain in Canada for less than six months. Second, if I overstay my welcome, "Guys like him will come and get me." Why? Why would I overstay my welcome? Is the influx of illegals into Canada that excessive. -- BTW the freight train has passed, but we still aren't moving. -- I just don't understand. I should have known when we pulled up that his lane was moving slow for a reason. So travel tip #1, if you cross a border by land, pick the lane where traffic is moving fastest. It appears to be indicative of the type of officer you will be dealing with. -- Moving now --