anythingtwice

I play rugby, so I get to run and hit people! We just started practicing again and it feels soooo gooood, especially since I was knocked out by an injury halfway through last season. At home, I play with my kitties and my dog, and read anything that's not related to class. And sleep. So far I've only had one breakdown, and that was before rugby started up again! Yay!

I'm so thankful that I'm going to York *right* after their strike this year - I'll graduate before they can have another one, haha.

Oh geez, York gave me like two weeks. It was irritating because I hadn't heard back from most places yet - but by the time the date came around I had, so it was okay.

Most likely York, unless U of T gets me off the waitlist with a better offer.

I've already heard from both; accepted to York and waitlisted at U of T. Every department is different, I guess.

Dear anythingtwice, We regret to inform you that we cannot offer you admission to our program at this time. This is not because of any deficiencies in your application; in truth, we have not entirely read your application yet. The very obvious bribe you sent that consisted of cheesecake, brownies, cookies, muffins and other delicious homemade baked goods was so sweet and so delectable that many of our admissions committee members have either gone into a sugar-induced coma or have passed out from sheer delight. Once my colleagues have recovered we may be able to give your application our full attention (though with the box of homemade truffles still waiting in the fridge this is doubtful), however we may still be unable to offer you admission because if you were to attend our graduate school and bake like this for our department all the time, no one would get any work done and our institution would implode from sheer awesomeness. We have sent on samples of your edible work to a prestigious local pastry school who we think would be just as impressed by it as we are. Their admissions committee has a much higher sugar tolerance than ours so we think you stand a very good chance there. Thank you for your application and your desserts. We sincerely hope you attend the prestigious local pastry school so we can purchase your fine creations.

Something especially to look out for in Toronto these days is BEDBUGS. I believe the city has a bedbug registry so you can see what buildings have/have had them. U of T has a pretty good housing database, it's at www.housing.utoronto.ca.

Yes, I like the school and the city, and I'd be going to a different campus so while I would still be connected with some of the same professors, I'd also get to work with new ones too.

I've never found Future Bakery to be touristy, just swarming with students. I usually just go in, get my cheesecake, and get out. :-) Ugh! I remember those dumpling house pictures! Made my skin crawl. And people being cold is true - we don't tend to talk to each other very much in Toronto. That can make things a little lonely, as people tend to stick to their own little bubbles. I think as a student in the city you're at an advantage because then at least you're with people in classes, there are clubs and organizations to join, etc. and that makes it easier to meet people. Decent housing is generally expensive (if it's cheap, the place probably sucks), even with a roommate it can get pricey. Still, it's usually cheaper than on-campus. The other thing I should mention is that a lot of people hate the city, and a lot of people hate U of T, U of T students often most virulently. It's big, it sprawls, it's expensive, people don't talk to each other, U of T has over 50 000 undergrads and 10 000 grad students across three campuses, transit has a *ton* of room for improvement, there is construction on various major routes throughout the year, and there are about a billion butt-ugly condo towers with new ones going up each year. The rest of Canada loves to hate Toronto and its 'centre of the universe' snobbery. The winters are very cold with deathly winds and shitty snow removal. Summers are really hot and humid with frequent smog alerts. So it's not for everyone, but I love it. There are a number of great Toronto blogs that can give you some interesting perspectives - Torontoist, spacing.ca, community.livejournal.com/toronto, BlogTO and BlogUT.

On-campus I can't say because I'm not entirely familiar with the downtown campus, but I will say that I really like St. George Street (there's not much on it but academic buildings but it's a nice street, especially in the summer) and Hart House. Around/near campus there's Kensington Market, Chinatown, Future Bakery (yummy desserts), Real Thailand (delicious and affordable), about a billion sushi places (don't ask me which ones are good, I don't like sushi), Honest Ed's, the Bata Shoe Museum (seriously! it's actually kinda cool), Queen St. West, the Royal Ontario Museum (expensive but there's a student discount on certain days), and probably more stuff I'm forgetting because I'm not there right now. Oh, and really good shawarma on College St., Quick Pita is my favourite. There are a variety of pubs, bars, clubs, etc. throughout the city if that's your thing; you can probably find one that suits your style *somewhere*. Other stuff in the city but not really near campus that I love love love are St. Lawrence Market (peameal bacon sandwiches = YES), the Beach(es) neighbourhood (some people pluralize it, I was taught not to, haha), the Danforth (Greektown), Toronto Islands, the Harbourfront Centre & Power Plant contemporary art gallery, Fran's Restaurant (24 hours, excellent milkshakes), Burrito Boyz, Rainbow Cinemas (cheap!), World's Biggest Bookstore, the Scarborough Bluffs, and the Ontario Science Centre. Things in general that I love about Toronto: lots of parks and green space, hundreds and hundreds of festivals in the summer (any kind of food, culture, neighbourhood, you name it, there's probably a festival for it, often free/cheap - my favourites include Ribfest and Hot & Spicy Food Festival; avoid Taste of the Danforth because it's way too crowded and commercialized these days), downtown's walk-ability (generally good), almost every band on tour in North America stops here and there are a lot of great music venues, a wide variety of theatre from big touring productions to indie stuff (including the Fringe festival), food from just about everywhere in the world from the far-off to the local, farmers' markets, Doors Open (a really awesome spring event where various buildings in the city open up their doors to the public, for free, so you get to see the inside of places you'd never imagine you'd get into), and taking the subway between Castle Frank and Broadview stations because you go under the Prince Edward Viaduct along Bloor & Danforth, which is over the Don Valley, so you're outside and on a bridge and you can look out over the city and all the trees and the river, and gloat at the folks stuck in traffic on the DVP. :-D

I'm currently a U of T undergrad (though not at the downtown campus) and TBH I love love love Toronto. If I end up leaving it will be very hard. Off-campus housing is definitely popular but the residences on campus are also good. I have a friend who lives in Graduate House and she likes it, and a few others at Massey College (and they LOVE it, it's a really neat community). Do check with the housing office and do your research before you rent, because there are some pretty shitty places around. If you're downtown, parking blows. It can be hard to find and can be expensive. There are a lot of people who commute from the outer reaches of the city, often by car, so there's a lot of traffic. Downtown, though, there's really no reason to have a car other than to leave downtown, haha. The U of T campus is served by about four subway stations and has a few streetcar lines going through it. Campus life is.... eh. Let's just say you have to get off your ass and get some. There *is* a lot to do (hundreds of clubs, lots of sports teams, plenty of bars and clubs in the neighbourhood, etc.) but it will not come to you - you have to find it. But once you do, let me tell you, it's pretty awesome. I have had no shortage of amazing experiences with incredibly talented, enthusiastic and energetic people during my time at U of T. The vast majority of people (undergrads, at least) are keep-your-nose-to-the-books, stay-in-my-own-bubble types, which can be frustrating. The downtown campus has definitely got its own "chunk" of downtown and you can tell where it stops and starts for the most part - I'm guessing that's what you mean by 'campus' feel, I've never visited any of the other schools you've mentioned so I can't compare it. I can't help much with international stuff but the International Student Centre here is very good, and it's pretty easy for international students to work in Ontario as far as I know. ETA: You said you're at Boston U right now; a good friend of mine used to go there and now lives in Toronto, so if you like I can ask him for some points on how the cities & universities compare to pass along. I know he still adores Boston but also really loves it here.

First acceptance! Woohoo! Email from York University today, gave me a heart attack. It came up on Thunderbird's notifier but the subject line was just "Congratulations" and the sender was "Graduate Program Director," and the message preview included "I am delighted to confirm that you have been recommended..." - but no school! It was a tense few moments waiting for the message to open to find out where I actually got in! York is not exactly "up there" on my list of preferences but I know I wouldn't be miserable there and I can expect decent funding, and besides - now I know I'm going SOMEWHERE!

My Michigan rejection letter came today. *sigh* I knew it was coming though. Alas. Now to continue twiddling my thumbs...

I got involved in a small play for a theatre festival at school, that has taken up some time over the past few weeks. We perform tomorrow! To relax, I cook and bake. I don't have many days of class and I set my own hours at work, so I spend a lot of my free time cooking big batches of stuff to last me a while (stew, chili, etc.), bake bread, make cookies for friends, etc. It's a very satisfying process and is making me consider pastry school as a Plan B. :-)