Happenings
So I didn’t hear about what was going on in Ottawa today until a fellow student came in my office and said that there was a gunman in Parliament and they didn’t know who was alive and who was dead, including the Prime Minister.
So I go to cnn.com and sure enough…
I don’t know how much of this reached those of you in the States, but the gunman was killed inside Parliament and no government officials were harmed. A soldier standing on guard at the war memorial was shot (multiple times?) and has died of his injuries. Now the government/police officials are telling soldiers across the country to not wear their uniforms for the time being, as it is unknown if the gunman acted alone and it is suspected that all soldiers are targets for similar attacks. I’ve heard a few people say that they even shut down all the airports for a bit (not sure if that’s true, though).
Pretty scary, man. You don’t expect this type of thing in Canada. When Zack came to my office to tell me about this, I actually had to clarify if he was talking about the Canadian capital or Washington, D.C. (he didn’t say “Parliament”, just “the Capital”). It sounds like the whole country is really shocked.
Edit: read about Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, the soldier who was killed at the war memorial.
List Time!
So I’m trying to make this Calgary vs. Ottawa decision as objectively as possible, but I’m still having a lot of trouble with it. You might be thinking, “hey, you idiot, it’s not that hard of a decision.”
Well, it is for me, okay?
So let me look at the pros and cons for both choices and see if that helps me decide.
Calgary PROs:
- University of Calgary is a research university and it’s ranked fairly high in Canada.
- I’m already in love with the city, even after just watching some walking tours on YouTube.
- I’d be about the same distance away from Moscow as I was in Vancouver, which was a pretty ideal distance.
- The move up there won’t be too expensive and will only take a day (or two).
- Mayor Nenshi!
Calgary CONs:
- Monthly rent is approximately the same as in Vancouver (i.e., expensive).
- Since my original supervisor is leaving, I’m basically going to get stuck with someone who didn’t originally want me. That’s really stressful to me, especially given my last supervisor/student relationship and how horrible that whole thing was.
- I’m scared of the city flooding as badly as it did last summer.
Ottawa PROs:
- My supervisor who’s moving there seems like a really nice and genuine person and really wants me to work with him.
- I’d get more money there, especially if I decided to be a TA.
- Lower cost of living than Calgary.
- It’s the capital of Canada! How cool?
- Carleton University (where my supervisor’s headed) has a math department that does a lot of things jointly with the University of Ottawa, which means a more diverse offering of classes.
Ottawa CONs:
- I’d have to move all the freaking way across the continent again. Expensive and time-consuming and stressful.
- I’m not “feeling” the city of Ottawa the same way as Calgary.
- Carleton isn’t a research university. It’s actually the level below a true university, which is a bit concerning to me (it’s on the same level as Simon-Fraser University, which is a “comprehensive university” and not a research university).
- I already have my study permit for Calgary; I’d have to get that changed if I go to a different school. PLUS I’d have to get all sorts of new paperwork showing that Carleton “accepted” me.
- If I end up going for a PhD, one of the requirements that must be fulfilled is that I’d have to be fluent in another language enough so that I could read and comprehend a mathematical paper in said other language. While that’s a good skill to have, obviously, I am about as unilingual as a person can get and I don’t know if I even have the capacity to learn another language. Y’know, ‘cause I’m an idiot.
- I’m scared of Quebec.
THAT DIDN’T HELP AT ALL.
Eigenblogger 