I met with Professors Hutcheon, Clark and Columpar today to discuss what they're going to be subjecting me to. Professor Columpar seemed nice and I'm even more excited for the Touch of Evil Project. I'm doing a presentation on Marlene Dietrich, as well as the very first class facilitation of the year on cinematic re-vision. Excellent stuff. I also toured by Gillian Northgrave's office to finally meet her and pick up my CGS award money. Gillian is the Graduate Counsellor and Program Administrator of the English Department, and we'd been conversing for a few months before I was finally able to put a face to her name.

I picked up most of the African-Canadian Lit course material at the U of T book store, which has an overly complicated TOKEN LOCKER system to ensure that no one sneaks out books in their bags. Give me a break. After scoring the texts I stopped by Pita Pit for some grub. "Young Hearts" by Rod Stewart was playing on the PA inside, and it brought back memories of Ottawa. I spent some time mulling over "The Hanging of Angelique" while waiting for my appointment with Professor Columpar. It's a book that unveils the truth behind slavery in Canada as it tells the true story of a 29-year-old bondswoman who was put to death for setting Montreal ablaze. It's a wake up call to anyone willing to think that slave ownership in Canada wasn't that bad. The Underground Railway ran both ways.

For dinner I attempted beef stroganoff from scratch, and it wasn't a complete failure, but I don't think I'll be making it again. I find the recipe's sauce too thin.

Buck 65 is performing on Friday at the Drake Hotel. I might go.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present the first installment in an ongoing series:

WHAT I'M IN FOR (PART ONE)

I had my first class today - Interdisciplinary Approaches to Opera - and I will not, as I had previously indicated, be studying Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen. Instead, I'll be looking at five, count 'em, five operas, presenting as part of a group on one and writing a 15-page paper for the remainder of the final grade. The operas are: Mozart's Le Nozza di Figaro, Verdi's Don Carlos, Wagner's Der Fliegende Holländer, Strauss' Elektra, and Britten's Death in Venice. I'll be seeing the first two live.

I chatted with some folks before class, including another English student named Marco whose schedule and interests shadow mine pretty closely. He also speaks Italian. He must be stopped (kidding). After a 45 minute delay related to scheduling, Professor Hutcheon introduced the course along with Professor Clark, and the students introduced themselves. The class is a mish-mash of Music, Drama, Comp Lit and English students that will be put into groups to present. The amount of readings is about average, in addition to actually sitting down and listening to/viewing the operas. It feels as though I'm of the few who know next to nothing about opera, but that's only going to drive me harder. On Wednesday I have a one-on-one with Hutcheon about the course. I'd better review how I quoted her in my undergrad essays.

I arrived on campus far earlier than need be to pick up OSAP, so I spent some time locating the Graduates' pub on the western end of the campus. Know where to drink and you'll know where to think. About $200 in textbooks later, I headed home, ate some chili, played some Wii, listened to some SModcast, and hoped that I'm not already in too far over my head.