Included for cuteness value only.

Double reverse patriotism.

This, ironically enough, was our room in Toronto.

One of the tamer photographs of these two lovebirds.

Kevin in the big city.

The trip: It is currently my last night in Toronto. Jack has already left by bus. Donnie is visiting a friend. Kevin and I are thinking about watching Die Hard II, as the weather has turned to bullshit. Tomorrow I’ll be writing an exam at the Merrill Collection of the Toronto Public Library, which I’ve recently discovered is a collection of Science Fiction (at least, that’s what they care to advertise).

The trip has been highly successful. I got sick after the first two nights of Montreal, but watching Die Hard with Jack on Thursday night has helped me to play through the pain. If Bruce Willis can ice twelve German terrorists with bare feet full of broken glass, surely I can party with my friends while I have a cold.

Jack and I found a sweet drive on craigslist with a couple of Italian-speaking fellows, and arrived in Toronto at about the same time as Donnie and Kevin on Friday evening. I’ll spare you all the gruesome details of what followed, but suffice it to say that, in the face of the giganticism of the CN phallus, we were forced to drown our inadequacies in beer and Jaegermeister for two straight nights.

The Cities: Ill admit that this was not a journey of discovery, enlightenment, or even tourism. It had much more to do with the three gentlemen with whom I spent my time. But I did get my first impressions of Montreal and Toronto as an adult. Overall, I would say that both cities exceeded my expectations. I’ll finally admit that Montreal has a more fun nightlife than Vancouver (although I still think people who call Vancouver “the no fun city” are insane). It’s also bursting with character and extremely attractive people, two qualities I value greatly. Two things would keep me from living there: the lack of a good analytic philosophy department, and my lack of ability to speak decent French. Both seem to be deal-breakers, and the former is much more difficult to overcome than the latter.

Toronto is not the faceless giant I’d imagined. It’s definitely a giant, but it’s got its own character as well. The U of T campus is stately and attractive, and most of the conveniences of living in a city are even more noticeable here than elsewhere. My main gripe, that it’s too cold (and perhaps too hot in summer), is really a product of my unabashed weather-snobbery, which I might be able to exorcise in time.

The future: I’ll be in Hamilton visiting the Ball family for the next two days, perhaps doing some skiing. Then briefly back to Fredericton on Wednesday before heading towards Cape Breton for (Leah’s and Rob’s) spring break starting Friday. The semester is at its half-way point now, and it should get light in April, which ought to be split between Fredericton, Sydney, and New York, before catching a flight back to Vancity (now officially on April 29th).