I just got back from toronto and it was in one word; awsome. I went up for the OCAD portfolio workshop that was to take place on sunday afternoon. My mum came too since she wanted to visit the market. We left saturday morning and shared the driving, eventually reaching toronto after driving through a massive gridlock on the gardiner express way (which also happened to be the first time I'd ever driven in a gridlock before).
Upon arrival around 11, we immediately stopped at the St. Laurence market. By the time we left the market it was around 3 in the afternoon and I had made two trips to the car just to deposit grocery bags that were no longer light enough to carry. I had pretty much grazed my way from stall to stall and had a little gastronomic trip around the world. Damn I love good food (and my mum hates it because it means a bigger grocery bill for her). Anyway, after being my mum's grocery pack horse for the day we checked out some of the other little store in the area (I got a cool little book on design called D.I.Y. from an amazing bookstore there) then drove up to where we'd be staying the night; a nice little b&b on Gerrard and Ontario. After dropping off our bags, my mum and I walked all the way down to front street, passing though the design district (omg such cool furniture and stuff), on our way to the Spring Rolls restaurant. After stuffing my face with amazing thai-ish food and calling it a day, we hiked back to the b&b (more window shopping!) and crashed.
Then for the big day, the day of the OCAD portfolio workshop/clinic thing. I ended up walking all the way from our b&b to the OCAD building way over on Dundas and McCaul with the two pizza containing my portfolio. I got there right when it began at twelve (narrowly skirting the crazed mob of santa parade watchers) and prompty got in a line to see a rep of ocad. I was in that line for over an hour. Fortunately, over the course of that hour I got to meet some very cool people (and fellow art students) and that made the wait less painful. When it was my turn to meet the rep it all went by in a blur. I learned a lot about admission expectations and techniques to present my portfolio and in the end walked out of that room with six notes on a piece of paper (point form) and an idea of where to go next. By the time I left around 3:30 I was able to see one other representative (this time from Sheridan) and gleaned some more info on how to get into their programs for graphic design. According to some dude I met on the elevator as I was heading out, I did well. Most people only see one rep.
So I was supposed to meet up with my mum on Dundas and Yonge right after the event but after realizing that I had just walked five minutes past Spadina which was completely in the wrong direction I turned around and was promptly late. Anyway, eventually I found her. I took a quick tour of a best buy gaming event taking place in dundas square. OMGPS3andWii!!Thenewzeldagameandagundamgameandtheywere frickin'awesomeooking...too bad my mum wasn't interested. Finally, we walked back to the b&b, got our bags, loaded up the car and prepared to head home. But not before stopping by Jamie Kennedy's for dinner. My mum was raving the entire time about this dish and that, the chefs cooked in an open kitchen where you could watch them prepare each dish, the portions were small but more than enough, and the food was just incredible. After which, we stopped by starbucks for coffee for our trip home and then took off. I ended up driving the entire time because my mum was too tired.
I had a few more 'driving firsts' on the trip too: driving through a freak blizzard/snowstorm while avoid an insane truck driver who swerved across his lane into the other lane at random and who sometimes decided to take up both lanes at one by driving right down the middle of the road. That was freaky. Oh, and I've never driven as long as I did (all the way from toronto to windsor), let alone done it at night. So that was the extent of my trip. Almost got to see some of my friends up there but one [link] was too lazy, and the other was too tired. Oh well, maybe next time.

Best part of the trip: The food!
Worst part of the trip: I have to go to school tomorrow.

-revolver