Hey, why not. I'm not officially in yet, but I'm bored so I'll contribute. I'll offer this warning, I'm feeling a little long winded, so this might take a while.
I first decided to take the plunge in late 2001 or early 2002. It wasn't a final decision at that point, but thats when I first started looking into it. I don't recall what made me think about it specifically. I started thinking about it, and then one day I headed up to the government building in Edmonton and talked to a recruiter. I don't doubt that what happened after 9/11 helped lead me to this decision, but it was never a conscious thought process like "oh, I need to do my part". I don't think the Canadian contingent had been sent to Afghanistan yet (or maybe they had, I don't recall when Canada officially committed), but I specifically remember the recruiting guys talking about the Minister making a huge announcement that day. If my memory is correct, I believe it was the commitment of troops announcement, but I won't say for sure thats what it was.
Sometime in early 2002, when I was still throwing the idea around (I was studying electrical engineering at the University of Alberta at the time), they announced the Engineering Recruitment allowance ($40k). When I first went into the recruiting centre, I was completely ignorant as to the entry plans. I was surprised to learn that if I applied through ROTP, they'd pay for my last year of my degree. I was even more surprised when they announced the recruiting allowance, which was a short while after my first visit. After discussions with a recruiter, I decided that I'd be better off not applying for ROTP and going for DEO the following year. I was told that it was unlikely that I'd be accepted, because it was so late in my degree, and also that it would be tight meeting all the deadlines. As well, ROTP would work out to about $20,000 (rough figure, but what I estimated based on tuition, my pay, and other stuff), and the DEO route would net me $40,000. I've never been doing this for the money, but I certainly won't refuse the better deal.
Over the next little while, I continued thinking about the idea, with no real developments. It was always in the back of my mind as something that I really wanted to do. Working in engineering firms over the summers led me to realize that I wanted something that offered a little more than what that had to offer. Something was missing.
I graduated from University in April 2003. I spent the next couple months doing some western Canadian travelling that I wanted to do, worked a little, and relaxed. I moved to Saskatoon right after I finished school, and when I arrived in Saskatoon, one of the first places I visited was the recruiting centre. I asked how long the process usually takes (meaning from applying to basic), and was told "about 2 months". I now know there was a miscommunication between myself and the recruiter I talked to, but I didn't at the time. I decided that I'd wait until the end of summer to apply, to give myself time to do what I wanted to do. I figured I'd drop off the application in September, and have at 'er. During this time, I also applied for civilian jobs, to test the market, interviewed for a couple (one which I later had to turn down, after I decided that I was joining the CF), but basically used the time to be absolutely certain that the CF was what I wanted.
When I went back into the recruiter in the fall, I discovered the misunderstanding. It was already too late to make that falls officer selection boards, and I'd have to wait until the spring ones. I was a little disappointed at the time, but I've come to appreciate the time off I've had, and its only made my drive to succeed stronger. Anyways, I got all of my application details properly set up (the reference letters took longer than I expected to get filled out), and went to hand in my application in December. The CFRC was closed early for Christmas, so I had to wait until the new year, no problem. I knew I had a wait ahead of me, so there wasn't really a sense of urgency.
In January 2004, I finally submitted my application. In early February I was scheduled for my processing, and everything was done in one day. It wasn't quite what I expected, but everything went smoothly. I had a few extra details to provide (a form to be filled out by a doctor, regarding seasonal allergies, as well as a community college transcript that took forever to receive, and details about an issue with a student loan). The whole process, from doing the CFAT, medical, interview, and PT test, from submitting my completed application for selection, took about 6 weeks. At the end of March, I was told that my file was sitting in Borden.
Then, I had a little more waiting. I was phoned in late June, and told that I had received an offer. I was accepted for the occupation of Signals Officer. It was my third choice, but in all honesty, I really had no preference. In fact, after doing more research, before I ever had any news about which trade I was going to get, I almost wished that I had put it as my first choice. I even made a few posts here along the lines of 'is it possible to receive multiple offers, and say, select your third choice'. I really had no preference among my three choices, as I would like to do any of them (the others were CELE and AERE... I even had EME down as a possible choice at one point, and there are others that I considered). Either way, I'm happy that I'm going to be a signals officer. I still don't know what decision I would have made if I had to pick one out of the three.
Which brings me to the present time. I'm heading to St. Jean in early September, to start IAP/BOTP on 13 Sept. I don't think I could be more excited if I tried, this is something I really want to do, and have looked forward to for a long time. Hopefully everything will work out.
Now, that probably is more detailed than you want, but as I said, I'm bored. I also realized halfway through typing it that I have to write a 500-word summary before I go to basic, which in part deals with what I typed. So at the very least, it helped organize my thoughts and gave me something to work with, to break down into important details. I'm sure nobody would care to know that much about my decision, but hey, now you do know (assuming anybody actually read all of it). That is all.
. All of these attempts were made for the regular force as an officer with hopes of going to RMC. I was very near giving up joining when someone suggested the reserves, I though I had nothing to lose so I applied for the reserves. I again went through the whole recruiting process, which by now I was very familiar with. Having passed all the tests and what not at the recruiting center, I needed to get through one more hurdle. Which was the most nerve racking one: an interview with four senior officers at the Regiment I had applied to. After waiting a week for the reply I finally got the call. 
