Where It All Began

I have started to work very hard on my MRP. Research is taking forever and it seems as though the Toronto Public and UofT libraries hate me. However, I wanted to share a picture of the base of all my writing - the 1902 Baedeker travel guidebook Egypt. You have to 'visit' it in a special room at the Toronto Public Library Archives and there are tons of rules to follow in terms of handling it. (It also comes in its own protective box thing.) It is a very interesting read and I think it will be a great paper.

Baedeker's Egypt, 4th Edition, travel guidebook from 1902
Photo by Christine Sweeton

Research Your Vote

The election is coming, the election is coming. Election Day (Federal) is May 2nd and if I stand for anything political it is for sure the strong belief that everyone should vote. Though I am finding myself for the first time in my life sadly cynical about Canadian politics.

I don't know what it is about the 2011 Federal Election that is draining me of all my hope and passion but there is one thing that I am finding exciting - The Vote Compass! Developed by a team of 15 top Canadian election researchers and political science scholars, and co-ordinated by the University of Toronto, this survey uses a series of questions to take each person's political temperature.

I think this is the greatest tool ever. I love it!! Though am very surprised to see where I ended up. This is what I got:

Try it out for yourself HERE at
CBC News - Canada Votes 2011 - Vote Compass

3am Update

Amount of sleep last night: 2 hours
Anticipated sleep tonight: 3.5 hours
Number of 5 Hour Energy Shots: 3 in 2 days
Number of cups of coffee: 2
Roll-up-the-Rim wins: 0
Units of chocolate: 5
Units of starch: 1
Texts tonight with Taylor: 67
Books out of the Ryerson Library: 18
Books out of the UofT Robarts Library: 14
Books out of the UofT Scarborough Library: 1
Number of assignments finished: 2.5

Today In Toronto

-Coffee at a café called Ezra's Pound. An allusion to a poet who I only recently learned was male.

-Walked past the Santa Clause Parade. A marching band was playing one of my favourite Christmas Carols, Angels We Have Heard On High. Glo.o.o.o.o.O.o.o.o.o.O.o.o.o.or.ia...

-Renewed books at University of Toronto's John P. Robarts Research Library. An architectural wonder from the early 1970's that resembles a peacock.

Added Perks

I don't know if this is universal across all university graduate programs, but at Ryerson the length of time you can take a book out of the university library is different dependant on the level of program you are in. At Carleton, in my undergrad, I could borrow books for around a month. As a Masters student at Ryerson, we get the whole year! I took out some books to do research for an essay proposal I had due this week and they aren't due back for two whole terms, sometime in April. Sadly, the Ryerson library is really bad for Literature texts. I found that their selection was about a tenth of what I had available for me at Carleton (and that is sad.) However, we can get student access cards to the University of Toronto libraries, including the Literature and Graduate Level specific ones! I haven't been yet but am going to check it out.

Rejected Twice

I came home today to two letters from the University of Toronto, both rejecting me from the grad program I had applied for. I'm ok with it since I have already decided on Ryerson, and paid a deposit to them. (There was also a Ryerson letter waiting for me too, explaining that they are giving me $3000 more in funding which is great news.) The main letter from UofT went as follows:
It is with regret that I write to inform you that you have not been accepted for the MA in English in the Field of Creative Writing. The admissions process proved intensely competitive. Of the ninety applicants, we only accepted sever students this year. All of the applications were of high quality. We appreciate your interest in the program and wish you good luck with your writing.
The other letter basically explained what factors they had considered, thanked me for applying, and explained again that they couldn't offer me a place in the program. How nice of them to tell me twice.

Someone Wants Me

I just got an e-mail from Ryerson about my application to their Literatures of Modernity program and I got in!! Here is what it said:

I am writing to inform you that the graduate admissions committee was impressed by your application and that we hope you will join our program in September. A formal letter of offer has been mailed to you, but I just wanted to contact you directly with the good news. Your letter will contain the details of a funding offer, which I would like here to summarize briefly. We are pleased to offer you a minimum package of $8,000 in funding, in the form of one graduate teaching/marking assistantship (approx $5000) and one research assistantship (approx $3000). Again, this is a guaranteed minimum; if more funds become available to us, we may be able to increase the amount of your offer.

I'm happy with the funding but that isn't a lot to live on for a year in Toronto, especially if it is needed to cover tuition as well. (I will have to look at the official letter to see what the tuition is.) However, there is still a chance that I will get the OGC (Ontario Graduate Scholarship) I applied for. I need to wait to see if I get into Uof T before I accept this one. I don't know which one I want to do more.

Spain Reminders - Teri

So far, I keep coming across things that remind me of my friends at home. I decided to make it a regular feature while I am in Spain.

A few days ago I visited Morocco for the day, the city of Tanger specifically. During the walking tour we were all harassed by men wanting to sell things. Usually jewellery, wooden figurines, and other trinkets, that I was not interested in. They didn’t just ask once and then wander off to someone else, they usually stayed with you, bugging you about it for a while. I either perfected looking bitchy or poor because after a curt “No, thank you!” they would stop talking to me, but with other people they wouldn’t leave them alone. Along with the men were young boys, between the ages of probably 7 to 14, who were selling gum. They also harassed in the same fashion. I wasn’t bothered by the little boys, they were all clean, nicely dressed, spoke English, seemed to be having fun with each other, and were treated with respect by the men selling trinkets. However a few hours later as I was leaving on the ferry it dawned on me, it was a Thursday. With Teri in Teachers College at UofT, I am much more aware of education. Why weren’t these boys in school!?!

Under Review

I have spent the last two months applying to the two graduate studies programs in Toronto that I am interested in. It hasn't been a super stressful process but where some rocky moments. Especially lately as I worry that my applications were not received or were incomplete. I can now stop my frantic checking since both universities have now e-mailed me to let me know that they have everything.

Ryerson University
We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest in Ryerson University. Please note, by way of this acknowledgment letter, that we are now in receipt of your complete application to the School of Graduate Studies for the academic term commencing September 2010 for the following program: *Literatures of Modernity -- Master of Arts, Full-time* All of your documents have been received. Your application will be reviewed and once an admission decision has been reached you will be notified.

University of Toronto
This notice is being sent to inform you that your application to 'MA-English' is now under review and pending a decision.

UofT

The first deadline for grad school applications is coming up in early December. University of Toronto (MA in the Field of Creative Writing), for some reason, wants things then instead of in January and February like most of the others. I wanted to give my two references lots of time so went to the UofT website to find out what the whole thing entails. (Hoping I could just print out some sort of reference form for them and worry about the rest later.) Turns out I had to go through pretty much the entire application so that UofT would send my references e-mails to get their letters, after I paid. One part of the application was my Statement of Intent, where I explain my area of interest. In the case of my program this is a novel pitch. They only gave me 250 characters, including spaces, to do this!! That is like 2 or 3 sentences. So, I freaked out and stressed about it for a minute then wrote a bit of something and submitted it. Thankfully I found out at the end of the application that you actually later on submit a Statement of Purpose which is a longer pitch, of about 500 words, still really short in my mind, that is only about a paragraph. Anyway, this is my tiny novel pitch...
I would like to write a genre women’s fiction novel which uses the technique of typography. The novel will not only focus on the female protagonist’s use of new media but also include quotes and references to classic and popular literature.

A Star In The City

I got to spend most of this past weekend in Toronto. Each and every time I visit it I fall deeper and deeper in love with the city. I spent the first night with James. I hadn't seen her new place yet, which is literally across the street from Casa Loma in a beautiful neighbourhood. The key thing though is that she is super close to the subway, the subway is part of what makes Toronto so great. It was so good to catch up with her and hear that she is doing so well. Besides the awesome apartment, she also has a wicked job and really seems to be enjoying life. I also got to catch up with James's Little Brother, we all hung out at this amazing bar near U of T. The student life in Toronto is really cranked up a notch. I spent the next day wandering the area around Young and Dundas while I waited for Teri and her crew to show up to start the birthday celebrations. Ter's plan for her birthday was to go to a movie at the Toronto Film Festival but it didn't really pan out, mainly because of the rain and us not wanting to wait outside in lines. The group of us ended up having a quiet dinner and then some drinks at a pub. We stayed over at a big hotel downtown, 5 of us piled into a pretty small room with two double beds. Myself, Teri, and Teri's Little Brother spent some time the next morning in the hotel pool which had the coolest and scariest waterslide I have ever been on. Toronto tops it all, I have decided that at some point in my life I will have to live there, it is calling to me.