I got two letters in the mail today:

a)Official Acceptance letter from grad studies at U of Alberta.
2)Letter from U of M grad studies informing me that I did not get a Grad Fellowship.

These letters mean:
1)I can officially leave, I have somewhere else to go, I'm not tied down to Winnipeg any longer.
b)There is nothing even to encourage me to stay, even if I was thinking of it....

Now I play the game of balancing my options.. BUT the problem is that U of A won't know the funding situation until mid-April, but I have to respond to Western by late-April, meaning that I really only have a week or two to actually make my decision.
(Those of you who know me well, know how I feel about decisions; There's a reason why I always order chicken fingers and caesar salad, then I don't have to actually make a decision.)

Anyway, this gives me a good chance to weigh the programs and teachers and facilities and cities and health coverage and all the things that aren't scholarships and assess which program I actually like better. Once I have made that decision, I will be able to and ready to bring the money aspect into the picture. I have a feeling it will come down to two big issues:
3) Am I willing to go to my second choice simply because my financial situation would be better?
D) How much extra work would I have to do in order to pay the bills, and would that extra time commitment distract enough from my studies such that I would not actually be reaping the benefits of a 'better' program?

Anyway, I sent the profs at the universities an email requesting a telephone interview so that we can both as questions of each other.

Also, Today, I smashed a piano. I felt apprehensive about doing it before hand, and a little guilty afterwards, but it felt good during!
It was a school fundraiser, I paid 5 dollars to hit it with a sledge hammer. I didn't feel too guilty because it was already a pile of rubbish by the time I got there, so I don't feel personally responsible for the downfall of a piano.