In case the advertisements on the radio and the flyers didn't make the point clear enough, here is my little reminder: IT IS BACK TO SCHOOL FOLKS! The labour day holiday always leaves a bittersweet taste in my mouth. On the one hand it is an excellent opportunity to get together with friends and enjoy some of the few remaining long and hot summer days (bonfire, cards and good company in my case); on the other hand it also prompts us of the start of another school year. This means nine full months of torture at the hands of merciless professors paid handsomely by an evil institution to torment students with homework, tests, reports and exams... I might be exaggerating a little bit (but only a little bit).
Fun times at the shores of Lake Ontario with good people.
Fortunately, this year Labour Day takes on a whole new meaning for me. It signals the official start of my Renaissance adventure. Classes with Prof. Gilbert start on September 9th and I have already started stocking up on books and other reading materials. Last Friday, I even obtained my first city library card in over 6 years! In hindsight, I think my excitement was slightly disproportionate to the action.
"So you're telling me that this card allows me to borrow up to 50 materials at any one time for free?", I asked in complete disbelief.
"Yes, that's correct. It actually used to be 100 but I guess they got a little stingy," replied the lady manning the front desk.
Our society might have made me too accustomed to paying for everything. It is so refreshing to hear that certain services are still accessible and free of charge. Perhaps not entirely free since they're really subsidized by our collective taxes. In any case, the Toronto Library System is a goldmine that I certainly undervalued until very recently. This place basically has every single book in the world.
I was able to easily find 3 books identified on my reading list that I proceeded to check out. They are namely: Making War in Cote d'Ivoire by Mike McGovern ($31.50 on Amazon), Playing for Change: Music and Musicians in the Service of Social Movements by Rob Rosenthal and Richard Flacks ($154.85 on Amazon) and Music and Conflict by John Morgan O'Connell and Salwa El-Shawan Castelo-Branco ($55.30 on Amazon). Look at all that money saved - KA-CHING! I have these books for the next 3 weeks and unless my maths is very poor, this means that I will have to average about one book per week. Yah Fohi (Meaning "No problem" in Ivorian slang)! Challenge accepted!
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