and then there were two.

so mcgill turned out to be pretty much a total bust. no offense to the people who go there, seriously it seems like an awesome place...if you're into the whole winter-for-8-months thing, want to be with 26,999 other undergrads and, oh yeah, know EXACTLY what you want to do. yeah, pretty much not for me. at all. I did buy sweatpants though. I've been craving that college gear (I have almost none and I f'sho don't have sweatpants) so I figured that I might as well pay tribute (and money) to a college that accepted me...and has nice school colors (red & white).

anyway, post-mcgill shindigs, moms & pops & I hung out a little bit in montreal. my dad has this affinity for supermarkets in foreign countries. god forbid he go to the supermarket in new york -- except for fairway, zabars, & stew leonard's. (what a snob.) but he makes a point to visit a supermarket wherever his travels take him. that being said, dad (and whoever else has been dragged along) has/have been to supermarkets in the following countries/states/cities: california (more specifically san francisco, dad's dream city, and he lives for safeway), ecuador, argentina, paris, canada, arizona, new orleans, chicago, florida and barcelona. funny story, mom went to ireland last may and went to a grocery store just to tell dad that she did. dad thinks that you can tell what a certain population is like by what their grocery stores carry. apparently produce tells all, you didn't know? anyway, while dad was browsing the cheese section (he found a cheese with pears, chocolate, and grand marnier in it, got really excited and came running over to me & mom sitting on the side...I told mom it was the whole picnic basket in a block of cheese. she laughed. I thanked her for appreciating my humor.) mom and I came up with a list of reasons why one should never go on vacation with dad.

see below:
#1. a vacation is never a vacation. it is a trip.
#2. a trip is never complete without the not-so-brief excursion to the supermarket. see scenario described above.
#3. lunch is for woosies.
#4. walking 5 miles a day is only average (barely mediocre and hardly commendable).
#5. when the local subway and bus systems are mentioned as potential, faster transportation, prepare to receive the "huff and sigh." oh, and a cab is never an option. ever. (regardless of the -11º weather.)
#6. museums take 3 hours, minimum, because you are forced to read every word of every sign on every plaque on every exhibit on every floor.
#7. don't expect to eat dinner before 11pm. and certainly do not expect to go to the restaurant of choice because it will be closed.
#8. expect a gift shop bonanza.
#9. don't even think about complaining about the above 8 items.

anway, that's all for now about montreal, mom, & dad. time to decide between barnard and macaulay. blah. off to go out and explore the montreal nightlife with dan's friend, micha. major shoutouts to both dan and micha (who, I'm sure, doesn't read the blog) for hooking that up. I am very, very much obliged. again, in the spirit of montreal and quebec, au revoir.